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Having not been able to attend last year's Summer Fair, I was delighted that Nigel asked again! My colleague, Lee, and I packed the car to the roof with oddities from the Robert Welch Design Archive and off we trundled up the M5.
I had decided to show some of Robert's one-off student pieces, as well as some models and a production sample. The small display prompted some fascinating chats throughout the day and I learnt a lot from the many club members who popped by to share their wisdom with us both. The highlight of the day for me was learning that Paul Bakewell also has one of the pots from the unique 1959 coffee set which I was displaying. However, whilst it may no longer be the only one, it remains beautiful and provides a valuable lesson - never say never!
Events such as this provide such a wonderful way to learn more about the collection which I am custodian of. The objects and documents themselves can't speak, so to talk directly with people who worked with or knew Robert helps me to build up my picture of the man and his methods, information which will then be reflected in the recording of his archive. I look forward to learning more over the coming years and being able to tell a richer story because of it.
Thanks again for having us; Lee says it's been the highlight of her year so far - but that might just be because Nigel had been re-polishing everything in preparation ....
Note - Charlie's absence last year was because she was away on her hen party!
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