The beginning of 2023 has marked a new epoch for me and the start of my

business 'Willow Bloomfield'. I have moved to a new city Bristol and got myself a workshop. It is the first time I have had my own space and the opportunity to focus on my own craft.
It has been a whirlwind process and I decided to hit the gorund running.
it was important to me to be making things from day 1
It has been a gradual process of keeping busy making and finding the time to fit in organisation and settling in to the new workshop.
Workshop space at Hot Soup House
The Building Arts Programme 2022
My background is in woodwork and design,
I always knew I loved making things
however I didn't find the motivation and desire to pursue my own creative practice until trying my hand at metalwork while partaking in the Building Arts Programme; a collaborative programme between the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust and The Prince's Foundation during 2022.
Building Arts Programme 2022
This remarkable programme gave me the opportunity to try many different crafts, from stained glass to timber framing and everything in between. It was an eyeopener for me, during our placement months I spent time with artists, blacksmiths and coppersmiths.
I fell in love with metalwork.
Upon returning to Dumfries house for the final part of the course we had the luxury of spending 2 months of focused work on a project with Sculpture House
Our aim was to renovate a portion of their new community art space
By the end of the project I had made a matching pair of wall sconces inspired by the Ginkgo tree in the garden outside and a cluster chandelier for the entrance porch of the building.
Ginkgo Wall Light and Cluster Chandelier in Sculpture house.
The future and Creative Journey
I am feeling incredibly lucky to be where I am and to have acquired the knowledge and skills from some truly remarkable craftspeople. I have been really touched by their generosity in sharing their craft and being so open with their practice. I plan to continue to learn and grow as a craftsperson
I am excited to pursue the craft of metalwork
I hope to be able to share as much of my work as possible and to put it out there as a creative and educational resource, through videos and in person workshops.
I hope to take as many people as I can along on this journey.
Thanks for reading
-Willow
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