Seasons Greetings everyone! I hope you are all well and enjoying the time of reflection this time of year has to offer us. Earlier in December I was invited by Crafts Council to contribute a short film of my studio practice for their CCat50 50th Birthday Celebration; here is a link to the IGTV post, make a cup of tea and enjoy! All blessings, Imogen

Crafts Council CCat50 Instagram Campaign

#craftstudiostories: to celebrate our 50th birthday we asked Crafts Council Directory makers who are exploring the possibilities of craft, to take us behind their studio doors as part of #makecraftlive. The first tour by @imogen.bright.moon is an intimate exploration of her practice, process and inspirations.

Imogen Bright Moon is a British Romani craftswoman and self-taught weaver, who creates contemporary textile works through her studio practice, alongside commissioned charitable arts projects (Romani Cultural & Arts Company), exhibition (ONCA Brighton), and publication (Woven & Worn, Canopy Press 2019). Bright Moon Weaving Studio practices an ethos of ethical, circular textile design, taking an integrated, holistic position on what it means to be a heritage ‘slow-craft’ maker.

“Bright Moon Weaving Studio is my calm crafts practice; my therapeutic space for reflection and decompression; my way of communicating with the world. Craft as a creative discipline allows for storytelling, exploration, discovery and deepening; it holds the imaginal and historic in balance as an antidote to the contemporary chaos and strain of the modern world. I spin and weave with ethical wools and have created my own techniques in wool blending, yarn development and weaving structures; all these bring me great joy!

My progressive crafts practice bridges the best of heritage crafts techniques and tools by looking back into past patterns and traditional structures of making; my studio ethos is founded upon the importance of sustainability and integrated ethics, considering the importance of social inclusivity and cultural representation of my own voice within a wider crafts community. New thinking about craft requires a balance between honouring traditional lineages and craft narratives, with visible diversity and cross-disciple collaborations.”

Our big birthday got us thinking about the value of craft to empower, enrich and connect our society. To celebrate, we created Make! Craft! Live! – a year-long programme of exhibitions, learning events, fairs, and digital activities across the UK that celebrate the value of craft. If you have a project that fits the bill, we’d love to hear from you. Just head to the link in our bio.

Through that link, you can also explore the Crafts Council Directory – an 800+ strong database of makers working across craft practices from basketry and bookbinding, to metalworking, millinery and mosaics. And everything in between.

Crafts Council website

Bright Moon Weaving Studio Shop