This Spring New Forest Marque craft producers showcase at the New Forest Heritage Centre in a special exhibition

Following on from our successful partnership with the New Forest Heritage Centre last year, this April we are excited to bring you an exhibition showcasing the wares and skills of some of our talented New Forest Marque craft producers.

When you first think of the New Forest Marque, images of golden honey, fresh meat and homemade chutneys may come to mind, but in fact the Marque is not limited to food and drink producers, it supports local businesses across a wide range of categories.

One group the Marque proudly champions is a small niche of New Forest crafters that gather, produce or grow their materials within our special landscape. These crafters include wood and textile workers, potters, and jewellery makers, who live and create their wares locally, obtaining at least 25% of their materials from the land to meet the criteria for the New Forest Marque stamp.

This spring the Marque is fortunate to be partnering with the New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst, to showcase our curated group of crafters in a special exhibition. Alex Potter (photo above by Steve Poole), who designs and makes guitars from scratch in his studio in Sway is one of the New Forest Marque members taking part.

He explains,

‘If I can use an ash tree cut in Brockenhurst, processed in East Boldre and then further re-sawn in my workshop in Sway, that timber has potentially travelled less than 20 miles from tree to guitar. Using local, recycled and considerately sourced timbers does present challenges, but it also produces instruments with unique characters.
‘Buying local puts money into the local economy, but it also reduces airmiles, increases supply chain transparency and helps manage environmental impact. This is one of the reasons why I am a member of the New Forest Marque.’

Metalwork and jewellery designer Rosie Wesley is another talented Forest dweller exhibiting. Rosie gathers natural objects she finds in the Forest such as tree bark, acorns and leaves, and transforms them using direct casting techniques.