The Memorial Workshop

Edition Six Feature
We Interview: Matt Loughlin
Location: Somerset, England, UK 
Photo Credit: ©Matt Loughlin @thememorialworkshop

Matt Loughlin swapped a career as a graphic designer in New York’s fashion industry for the more tangible craft of letter cutting and stone carving, in which he memorialises lost loved ones and the fleeting beauty of life.

What is it that you do and how do you do it? 

I’m still trying to figure out a good label, but I’m essentially a letter cutter and stone carver. I carve inscriptions and relief designs in stone by hand, the traditional way, with a hammer and chisel. The focus of my practice is generally commissioned memorial work – gravestones, cremation plaques and so on. I also create fine artwork, which is basically an extension of my memorial work, in that it tends to be ‘memento mori’ style pieces, also in stone.

Letter carving is really just rendering inscriptions in stone, whether the letters are cut into the stone or raised out of the stone in relief. Relief carving is more about carving ornamental designs or symbols or other graphic elements. Combining graphic elements with lettering and inscriptions is something I’ve really tried to push in my work.

How did it all begin? I believe you had a previous career as a graphic designer.

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