The Ethical Making Programme | 2022 in Review
At The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust we are looking back on an exciting year for our Ethical Making Programme. We are hugely grateful for our community, that has grown through this year’s various projects and events. Our ChangeMaking Symposium and RJM Scotland exhibition brought together, students, educators, and makers, as in-person events returned. This website, The Ethical Making Resource was re-launched and welcomed 224 new registered users! We connected with many suppliers and organisations that contributed to populating and developing the site. We were delighted to expand our Ethical Making Pledge, to include educational institutions across the UK and to meet our latest cohort of Ethical Making Ambassadors who represent their signatory institutions. Read on for our month-by-month EM Programme highlights.
January
RJM Scotland Launch
In late 2021, RJM Scotland launched, bringing the Ethical Metalsmiths community jewellery mining project to the UK for the first time. We asked the public to ‘mine’ their jewellery boxes for unwanted pieces, to be donated for transformation into something new. We received over 50 donations of jewellery from members of the public, generously giving professional makers and students at Scotland’s Art Colleges all the materials needed to create fresh and reinventive designs.
February
Iona Turner joins as our Programme Assistant for Ethical Making
In February, Iona Turner joined as our Programme Assistant for Ethical Making. Working closely with our Programme Manager Dr Karen Westland, Iona supports the research and delivery of the SGT’S Ethical Making Programme. Iona was an Ethical Making Ambassador and is a graduate of The Glasgow School of Art. In her own work, she creates ecologically consious art jewellery.
March
ChangeMaking Symposium
Our 2022 Ethical Making Symposium, ChangeMaking, took place at City of Glasgow College on 25th March. This year, the conference focused on how through innovative design strategies and alternative sourcing methods, jewellers and makers can design out waste, source ethically and create better brands. We welcomed speakers including Susie Ganch from Ethical Metalsmiths, Student ambassadors Sarah McQuarrie from The Glasgow School of Art and Emilia Santaella from Edinburgh College of Art sharing their RJM experience, Our Ethical Making Programme Manager, Karen Westland and Programme Assistant Iona Turner also spoke, furthermore, Rachel Colley, Artist and senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, Mary Michel of Ostrero, and Arabel Lebrusan of Lebrusan Studio and supplier representatives, Finlay Lockie from Bring Diamonds, Will Evens from The Betts Group, and Ravi Toor from Filamentive.
RJM Scotland Exhibition
The RJM Scotland Exhibition took place at Princes Square in Glasgow from 26th to 29th March 2022. Pieces exhibited and available to purchase included work from students at six of Scotland’s art colleges and a range of jewellers making across Scotland. We were delighted to present an array of re-imagined and thoughtfully designed pieces from our participants.
Ethical Making Resource Re-launch
In late March 2022, we relaunched ethicalmaking.org with the support and insight of industry leaders on our Ethical Making Committee. The Ethical Making Resource is a website for anyone seeking information about responsible and sustainable making practices in the jewellery and silversmithing industry. Users can now register to access resources in our directory and library.
June
The Goldsmiths’ Centre Signs the Ethical Making Pledge
Following the start of our partnership with The Goldsmiths’ Centre, we officially launched the expansion of the Ethical Making Pledge to art colleges and training providers with jewellery and silversmithing courses across the rest of the UK. On 8th June, The Goldsmiths’ Centre was the first education provider outside of Scotland to sign the EM Pledge, denoting a promise to embark on a journey towards ethical making.
Ethical Making Pledge Signing, Peter Taylor, Karen Westland, Luke Potts, The Goldsmiths' Centre, Photography by Julia Skupny
Ambassador Retrospectives and Degree Show Visits
As the 2021/22 academic year finished up, we caught up with our EM Student Ambassadors to learn more about their experience in their roles and how they and their college incorporated sustainable practices into their workshops, jewellery making and silversmithing. We visited Scottish art college Degree Shows, where these impressive exhibitions featured a strong commitment to ethical making. A passion for social change and responsible supply chains were especially prevalent themes. Many of our longest standing ambassadors exhibited this year, and we look forward to connecting with their ethical making journeys as graduates.
July
Initiatives in Art & Culture Boldly Building the Future Conference in NYC
Ebba Goring, Chief Executive of The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust and Karen Westland, Ethical Making Programme Manager were invited to speak at the Initiatives in Art & Culture’s 12th Annual Gold & Diamond Conference in New York City. Ebba and Karen spoke about The Ethical Making Pledge and its mission as a collaborative and community-based initiative in jewellery and silver. While in New York, they were able to visit local studio and galley space, Brooklyn Metal Works (pictured).
Brooklyn Metal Works
August
Material Investigations on Gold
At the end of August, we began our ongoing Material Investigations article series on gold. The series explores different traceable gold products through Q&A-style articles with suppliers and organisations. These articles are to inspire further research, evoke change within one’s sourcing choices and drive advocacy within the wider jewellery and silver industry supply chains.
September
Independent Institutions Pledge Signing
On 15th September, we welcomed representatives from independent educational institutions across Scotland to our Leith office, to discuss and sign the Ethical Making Pledge. Four Scottish independent institutions, Central Scotland School of Jewellery, Precious Metals Workshop, SilverHub Studios and Vanilla Ink have signed the Ethical Making Pledge.
October
UHI, Outer Hebrides signs the Ethical Making Pledge
On the 12th of October, The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust welcomed Christina Mackenzie, Course Leader of Jewellery at The University of The Highlands and Islands (UHI) Outer Hebrides to our Leith offices, to discuss and sign the Ethical Making Pledge.
Christina MacKenzie of UHI Outer Hebrides signs the EM Pledge
Living Room Session
Living Room Sessions are ongoing online events, held by Christina T. Millar Sustainable Jewellery Consulting. October’s Living Room Session brought together Dr. Karen Westland, Programme Manager of Ethical Making at The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust to discuss the Ethical Making Pledge, Lisa McGovern, course leader at City of Glasgow College to share her course as a EM Pledge signatory institution case study, and Karen Smith, on her experiences while creating the education programme for her organisation We Wield the Hammer.
Photography by James Robertson
November
Ethical Making Student Ambassador Session
On the 30th of November Ebba, Karen and Iona welcomed the 2022/23 cohort of EM Ambassadors at the first of our bi-annual online EM Ambassador sessions. The purpose of the Student Ambassador role was outlined alongside a presentation on Ethical Making, and Ambassadors connected over discussions on shared ethical dilemmas and progressive ideas.
Thank you to all who contributed and engaged with our Ethical Making Programme this year. We look forward to further promoting and supporting ethical making practices in the new year.