Manhattan has lofts, London has warehouses, Dundee has mills.
Giant, impressive disused buildings ripe for refurbishment and reminders of Dundee’s 19th century history as a textile trading capital.
There are no working mills left in Dundee today, but Meadow Mill home to WASPS’s 58 artists studios and gallery space over 4 floors, remains as industrious as ever.
This weekend at Meadow Mill, a party was thrown to celebrate the whirlwind first year of Vanilla Ink, a first of its kind jewellery studio providing a 1 year development programme for graduate jewellery designers.
In just 12 months, founder Kate Pickering, a graduate of the Masters of Design for Services at Duncan of Jordanstone has started her business idea from scratch based at WASPS.
Vanilla Ink set out to foster 8 talented jewellers, who are now in a better place to operate their own individual businesses. Along the way Kate fundraised £8,000 to take Vanilla Ink to International Jewellery London and has been crowned a Trailblazer in Professional Jeweller Magazine’s Top 100 List, and has recruited the next group of designers for 2013-2014.
Kate, funny and modest, says its been an incredible year and she hopes to see the concept, delivered with the help of the creative community in Dundee, grow in other cities.
Visit Vanilla Ink Studios for details of resident jewellery designers and jewellery making courses.
Across the road from Meadow Mill is Verdant Works , Scotland’s Jute Museum.
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