Slow craft
STYCH FARM STUDIOS
Written by Mark Lewis
Based near Dorrington, Gill and Jon’s workshops, set in converted old buildings next to their idyllic house and garden immediately give a sense of a tranquil ‘Slow’ working lifestyle.
While working in food and wine, I was fortunate enough to visit and collaborate with many amazing small-scale artisan producers. So, when Tish, from appleTeme, and co-chair of Slow Food Ludlow Marches, gave me a Iist of Slow Food business members, I chose to visit Stych Farm Studios first, as I was intrigued to discover how a non-food business connected to Slow Food.
Jon’s large woodworking space is kitted out with a mix of hand tools and the necessary machinery required to work his craft. The immediate smell of wood is wonderful and, as I have an interest in working with wood, I was very envious of Jon’s workspace, and so pleased to see that this traditional craft is being carried on by tradesmen like Jon.
Jon sources or finds unique pieces of timber by word of mouth, through landowners felling trees, or trees that have fallen in strong winds. In the workshop he makes beautiful wooden serving boards, chopping boards, small tables and other customer-requested pieces from large rough sawn planks of oak, not all straight and precise, but miss shaped, which give the product a bespoke and beautiful finish. The current stack of oak pieces had been supplied by a farmer from a fallen oak tree on his land and who had asked John to produce some special individual pieces for his home.
Gill’s space was more tranquil, an old pig barn converted into a bright working space with large windows overlooking their garden. This is where Gill ‘throws’ her clay, producing amazing pieces of pottery, including plates, bowls and mugs, in her own unique style.
The clay that Gill sources comes from just one small farm in Cornwall, why? Because the quality is very special and because the farmer only digs out relatively small quantities, compared to the mass production and excavated clay that Gill could buy from The Potteries.
Gill’s electric kiln enables her to slow dry the pieces of pottery, giving them strength and rigidity after the glazing. I was also impressed to see that no clay is wasted, as Gill invested in a machine that will take all off-cuts and small particles of clay, and re-process it back into clay that can be modelled again, so a zero-waste system.
Gill mentioned that hers and Jon’s lives changed after an unintentional meeting with Tom Kerridge, of the 2-star Michelin star Hand & Flowers in Marlow. Tom was so impressed with Gill’s work that he placed an initial order followed by subsequent orders for his restaurants, he also spread the word amongst his Chef mates, which (without name dropping) are the some of the most influential chefs in the UK, all who then also ordered pieces of Gill’s pottery. There was also a knock-on effect for Jon, as once other chefs had seen his work, bespoke orders have been placed.
Having turned down the opportunity to go mainstream with a UK retailer, I think Gill and Jon made the right decision, they have control of their business, their work, the pace at which they want to work (still extremely hard). I suspect that if they had of been tempted by the retailer, their ‘Slow Craft’ artisan business would have been taken away, the uniqueness of their work, and the demand from great chefs and private customers would most likely have disappeared.
Finally, it was obvious that Gill and Jon had been linked and had great connections with the Slow Food movement, and they also seem to have a passion for food. On the day I visited that afternoon they were off on a road trip which Gill rhymed off where they were going to eat (I must get the details).
It was a pleasure to meet with Gill and Jon and see how they connect to Slow Food Ludlow and the Marches, Jon with his handcrafted wooden tables, serving boards, and Gill with her beautiful tableware, perfect on which to serve local Shropshire food.