Projects

Designs in Mind

Designs in Mind is our unique not-for-profit design house.  Every product tells a story celebrating the creative talents of the group.  Everyone has the opportunity to be involved in the creation of new designs.  Individual members can take on a number of roles in the development of this new venture. 

We have been working with Andrew Tanner, award winning artist, to develop a new income stream, designing a retail range of goods to sell on a commercial basis.  The Project Group, through Designs in Mind, will create the surface designs, out source the manufacturing, and sell through established outlets. 

The first step on our journey into this new enterprise was targeted skills training for our members.  We secured funding from Awards for All to facilitate a series of Skills for Enterprise Workshops with established designer makers Andrew Tanner and Stella Corrall.

To help us develop a logo for our Designs in Mind products we held a workshop in the studio with graphic designer Koo.  The group explored many ideas and found the day very stimulating.

As part of Design Nation Eureka Project we invited award winning designer Ella Doran to facilitate a series of workshops for us to develop surface designs for a range of our own giftware.  Our first products were unveiled to an invited audience at the Designs in Mind launch event in our studio on 5th December 2012.

Designed in England: A Royal Commission

Our first commission, from Designed in England, was to create a design for a piece of Royal Winton Fine China, to commemorate the Queens Diamond Jubilee.  This was a wonderful opportunity for members to have fun being creative with a variety of medium and put forward their own individual designs. 

A selection of the designs:

Working closely with Andrew Tanner, of Designed in England, the chosen designs were placed on Royal Winton Fine China mugs and plates.  There was great excitement when the package arrived at the studio revealing the finished products.  They are on sale by contacting the Project Group and through the Designed in England website. 

Unpacking the finished products:

As part of her Diamond Jubilee year, the Queen visited Shropshires celebrations at Cosford on 12th July.  A group from the Project Group were there to enjoy the day, participate in the pageant and host a stand in the Best of Shropshire hanger, displaying our work and the jubilee mug and plate.  Project Group member Chris was chosen to accompany Gabi to the reception to meet the Queen, and was privileged to shake her hand and tell her about the Project Group.  We gifted one of our celebratory mugs and plates to the Queen which we were told were well received.

The Jubilee mug was designed by The Project Group, costs £14.00, and the Jubilee plate was designd by Jessica Harris and Mascha Willutzki, costs £40.00.  Please add £3.50 for each item for package and postage.  

Jubilee mug and plate:

Contact The Project Group for more information and to place an order.