Studio Visit - Róisín Gartland

The 'Studio Visits' are a monthly blog instalment. We're opening our doors to introduce you to the artists and designers in The Design Tower! Each interview will give you an insight into the individual designer or business.

This month we're chatting to Róisín Gartland.

Can you tell us about your creative path up as far as your latest field of study?

My design practice opened in 1987 and has been located in The Design Tower since 1988. I am a leather specialist and my business concentrated on developing a low volume high quality range of products.

I created bespoke pieces for private clients from the outset, (which I continue to do) and when demand for my work grew, I developed a commercial range of clothing that sold throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. I am commissioned regularly to make pieces for film & TV and also for special events and concerts.

While being an independent woman operating a small business in the late eighties to early nineties was challenging in itself, it did not feed my soul. I needed to find a way to express myself creatively outside the commercial world. In 1991 I began to explore fine art as a means to fulfill that purpose and discovered a perfect visual language ideally suited to my needs. Over the next decade I balanced studies in fine art with my design business and was rewarded with a BA in fine art in 2000.

The most difficult time came in the years following the BA. Attempts to stitch my two practices together were surprisingly unsuccessful. My business had become a demanding master allowing little space to grow. So in 2004 I took a leap of faith and closed the commercial side of the business. In breaking up the old framework new possibilities emerged and as a result the last seven years have been some of the most creative and rewarding of my career to date. I returned to study 2 years ago to concentrate on an MFA in sculpture at NCAD.

What inspires your design - are there people or things that particularly inspire you?

 Unité d'Habitation by Corbusier

I am continually drawn to pattern formations, be they in nature or in geometry.  In this regard I am inspired in equal measure by nature, the human body and by architecture. Paris is one of my favourite cities for creative stimulus and Italy for its abundance of beautiful materials. I also have moments in sleep where inspiration is awakened.

Tell us about the range of materials that you like to work with

The range of leathers available is enormous but over the years I have whittled the list down to Spanish lambskins, Japanese hides, Ethiopian lamb suede, and a small selection of special finished leathers. On the other side of my practice I really like working with clay and paper, both separately and together.

It would be great to hear about your master’s course - what your goals and aspirations were and whether you feel they were met.

Pattern formation on vellum

For the last 2 years I have been immersed in a research based MFA at NCAD. This space allowed me the freedom to explore new avenues and engage with new audiences. My goal was to develop the building blocks for my reconfigured practice and out of that I developed a method that enabled my research to weave in and out between internal and external enquiries so while I spent much time pondering issues in the studio an equal amount of time was spent developing work that required an audience to activate it. It was a very challenging and rewarding time that was equally balanced by holding on and letting go. I’m happy to say was it was successfully completed.

In relation to your studio, if you had a crystal ball what vision of the future would you like to see?

I would like to see my studio continually evolve allowing the unexpected to happen. I would like to continue to share my expertise and experience with the generations to come and I would like to move outside the studio on occasion to research abroad. Having just completed my first ‘Tower Summer School’ workshop I would also like to see these develop as regular events in the ‘Tower’ calendar.

Can you tell us about the piece you created for The Design Tower Bender Exhibition?

The concept was to create an image of beauty in a modern style while making reference to Benders collections of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints and antiquarian books.

The image brings together all these elements: the outfit is made entirely from Japanese materials and the collar and cuff highlight the prominent fan motif in Japanese prints. Finally the location is the Long Room Library with centuries of knowledge as the backdrop.

Thanks for telling us more about your business Róisín! For more information, visit the Róisín Gartland website.

Check out the other designer interviews in the series too!

Studio Visit - Seamus Gill, Silversmith and Jeweller

The 'Studio Visits' will be a monthly blog instalment. We're opening our doors to introduce you to the artists and designers in The Design Tower! Each interview will give you an insight into the individual designer or business.

This month we're chatting to Seamus Gill -  Silversmith and Jeweller

Can you tell us how long you have been here in the Design Tower and what you do?

I have had a studio in The Design Tower for nearly 20 years and I am a silversmith.

What does that entail?

As a silversmith, I normally buy silver from a bullion dealer that has been rolled out into flat sheets, similar to a flat sheet of paper, but with a thickness from 1 to 1.5mm. With a hand saw I can cut the shape I want out of the flat sheet , then I move the flat sheet of silver by hammering it into a three dimensional shape.

Is silver easy to shape?

Silver is extremely malleable and a great metal to work with. The sheet silver can be moved by stretching or compressing the metal.

Do you model it with your hands?

Oh no! It’s much too hard for that. All the stretching and compressing is done by using hammers to move the metal and a selection of anvils, which we call stakes, to support the metal.

Do you hammer the metal hot like a blacksmith?

No. Silver and non ferrous metals are generally worked cold. But you can only move the metal so far until it work hardens. I then heat it up with a gas torch until it is red hot to anneal the metal. That relives the stress in the metal and brings it back to a soft state so it can be worked further. In every piece I make it’s a continual process of working the metal then annealing and then further working.

What do you make?

I work at two scales, the small scale of jewellery and the larger scale of silversmithing work.

My jewellery is like a small version of my silversmithing work, it is all formed and shaped flat sheet. Most of my jewellery balances a highly polished section against a textured finish. In my latest collection “Flowing Curves” I have added 22 carat gold plating to the textured surface as you can see in the photograph of the bangle.

Do you like making bangles?

It’s a great scale to work in. It’s just that bit too big for someone trained in jewellery but it’s nice and small for someone trained in silversmithing.

What are you doing next in jewellery?

I’m working on developing a new collection of jewellery which I hope to have ready to launch in DesignYard this autumn.

And you work on a larger scale?

Yes, most of what I do would be on a larger scale. I make a lot of tabletop silversmithing work. That’s like candlesticks, vases, water pitchers and larger pieces like that.

Where would you show that work?

I normally make it for exhibition. I’ve just taken part in an exhibition in London where I showed a body of work in the exhibition “the Ten Masters” of British Silversmithing as the launch of British Silver Week. And I am represented by DesignYard on Nassau Street, just a few doors down from Grafton Street. I regularly have work exhibited there.

Is all your silversmithing work for galleries?

No, I do a lot of silversmithing work to commission. Throughout the history of silversmithing most work is made to commission.

What exactly is commissioning?

Basically it’s where I can design and make a piece that you can’t get anywhere else. I suppose it’s a bespoke service.

What kind of commissions are you working on now?

I am making the trophies for the Darley Irish Oaks races at the Curragh and the awards for the Rugby player and Club of the year which is presented by the Rugby writers of Ireland and on some private presentation piece.

Do you only work in silver?

Over the last number of years I have made sculptural pieces in sheet bronze. It has very similar working qualities to silver, but without the high cost of silver. I have also introduced colour to my work through patination on the bronze.

At the moment I have some pieces in the “Portfolio” exhibition in the Farmleigh Gallery in the Phoenix Park and I’m working on some pieces for the “Sculpture in Context” exhibition that will be on in the Botanic Gardens in September.

Séamus, thank you for sharing your work with us! Next month we will be featuring another designer from The Design Tower. You can also read the other interviews in the series.