MEET THE MEMBERS | JAMES BAKER
James Baker | Aviva Funding Appeal.
James is a founding member at Indycube Community. Please watch the video below and help support James by voting for Hereford Make on the link provided. Each person has 10 votes and every one can make a difference. If we can get James over 3000 votes we can help to secure further funding for his makerspace in Hereford.
Help us help James, so he can help others. You can vote here: www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk
Hereford Make C.I.C. is a maker hub space for the craft community where creative people and makers come and work together to experiment, play and support each other in turning vocations into sustainable businesses.
The social enterprise was founded by James Baker after graduating his BA (hons) Contemporary Applied Arts at Hereford College of Arts. Finding no suitable workspace for his practice, with not enough space in his land lady’s shed, and realising others in the community were in a similar position the need for Hereford Make was clear. Incorporated at the end of 2011 and opening premises in October 2013 with a modest mixed media workshop, Hereford Make now has expanded, and currently hsa a specialist forge facility and studio space.
The forge is unique in the county for enabling individuals to pursue projects they want to make without any experience in forging. People using Hereford Make come from Bristol, London and Manchester to take advantage of the supportive environment in realising their designs. With Hereford being the home for the National School for Blacksmithing, the only BA (hons) Artist Blacksmithing in the country and the only MA where you can specialise in Blacksmithing, the publicly accessible forge supports the largest number of student blacksmiths in Europe.
The studio supports the community, in conjunction with the forge, in enabling individuals to try new processes. One of our biggest achievements has been enabling local artist, Tim Rawlins, to run bronze sculpture and pouring courses. Tim had struggled finding a suitable space to run courses and pour, stating “Normally when you ask a studio if you can pour bronze on their premises they say no straight away. James just needed to look at planning permission and insurance and I was able to get started. It was a refreshing change to have a 'can do' attitude studio.”
Youth services regularly use the resources available to help disadvantaged young people achieve accredited awards, try new skills and work collaboratively on projects with the opportunity Hereford Make provides. Wider community groups are utilising the skills Hereford Make has to offer in terms of manufacture, funding sources and designing. This provides work for the resident makers and supports communities' needs for education, refurbishment and productivity.
Hereford Make's future plans include having an IT suite, film making capabilities, photography studio and wood workshop to further support the community and individuals that want to better themselves, and to push the boundaries of what craft can achieve though specialist mixed media workshops and expertise.
