Press briefing pack Ambiente 2017 UK Partner Exhibition. Janice Kirkpatrick, Graven Design concept & curatorial approach

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1 Press briefing pack Ambiente 2017 UK Partner Exhibition Janice Kirkpatrick, Graven Design concept & curatorial approach

2 Professor Janice Kirkpatrick OBE, DLitt, BA (Hons), MDes, FRSA, D&AD Creative Director, Graven Janice is Creative Director of Graven the Glasgow-based company she co-founded with her architect husband Ross Hunter in 1986 Janice is an expert in branding across all dimensions and is currently writing a book Brands for Boards Recent projects include: concept and implementation of the new Radisson RED brand worldwide retail banking environments for RBS and Yorkshire Clydesdale Banks concept, implementation of British Airways Galleries Lounges worldwide evolution of the famous Harris Tweed Orb mark and brand creative director for RBS s new polymer banknotes Janice lives in Ayrshire in South West Scotland where she is a horsewoman, beekeeper and gardener

3 Design concept based on observations and ideas including: Pattern that can, through digital production, be applied to any surface and providing designers with a way to overcome lengthy design development. Wallpaper - a particularly British phenomena. The British tendency to collect, order and display cookware, cutlery and ceramics inspired by stately home collections that form props and backdrops to dining, meeting, diplomacy and business. Britain as the world s service sector and king of the world s tabletops with armouries of silverware and cutlery and cabinets of ceramics from Birmingham, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent. Products with provenance and deep roots are safe havens solid, recognisable, reliable landmarks in a sea of generic things whose lack of anchorage makes them vulnerable the same is becoming true of our nations and our national flags, so I ve avoided them. National animals that transcend fiscal boundaries: Each designed and perfected over decades. Each recognisably Scottish, Welsh, Irish or English and each is at the heart of supra-national communities ranging from The Kennel Club to The Superbowl. Each is also a winner, having survived industrial, agricultural and political upheavals. Backdrop of fabulous real things our national animals: Scotland: the Clydesdale Horse, designed in 1883 as the ultimate industrial and agricultural power plant by a Glasgow-based consortium who combined English, Belgian and Scottish genes. Between 1884 and 1945 over 20,000 were exported to North and South America, Russia, Italy and Australia where they revolutionised agriculture by providing horsepower to cultivate the British Empire and the draft power for its cities, towns and industries. My pattern also includes a Scottish carnivorous plant, the Butterwort, which is graphically beautiful and practically useful as it eats flies and midges. Ireland: the Irish Wolfhound that cleared the land of wolves, killing the last one in It predates the Irish sagas of BC. These huge hounds were given as gifts to the kings of England, the princes of Wales and to many European royal houses. My Wolfhound pattern also contains a flax flower that was the basis of the Irish linen industry that continues today. England: the White Park cattle that originated over 2000 years ago. Their history binds our nations together through Druidic rituals, Irish, Ulster, Welsh and Scottish myths. They feature in Viking and Roman texts connecting us with Scandinavia and Europe. Today they are DNA tested and much sought after for hybridising with modern breeds to create speciality beef. My White Park pattern includes the Woad plant that since 100BC has been a source of valuable pure blue dye used by Boudica and the Iceni tribe as both battle paint and antiseptic for wound healing (which has a lovely symmetry to it!) and as England s dye of choice for woollen Coventry Blue cloth whose colour never faded. This naturally insecticidal dye is again being grown commercially in England. Wales: the Balwen Welsh Mountain Sheep, which has a micro-provenance being found only in the Tywi Valley. Its ancestors are from Sardinia and Corsica and its black wool is highly sought by artisan weavers leading to a flock being established in North America. The plant I ve included in my Welsh pattern is Juniper, which grows on the uplands and is used to flavor gin including Welsh gin that after ending distillation in 1910 is once again a growing industry.

4 Curatorial approach to featured objects This is based on: Identifying flourishing British companies and products that have endured, and even thrived in adversity. From them we can learn to make our current businesses robust so we can help to build a balanced economy featuring product design and manufacturing as well as the service industries. I have also searched for those classic British products that have stood the test of time, whose meaning and value today can be relied upon to have currency tomorrow. Examples include: Arthur Price & Co, 114-years old, supplied cutlery for HMS Titanic Churchill China, 221-years of ceramics, glassware and cutlery Dualit, 71-years of iconic kitchenware Robert Welch Designs, creating modern cutlery for 61-years Portmeirion ceramics, 56-years old and Spode founded in 1770

5 Scotland: the Clydesdale Horse

6 Ireland: the Irish Wolfhound

7 England: the White Park cattle

8 Wales: the Balwen Welsh Mountain Sheep

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10 Media enquiries Meadhbh Hendrie T +44 (0) M +44 (0) Business enquiries Sarah Watt sarah@graven.co.uk T +44 (0) Albion Street Glasgow G1 1RU T +44 (0) #Graven