MA Craft & Material Practices

<p dir="ltr">As a designer, Essi comes from a multidisciplinary background with a craftsmanship-centred Clothing Artisan degree, higher education studies in Clothing Design, as well as a degree in BA Fashion Accessory Design from Nottingham Trent University. Essi graduated from Arts University Plymouth's Master’s degree in Disruptive Design with a Distinction in 2019.<br /><br />Essi offers products with directional, contemporary style, with an experimental and innovative approach to materials and form as well as a fresh outlook on how we experience and wear accessories and clothing. Her previous collection includes award-winning hybrid accessory/clothing products handcrafted by leather as well as accessories created from recycled leather using sustainable manufacturing processes.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Laura Quinn is an Irish designer and glassblower. In 2015 she graduated from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin with a BA (hons) in Glass Design &amp; BA (hons) in Art History and Design. </p> <p dir="ltr">After graduating she worked in the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, Olustvere Glass Studio, Estonia and LoCo Glass Studio in the UK. Laura completed her Masters at Arts University Plymouth with a first class honours in 2019. Since graduating she has exhibited at Collect 2020 with Northlands Create, the Ireland Glass Biennale and the Design and Craft Council Ireland’s <em>Connected </em>sculpture trail. She now lives in Surrey and works as the Glass Technical Tutor at the University for the Creative Arts where she pursues her passion for glass education and continues to develop her glass practice. </p> <p dir="ltr">In 2020 she received a Future Makers Support from the Design and Crafts Council Ireland and subsequently went on to be shortlisted for the RDS Craft Awards in 2021. She was selected as a Rising Star for the New Ashgate’s Rising Stars exhibition in the UK. In 2021 she completed a residency in North Lands Creative. This year Laura created a new and experimental series of work entitled Tacit Bodies which went on display in Collect Open as part of the Craft Council's Collect 2022. </p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.lauraquinndesign.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.lauraquinndesign.com</a><br /></p>