Lauren Taylor is a British designer, based in south Manchester. Following a jewellery summer school at the Goldsmiths Centre, Lauren unearthed a passion for contemporary craft and handmade jewellery, and after graduating from Manchester School of Art in Three Dimensional Design, she continued her studies there, and completed a Jewellery Masters Degree in 2015.
Inspired by Manchester’s roots in the industrial revolution, Lauren hand spins cotton thread into rope, embedding time and skill into the very fibres of her jewellery. Lauren believes that the ordinary should be celebrated. She challenges preconceptions of luxury, combining unconventional jewellery materials with traditional techniques; she produces work with a strong contemporary feel.
Lauren is proud to have been established as new talent by the Crafts Council UK, and was part of their emerging maker support course, Hothouse 2016.
All work is made in Lauren’s south Manchester studio where the focus is producing high quality, hand crafted products.
MATERIALS & PROCESS
Celebrating humble materials is something Lauren feels passionately about; she believes non traditional jewellery materials can be made precious when combined with a craft persons skill and creative mindset. All Lauren Taylor jewellery is made from 100% cotton which is sourced in the North West. Every piece of rope starts life as a ball of yarn, each strand of yarn is measured by hand and twisted into rope by Lauren. Aluminium tube, bought from a local builders merchant, is measured, pierced, filed and polished by hand. The material combination, results in a collection of lightweight, tactile, statement pieces.
TRAINING
AWARDS & ACHIEVMENTS
2015 MA Design: Jewellery, Manchester School of Art
2014 BA (Hons) Three Dimensional Design, Manchester School of Art
2014 Going Freelance, Manchester Business School
2013 Goldsmiths Centre Undergraduate Summer School, London
Selected for GNCCF Live, Plant Noma, Manchester, 2017
Invited to hold a solo pop-up shop in Carnaby, London, 2016
Design Event Hothouse Showcase, Assembly House, Newcastle, 2016
Crafts Council Hothouse Programme, 2016
