thorp-2010

For several years I had arranged an educational visit for students of the Leeds College of Art's Foundation Degree/ BA(Hons) Furniture Making course to Thorp Perrow Arboretum in Bedale, North Yorkshire- see images to the right. During this time I became quite familiar with the collection of trees and to know some of the staff. As a teacher I am always trying to find ways to make the learning students experience relevant to what they are likely to experience once they leave education and join the world of work. Live projects that will work with course modules are one way of helping students develop an ability to work for real customers.

In the summer of 2009 I met with the manager and the owners of Thorp Perrow Arboretum, Sir John and Lady Nikki Ropner. At this meeting the Ropners kindly agreed to sponsor a live project within

a course module and brief which entailed the students designing and making furniture or artefacts to place within the grounds of the arboretum: a maximum materials budget was agreed to be divided equally between each student whose design was sponsored to completion and installation.

The features of the sponsorship were as follows:

Three awards, rising in value, for the student design presentations deemed to be the most professional and that best satisfied the design brief.
The Ropners would cover the material costs of up to three of the submitted design proposals.

The students visited the arboretum so that the Ropners could introduce them to the design brief and to survey the proposed sites where furniture or artefacts were required. Following the early October visit a design presentation date at Leeds College of Art was agreed with the Ropners so that they (and myself as the module leader) could judge the designs submitted and

assess the winners of this element of the project. Design presentation winners were, in order of award, Henry Bagshawe, Joe Benali and Max Eastwood.

At the same time the Ropners decided which designs they wished to sponsor to completion and installation at the arboretum, and at this point they came up with a surprise because they decided they wished to sponsor four pieces, not the agreed three maximum. Henry Bagshawe, Joe Benali, Harry Greaves and Elizabeth Nutbrown designed the pieces sponsored
.
These four students went ahead and built their pieces which were installed at the arboretum in mid-March 2010 followed by an inauguration ceremony on March 26. The rest of the students in the group that did not receive either design prizes or sponsorship were still required to complete a piece for assessment to satisfy and pass the module. Their choices were to:

Make their proposed design full size and find an alternative location in which to place it after completion
Make their proposed design as an exact scale model
Adapt their design for a different end use or made on a different scale, eg, modify a long bench design to a short seat or chair.
Design and make a new item for a different set of circumstances

Richard Jones Furniture

Below are completed pieces from this live project that were adapted or redesigned by the student for a different end use.