July @ ACO. - Greater Goods Podcast, Finished Projects & Garden Visits
A small note before I start...
You may have noticed these newsletters have become a little more introspective (wordy) over the past year. While the thoughts, projects and experiences are all my own, I do use large language models (LLMs) to help with grammar, structure and bringing ideas together into something more coherent.
I've struggled with dyslexia, writing and getting ideas out of my head since school. Having a tool that helps organise those thoughts has made the process far more enjoyable and, importantly, has made me more likely to share them.
It's been encouraging to hear from readers who have found these updates inspiring or informative. If these tools (maybe overlords one day!?) help more people communicate their ideas, stories and experiences with confidence, I think that's something worth embracing.
FROM THE WORKSHOP
A couple of new projects found their homes this past month in Brockley and Nunhead.
The first was a room divider for Kate and Toby, creating a gentle separation between the kitchen and living room with reeded glass, open shelving and integrated storage.
The second was a large desk spanning the width of a new garden studio for Holly and Rhory, designed as a home for their photography and directing work.
Workshop production continues over the coming months with more projects on the way, including alcove cabinets in Penge and a hallway seating and storage project in Camberwell.
It's been particularly nice that both commissions have come through existing connections. One is for new clients in a house I've worked in before, the other for past clients in their new home.
I also recently added a 3D printer to the workshop, something I'm looking forward to integrating into future projects. For one of these commissions, I'm hoping to work with the clients' children to design and print a series of personalised accessories for their pegboard storage.
SERGE HILL PROJECT - GARDENS VISIT
Compost Heap - Serge Hill Project
Over the past six months our balcony at home has gradually been taken over by seed trays, pots and a growing collection of Niwaki tools.
My girlfriend, Beth, has been exploring how gardens and growing spaces can give people in cities access to plants, vegetables and community. Our balcony only catches the morning sun, with the overhang from the flat above meaning everything gets shuffled around to follow the light throughout the afternoon.
It's been great to watch her interest and knowledge grow over the past few months, along with enjoying the handfuls of fruits, herbs and the occasional vegetable that make their way into the kitchen every few days. You can follow her journey at @sometimesannuals.
Last Sunday we visited the Serge Hill Project, near St Albans, for its annual Plant Fair. The site is home to a rich variety of gardens, landscapes and buildings, all centred around learning, experimentation and exploring different approaches to growing.
We first came across Serge Hill through the Homing podcast with Matt Gibberd, co founder of The Modern House. In separate episode he speaks with Sue Stuart Smith and Tom Stuart Smith, who work with the land in different ways while sharing a common ethos.
As the Serge Hill Project describes it:
"The Project draws on Sue's work as a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and author of the bestselling book The Well Gardened Mind, which investigates the power of gardening to transform lives, as well as Tom's horticultural expertise as an internationally renowned landscape architect."
It was an inspiring place to spend the day, and a reminder that gardens can be much more than traditionally planted beds, bringing in sandy aggregates and less “pretty” ways of planting. They can become places of learning, care, community and quiet observation.
Pond at Serge Hill Project
JAIMUS TAYLOR - GREATER GOODS
The next episode of A Collection Of… Spaces is with designer, maker and founder of Greater Goods, Jaimus Tailor.
I visited Jaimus at his studio in Wood Green, North London, where Greater Goods has grown from a bedroom project into a multidisciplinary studio focused on textiles, workshops and creative collaborations.
Our conversation explores Jaimus' fascination with understanding how things are made. From teaching himself to sew after buying his first machine on eBay, to taking apart garments to understand their construction, making has always been a way of learning.
We also discuss the in person workshops that have become a core part of Greater Goods, creating accessible ways for people to discover making through sewing. Alongside client commissions and collaborative projects, we talk about Paperweight Club, a community based life drawing drawing club he started last year.
Throughout the conversation we return to ideas of curiosity, constraint and experimentation, reflecting on how limitations often lead to better creative outcomes, why understanding process creates a deeper appreciation for the objects around us, and how different ways of making reveal different ways of thinking.
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“Through conversation and photography, the ACO. Spaces series documents the relationship between people and place, revealing how surroundings can shape the way we observe, think and make.”
Planning continues for the HDTS Work Trade Residency I'll be taking part in this autumn in Joshua Tree, California.
The trip will also include a road trip through West Texas to visit Marfa and explore Donald Judd's home and spaces, another place that has been on my wish list for years. Open to tips on BBQ & land art for those long Texas roads.
As always, if anything here catches your interest, please do say hello 👋 I'm always happy to chat about techniques, materials, or the thinking behind how and why I've approached a project in a particular way.
Thank you,
Peter