Today we are joined by Jess Wheeler. Jess is a designer and artist based in North Wales. She works across a variety of disciplines from set to homeware design and her cross disciplinary approach has a unified, nostalgic, nature driven narrative. 

 I greatly admire not just the pieces that Jess creates but also her route and methods. In fact a bronze rhubarb from her collection was the first purchase I made for my own studio before I even had a desk. She seems to have an unquenchable thirst for experimentation, for new materials, contexts and stories. 

One of the aspects I think is most distinct about Jess is that she has begun, developed and expanded her own workshop deep in the wilds of Wales. It is a workshop of ideas. It is a place of trial and error. It is a place of learning. It is filled with people with new skills and those with hard-won expertise. It is noisy production and natural beauty. It is rugged and raw and suspiciously photogenic. 

We are lucky enough in this episode to hear more of Jess’ adventures in creativity, how she came to the current chapter of lighting across brass, bronze and plaster, life in Wales, the influence of the natural world, the people around her and what the future holds.