An Honest Representation of the Modern Maker
Available now is an even greater insight into the maker’s world. Our documentary series, An Honest Representation of the Modern Maker, takes a closer look at makers at work and the inspirations that drive them. It’s another beautiful way of sharing an individual’s story, which we hope will make our global community feel even more connected.
To get the series off the ground, we filmed the pilot episode here in Scotland, both to keep costs down and due to COVID-related travel restrictions. Funding the rough cut entirely out of publication sales and our personal savings, we’ve distilled more than 25 hours of stunning footage into a feature-length documentary. In March 2022, we launched a 30-day Kickstarter campaign to cover the cost of the final edit.
It might have been easier to simply pitch the idea to a major streaming service. But we made the tough decision to raise the finance, produce and license the documentary series ourselves, to retain complete control of our vision. We wanted to make sure that the series does exactly what we had envisaged it would do – which is to unwaveringly represent the makers.
All going well with the pilot, we’ll go straight into producing the second episode, focusing on the UK, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. We hope that this will build enough momentum and support to then take our small crew to the United States, Asia and beyond for the third instalment. Each episode will feature no more than a handful of makers, letting us get to know each of them in some depth. But we’ll also film other makers we happen to meet in the countries we visit, with a view to releasing additional shorts.
The pilot, the final cut of which will run to about one hour, features faces who will be familiar to readers of earlier editions of We Are Makers. Lucy MacDonald is the maker behind Arra Textiles, a hand weaving design studio in Aberdeenshire (see Edition 1). Sam Cooper and Richard Platt run the Marchmont Workshop, in the Scottish Borders, crafting traditional rush-seated chairs (Edition 3). Cecilia Stamp is a Glasgow-based jeweller who is heavily inspired by architecture (Edition 1).
Filmed over some sunny days in winter 2021– 2022 by cinematographer Danny Bonnar, with Guy Satchwell on sound, the pilot expertly captures what it is to immerse oneself in a craft. Deliberate and slow-paced, the documentary draws you into each maker’s world, spending time in their workspace and on location at places that fire their imagination and spark their creativity. While each maker’s story is unique, the episode weaves together the common threads into a cohesive narrative that touches on the struggles as well as the successes.
When we launched the inaugural edition of We Are Makers, many people couldn’t believe that it was our first ever publication. We hope that viewers of the documentary pilot will feel the same appreciation for our high production values. The atmosphere that it evokes echoes that of our publication. This is craft up close: an honest, purposeful and intensely personal look at the maker’s process and influences as much as the end product.
We can’t wait to hear people’s reactions to this first episode. We’re a community and we want you to be part of it. Having started off with 300 Instagram followers, we’re at nearly 33,000 now. And your feedback and ideas – on the publication and the documentary – really matter to us. Let us know what you think by emailing us at: wearemakersinfo@gmail.com
Look out for details of the pilot’s launch. Follow us on Instagram @weare_makers or subscribe to our e-newsletter via our website to find out when and where you can watch An Honest Representation of the Modern Maker.
Kate and Jack Lennie
Makers Featured
- Marchmont Workshop / https://themarchmontworkshop.com/
- Cecilia Stamp / https://ceciliastamp.com/
- Arra Textiles / https://www.arratextiles.co.uk/
Produced by: We are makers / https://wearemakers.shop/
Director of photography: Danny Bonner / https://www.dbonnarfilms.com/
Release date: April 2022
