Paying homage to The Midlands’ post-industrial past, Made in the Middle explores a wealth of materialities by the region’s talented craft practitioners.

Showcasing over 30 diverse artists, Craftspace’s 'Made in the Middle' celebrates the rich creative landscape of the Midlands.

Taking place at Leicester Gallery, De Montfort University, the now ninth series of Made in the Middle draws together a wide selection of regional artists whose work offers a unique glimpse into the distinctive characteristics of the region.

Reflecting its post-industrial past through the wealth of materials on display, the exhibition tackles timely subject matter such as climate change and environmental responsibility, and in addition explores the tangible growing identity of the region’s culture informed by migration.

Providing a platform for both emerging and established artists, the exhibition starlights a myriad of making techniques, including textiles, ceramics, mixed media, jewellery, metalwork and biomaterials.

A further 6 artists - including renowned sculptors Halima Cassell and Chris Day - have been invited by Guest Curator, Jazz Swali, to emphasise the enriching cultural impact and creative influence global migration has had on the region.

Here we share some of the materially curious top spots from this year’s showcase...

Natalie Cole - Wolverhampton

A furniture designer for over ten years, Natalie Cole has recently pivoted her practice towards circular economy based making, developing biodegradable materials from agricultural and food waste.

Natalie’s craft-based approach explores open-source recipes for new materials, analysing their properties and production processes. For 'Made in the Middle', she produced a series of trinket boxes, candle holders, and bud vases using food waste streams produced from tea, bananas, oranges, mussel, and oyster shells.

Designed for easy disassembly, all components are biodegradable or recyclable. By diverting nutrient-rich waste from landfills, Natalie's work transforms 'waste' into beautifully useful objects that can ultimately feed nutrients back into the soil - closing the loop in the circular economy.

Discover more here.

Olivia Ricketts - Nuneaton

Environmentally driven designer, Olivia Ricketts develops sustainable and adaptable pieces of furniture that reject consumerism and in turn encourage lifelong connections.

Olivia's 'stool for life' series employs environmentally conscious and durable materials such as ash, cork and felt, whilst using no permanent fixings or glue. This allows for recycling and re-use. The stools have interchangeable elements set within a frame, which can evolve through the owner's lifecycle.

Discover more here.

Johnny Armstrong - Hereford

Inspired by abandoned buildings across Europe, Herefordshire-based sculptor, Johnny Armstrong uses alpha plaster and Jesmonite pigments to explore the weathering and decay of buildings. Implementing a bright palette, Johnny also takes note from patterns and textures also found in graffiti whilst sandcasting his pieces.

His recent work, influenced by war-damaged structures in Ukraine and Gaza, reflects a conflicted perspective - both beauty and horror in destruction.

By use of bold shapes and bright colours, Johnny's pieces offer a stylised aesthetic quality, whilst capturing the contradictory allure of collapsed architecture and scattered debris.

Keeley Traae - Newcastle under Lyme

Keeley Traae fuses classic silhouettes, geometric patterns and mid-century design into her 3D printed vases. Produced using PLA (Polylactic Acid), a corn starch-based material, each vessel is biodegradable and features ribbed, faceted, and fluted designs with unique tactile finishes.

The printing process creates distinctive grooves, ensuring each piece is individual. Keeley's work explores playful and unexpected colour combinations, blending modern technology with timeless aesthetics.

Discover more here.

Keisha Brittle - Leicester

A recent graduate from De Montfort University, Keisha Brittle crafts bespoke, decorative homeware using blown glass.

Her vibrant, organic forms are reflective of her journey of reconnecting with family heritage, influenced from coastal family holidays and Caribbean roots. Each unique creation embodies a personal story, linking Keisha's cultural identity to her art.

Fascinated by the unpredictability of the glass-blowing process, she embraces the material's organic movement, allowing each piece to develop its own form and character.

Discover more here.

Verity Howard - Hereford

Ceramics practitioner, Verity Howard is a hand-builder and slip decorator. Merging these techniques, Verity creates sculptural forms that are reminiscent of the Herefordshire landscape.

Inspired by Alfred Watkins' early 1900s photographs and mysterious place names marked on his maps, her 'Sacrificial Stone Series 2' evokes surreal, stone-like imagery. For 'Made in the Middle', Verity showcases bulbous mountain-like forms using black and white stoneware clay, applying texture and printing techniques with coloured slips.

Influenced by the Black Mountains landscape, she has crafted curved, recessed forms - blending her personal connection to the rural Herefordshire landscape with contemporary ceramic craft processes.

Discover more here.

Interested in exploring some of the very best of Midland’s based making? Catch Made in the Middle at Leicester Gallery until Saturday 22 March.