The Motor House - A new Chapter
The Motor House: A New Chapter
Last Sunday we had the great pleasure of meeting the charismatic Director of Motor House Arts, Bob Richmond.
We began the day driving down in Liam's seven-seater, super-ergonomic people carrier for a rendezvous at a nearby sawmill demonstration. We were met with free pizza, tea, coffee and most importantly Dave the Log Man. We discussed machinery for processing big round trees into small square sticks, took a look at some very fancy live-edge yew and a nice bit of ash, all in order to get started on some new collaborative projects.
After saying our goodbyes to Log Man Dave, we departed for the Motor House — with James (narrator) riding shotgun in the Bobmobile. On the way Bob and I discussed the importance of providing access to craftspeople, artists and creative individuals, the political landscape, the design landscape, and both the future as well as the past.
Upon arrival at the Motor House we were taken on a tour, and later sat down on the balcony to discuss how we can work together as the start of a new and exciting long-term collaborative project. Over some cracking cheese and Bob's homemade apple chutney, we discussed the history of the Motor House and its deep connections to the Arts and Crafts movement, Enzo Mari chairs, Bob's work assisting communities in Japan, the philosophies of John Ruskin, and most importantly the future.
The Arts and Crafts movement was born out of a reaction to industrialisation — a belief that making things by hand, with care and intention, was inseparable from living well and building fairer communities. In an age of mass production, algorithmic consumption and growing disconnection from how things are made, that discussion feels more relevant than ever. The Motor House carries that lineage forward, and we're very grateful to be part of that conversation.
We also discussed the details and nature of our collaboration. AfterGraft will be entering into a residency partnership with Motor House Arts — working alongside Bob to help establish workshops, making programmes and residency opportunities for the wider creative community in the North of England, and hopefully nationally.
We'll be sharing more updates on this very exciting new project here and through our website — discussing how we will be working with Bob and Motor House Arts CIC to develop and create new work together, share ideas, and explore ways to plant new seeds and cultivate more opportunities in the North of England.
