Empowering a nottingham lace inspired artisans' community

empowering a nottingham laceinspired artisans’ community

Francesco Mazzarella, PhD researcher supervisors: Dr MC Escobar-Tello, Dr VA Mitchell @FraMazzarella #nottinghamlace jan - feb 2016

foreword

This is a brief summary of the study conducted by Francesco Mazzarella, 2nd year PhD researcher at Loughborough Design School (UK) within the AHRC Design Star CDT, supervised by Carolina Escobar-Tello and Val Mitchell.

This was the first phase of Participatory Action Research (PAR) within Francesco’s PhD, aiming to explore how service design* can encourage textile artisans’ communities towards a sustainable future. The study aimed to empower a community of lace artisans in Nottingham, by raising awareness of holistic sustainability and enabling the outline of a sustainable future.

* Service design is here referred to as the strategic process of designing services which are based on tangible and intangible interactions between a provider and a user of a product-service-system.

introduction

the global economic and environmental crisis is posing complex challenges

redistributed manufacturing

flexible production

circular economy

alternative economies

slow fashion

designer entrepreneur

advanced artisanship

enabling ecosystems

focus local, natural discarded fibres textiles & fashion

bottom-up skills, quality human control material culture

material

tool by hands machinery digital tools

making

a rtis a n

co m

y t i mun

local business small batches flexible local market

aim

to explore how service design can contribute to encourage our lace artisans’ community towards a sustainable future

rescuing cultural heritage

providing social engagement

our artisans’ community can contribute to local sustainable development

encouraging economic development enhancing environmental stewardship

research process

contextual interviews brainstorming

de ve lo p participatory design workshop

er liv de

focus group interviews shadowing

e fin de

di sc ov er

service design process

stakeholders map service blueprint manifesto

user centred, strategic, systemic process of co-creation of tangible and intangible values within a product-service-system

storytelling with nottingham lace artisans

For the first stage of the study, “Storytelling with Nottingham Lace Artisans� pursued throughout January and February 2016, Francesco has conducted contextual interviews with selected Nottingham lace artisans. He has collaborated with Cluny Lace Co Ltd (the oldest local manufacturer of traditional Nottingham Leavers lace), G.H. Hurt & Son Ltd (a family business producing heritage lacy knitwear, like shawls and scarves) and JC Middlebrook (a designer making digitally embroidered lace into jewellery and accessories).

For this initial part of the study, Francesco has observed the artisans in their work environment and asked questions about their current artisanal businesses.

storytelling with nottingham lace artisans

Cluny Lace Co Ltd lace fabrics leavers lace

e fin de contextual interviews brainstorming

G.H.Hurt & Son Ltd

JC Middlebrook

shawls knitting lace

jewellery embroidered lace

storytelling photo-diaries

https://goo.gl/Z25Xpn

https://goo.gl/aCH6v0

https://goo.gl/LMZQLI

what does ‘being a nottingham lace artisan’ mean for you today

?

Afterwards, Francesco has facilitated the artisans to envision what a sustainable future may look like for their businesses, by generating ideas in response to future trends. This storytelling study has encouraged artisans’ self-reflection on their practices and contributed to improve their awareness of issues of cultural, social, economic and environmental sustainability.

The outcomes of the first stage of the study were summarised in a series of photo-diaries which capture, by means of photos and text, the artisans’ stories.

swot analysis of ideas

what may a sustainable future look like for your lace-making business

?

for me a sustainable future means... finding people skilled to teach and learn how to handle and update our machinery

developing our business for modern times while keeping our tradition and quality being economically self-sustainable while running my own business full time

barriers lack of skilled workers young people disinterested in working in factories high human control involved onerous bespoke production lack of knowledge and availability of sustainable raw materials difficulty for upcycled products to meet consumers’ tastes lack of skills and time for marketing overseas competition shortage of knowledge about users low sales due to product longevity long time needed for experimentation difficulty in marketing hybrid products lack of consumers’ understanding of the whole artisanal process difficult cross collaborations effort and time for networking decreasing top-down support

enablers skills transfer sharing of knowledge and resources technological advancements increased customers’ interest in natural raw materials waste minimisation within small production closed loop of resources (e.g. waste collection, mending, upcycling...) traceable and transparent supply chain collective trade shows improved (digital) communication shift from craft to high-end fashion market communication of stories behind products close consumer relationship & feedback heritage & contemporary aesthetic collaborations with other craft media openness to understand the other post-sale services (e.g. alterations) more active and supportive organisations peer-to-peer support

barriers making skills

enablers making skills production processes

production processes supply chain marketing strategies consumers’ behaviour product types design & enterprise enabling ecosystems

supply chain

marketing strategies consumers’ behaviour product types design & enterprise enabling ecosystems

co-designing a sustainable future for nottingham lace

The analysis of such stories informed the second stage of the study, “Co-designing a Sustainable Future for Nottingham Lace�. This was conducted in the form of a participatory design workshop, taking place at the Cobden Place in Nottingham on 22nd February. Numerous stakeholders working around lace (i.e. artisans making lace or willing to draw inspiration from it, design practitioners, students and educators, members of public organisations for heritage, place-making and tourism) participated in this full-day session.

o r g a n is

io at

ns

stakeholders map service blueprint manifesto

a r ti s a n s consum ers

des ign

participatory design workshop

er liv de

de ve lo p

participatory design workshop co-designing a sustainable future for nottingham lace

s r e

To kick-off the workshop, after Francesco’s introductory presentation, challenges and opportunities to achieve the artisans’ visions for the future were presented. The key issues identified were clustered around: making skills, production processes, supply chain, marketing strategies, consumers’ behaviours, product types, design and entrepreneurship, and enabling ecosystems. The concept of “sustainable future” was unpacked into its social, cultural and economic facets (i.e. finding people skilled to teach and learn how to handle and update the lace machinery; developing lace businesses for modern times while keeping the tradition and quality; being economically self-sustainable while running an independent artisanal business full-time).

what are the barriers & enablers for nottingham laceinspired artisans to achieve a sustainable future

?

barriers Difficulty to understand the role of design; Complex process to understand (from drafting to making); Resistance to design new patterns (due to translation into jacquards); High cost for maintaining and updating the machinery; Lack of technicians to repair the machines; Difficulty to market machine-made lace to customers; Shortage of local sales (due to high price of products); Low income for artisans; Lack of knowledge on different types of Nottingham lace.

enablers Training engineering skills to use lace machinery; Researching to understand the process and developing methods to make new designs; Investing in digitalising jacquard cards for new designs; Clustering the makers for skills sharing; Injecting contemporary language (colours, forms, technology) into the heritage process; Identifying the target customer and reaching him/her through retail; Using marketing plans, social media and online retail; Conveying contextual stories of: the artisan, the artisanal process, the product itself; Raising customers’ awareness of the value of crafts.

After reviewing and corroborating these initial findings with the contribution of different perspectives, the participants brainstormed around various design directions that Nottingham lace-inspired artisans could follow to achieve a sustainable future.

The possible directions that have emerged took into account several issues: preservation of cultural heritage, technological advancements to modernise lace designs, marketing to contemporary consumers, storytelling, governmental as well as peer-to-peer support. At this point, it was necessary to reframe the problem, as “how might lace-inspired artisans be economically sustainable in Nottingham?�

what directions could nottingham lace-inspired artisans follow to achieve a sustainable future what is the key issue that you are trying to address, why is it important?

Failure of large scale lace manufacturers; Financial sustainability; Difficulty to learn from the past & evolve in the future; Gap between heritage & contemporary aesthetic; Misperception of lace as something old; Lack of awareness of the story of Nottingham lace; Loss of cultural heritage; Need to educate consumers and makers; Need to articulate an innovation story.

who is that problem for?

what social or cultural factors shape this problem?

City Council; Place-making organisations; Museums; Cultural historians; University educators; Students; Artisans; Emerging designers; Citizens.

Need for local organisations to articulate authentic stories; Need to demystify bad perceptions of lace & create a contemporary language; Need to convey the message of Nottingham as ‘innovation city’; Loss of sense of place; Wider impact of heritage loss elsewhere; Need to engage local people, and retaining them in Nottingham; Need for active and effective membership organisations.

what evidence do you have that this is worth the investment?

If artisanal businesses are not profitable, they won't be kept alive; Most of students come from different locations and leave for working elsewhere after graduation; Dicrease of individual retailers, in relation to high street shops; Low efficacy of membership committees to manage innovations.

?

can you reframe the problem?

How might lace-inspired artisans be economically sustainable in Nottingham?

Afterwards, the participants proposed two strategies to encourage lace-inspired artisans towards the chosen design direction. These were: setting a shared research plan to inform future education, and boosting local economic development.

The view of participants was to build “middle-up-down� strategies through the synergy of bottom-up activities and top-down support. After starting from existing activities and identifying a lace-inspired artisans’ community, it was recommended to build shared responsibility and develop collaborative activities supported by a wider network.

Triangulation of thoughts and mindfulness of time and scale were highlighted as key issues to take into account while implementing innovations, which may impact public spaces, shared making facilities, and new markets.

what strategy would you propose to encourage lace-inspired artisans towards the chosen direction

why?

who? what?

Gov. regeneration investments; Grants for creatives; Organisations for coordination; Public spaces (urban, experiential); Information (maps, signage, tours); Contemporary aesthetic (lace market); Co-working spaces; Events (locally and internationally); Artisans’ partnerships; Partnerships with international designers.

To keep our memory; To preserve local identity; To rescue a unique story (Nottingham as innovation city); To celebrate the new (instead of claiming the lost past); To disrupt the idea of a “2nd size” city (not worth investments); To build a sense of place; To enhance prosperity in lifestyles; To create new jobs; To shape a collaborative community (against scattered freelancers).

Policy makers Institutional actors Organisations Co-working spaces Community arts spaces Heritage artisans Artisans in partnership

?

how?

Outlining a shared vision; Building “middle-up-down” strategies; Envisioning innovations resonant to people; Starting from existing activities; Identifying the lace-inspired artisans’ community; Creating shared responsibilities & triangulation; Coordinating collaborative activities; Building a network; Involving artisans in the market plan; Being mindful of time and scale; Indentifying strategic spaces in the lace market; Finding sustainable models for makespaces; Opening public opportunities in heritage factories; Opening up new markets.

After the lunch break, the participants split in two groups, each focusing on one of the two defined strategies, then swopped to enrich their contribution and finally shared the findings to the whole group. Target stakeholders (together with their expertise, motivations and benefits) have been mapped out and prioritised according to their impact level, from core partners, to peer producers to peer consumers. A plethora of stakeholders hasbeen identified, from artisans, to other creative businesses, education at various levels, policy makers, private organisations, online and offline networks. It was agreed that many local activities are already taking place, but since most of them are too recent, it is still too early to assess the impact of such innovations.

Especially economic benefits will require a long timeframe to be perceived by the artisans, and a coherent coordination of efforts will have to be built.

which stakeholders could support a shared research strategy to inform future education

place-making (CQ)

tourism (experience nottinghamshire)

public museums (nottingham city museums)

crafts council

film makers nottingham (edward civic jarvis) society universities storytellers

publishers

private museums (framework (NTU, UoN) knitters) students,

graduates, interns

HE institutions apprenticers (NCN) nottingham (NCA) city of literature

social media

p a rt n e rs

arts org.

(RSA, NAE) cultural partners (Lakeside)

bobbin lace guild

event p e er producers organisers digital support (lace:here:now, (broadway, lace hack) near now) hackspace peer consumers

?

which stakeholders could support the strategy of boosting local economic development

tourists

national network (arts council, RSA, UKTI)

creative & digital nottingham industries city council consortium

university (mixed reality lab, advanced manufacturing)

education (schools, museums)

lace-inspired business support artisans (growth hub,

antenna, the hive, p a rt n e rs future factory) co-working spaces (the oldknows factory, backlit, cobden place) p e er

pr o d u c ers

oline retailers (etsy) c o n su m er s

?

Having in mind the potential stakeholders identified, the participants have proposed different services to support the future strategy. Here, the group gathered together again around the shared vision of setting a research strategy to identify gaps in the heritage lace artisanal businesses, support their economic sustainability, and inform education of future artisans and consumers. After brainstorming various services, both online and offline, individual and collaborative, consensus was gathered around the idea of a “co-researcher in residence� programme.

This was outlined as a strategy for bespoke and ongoing 1:1 engagement with heritage artisans, with the aim of exploring their needs and wants, and therefore co-designing a service to update their businesses.

?

joined up marketing service to communicate Nottingham’s brand at high-end level

online

what services would you propose to support the implementation of the chosen strategy

joined up research strategy across local and international universities with a dissemination plan (beyond academia) and supported by a digital network (of researchers and professional partners)

grants to digitalise the artisanal businesses

individual

collaborative

active business support funds, (help line, network of contacts, activities) information, mentoring, facilities

platform to infrastructure collaborations between designers and artisans

strategy for bespoke, ongoing, 1:1 engagement with heritage artisans to explore needs and wants and co-design a service to modernise their businesses

offline

co-researcher in residence: skills training

networking events

Finally, the group outlined the key values that the Nottingham lace-inspired artisans’ community would like to share: trust, co-creation, quality, provenance, sustainability, modernity, awareness, and pride. It was envisaged that such values could be used also to assess the sustainability of the collaborative service.

our collaborative community will share these values:

trust co-creation quality provenance sustainability modernity awareness pride

Although it was a packed and long session, the participants enjoyed the workshop, which was found interesting and useful.

They showed their willingness to be kept updated and involved in the future development of this research project. Furthermore, the feedback received throughout the study proved that there is a great enthusiasm around Nottingham lace, and this is a critical time to co-design a sustainable future. In order to do so, a service proposition will be articulated in a very delicate way, taking into account issues of trust, negotiation, shared responsibility among different stakeholders, but especially self-sustainability of the proposal, to be fit to the timeframes and scale of the artisanal businesses.

A short promotional video will accompany the documentation of this workshop, whose findings will be shared among the community in order to receive further advice and feedback for the future development of this study. Finally, the researcher would like to thank his supervisors Carolina and Val, Loughborough Design School and the AHRC Design Star CDT, and all the participants who have invaluably contributed to this study, by kindly offering their time, knowledge and enthusiasm for this research project.

thank you !

Francesco Mazzarella f.mazzarella@lboro.ac.uk @FraMazzarella