Metalworker Rachael and glassblower Allister win Environmental Sustainability Awards 2024
4th December 2024 | ANNOUNCEMENTS | OUR STORIES
Metalworker Rachael Colley from Sheffield and glassblower Allister Malcolm from Stourbridge have won Environmental Sustainability Awards, through a partnership between Heritage Crafts and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST). They both received £1,000 prizes and specially-commissioned trophies at a presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.
The first award was for a craftsperson or microbusiness demonstrating an innovative approach to environmental sustainability, rarely before seen, that can act as inspiration for others to explore new ways of thinking and working. Rachael Colley creates jewellery and ambiguous eating implements that challenge our collective connections with food. Through the re-imagining of historic craft skills and the elevation of food waste as a luxury material, her jewellery questions traditional notions of preciousness and value, while highlighting issues of consumption and waste, transforming citrus peel into a biodegradable luxury leather alternative.
The second award recognised the achievements of a craftsperson or microbusiness that has made measurable progress in transforming the environmental impact of their craft business, through a series of incremental changes and improvements. Allister Malcolm is an Honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers due to his commitment to the British glass scene, helping raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Stourbridge Glass Museums. In the past 12 months he has converted his glass studio from fossil fuels to renewable electricity, installed three-phase solar power, and worked with a UK manufacturer to enhance an electric furnace design. It is the first time such measures have been combined in this way.
The trophies for these award have been made by pole-lathe wood turner Geoff Hannis, one of QEST’s emerging makers. The take the form of handled natural-edge bowls made from wych elm, cut from a Mendips hedgerow and destined for firewood. The bases are made from hardwood recycled from the SS Great Britain deck by the Bristol Wood Recycling Project.
Judges for these awards included design consultant and journalist Roddy Clarke, independent editor Kerryn Harper-Cuss, QEST CEO Debbie Pocock LVO, and Heritage Crafts Trustee Jo Sealy.
Heritage Crafts and QEST believe we can (and must) all play a role in building a sustainable future – small changes by many can amount to big changes for all. They hope that, by sharing their stories, other makers can be inspired to make sustainable changes where possible.
Photo: Rachael Colley and Allister Malcolm, winners of the 2024 Environmental Sustainability Awards, with Jo Sealy, Heritage Crafts Trustee. Photo by Robert Wade.