Collect 2017, Luxury British Craft

This week, I went along to see Collect 2017 at the Saatchi Gallery. Collect describes itself as 'The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects', and I like objects, particularly beautiful handmade ones very much. So off I went to the Saatchi Gallery and spent the afternoon perusing all these weird and wonderful things.37 galleries, selected by a panel of experts, were touting their wares - beautiful things, ceramics, jewellery, wood, metal and textiles, all made by established artists and makers.They also had a section entitled Collect Open, which features more conceptual craft, from up-and-coming makers.My most exciting finds were:Vicki Amberley-Smith at Contemporary Applied Arts who creates the most amazing metal work jewellery and boxes. I particularly like her rings with tiny towns on them 😍.Shoko Koike at the Dukto Gallery who creates flower-like large scale stoneware sculptures. The 'petals' on White Form II look amazingly like hugely exaggerated real Magnolia petals.Hugh Miller's 'The Coffee Cermony' - a long low table made from British elm, dedicated to drinking coffee. It has small brass rods protruding at one end specially designed to hold a hot kettle, and carved trays that hang beneath for storing all your coffee apparatus. Influenced by Japanese design and Western cabinetry techniques.Domitilla Biondi's 'Paper Poetry' - at first I thought these white discs with exquisite bas-relief patterns, were carved in porcelain. On closer inspection, they are actually carved pieces of paper or 'sculpted paper'. Biondi carves smooth white cardboard with a surgical knife, creating intricate patterns and images. And, most incredibly, the card always remains as a whole, she never removes even a tiny piece when carving her creations.I did get a little snap happy in general, there were so many beautiful objects and I hope you enjoy the photos, and keep scrolling ☺️.Alice xxx

Galerie Rosemarie Jager