Designer's Statement
Designs must express a strong sense of growth, movement and vitality – a reaching for dynamic imagery in silver. Essentially, the designer is working in a sculptural manner, shaping and manipulating the ductile metal to create forms in space.
This creative process requires an insight into the quality of light and how this can reveal and define the planes, contours and textures of the finished piece.
The exhilaration of taking a raw initial concept and shaping it into a significant and unique artefact is the essence of the designers motivational experience.
Don Porritt, 2010
Jeweller's bench, pencil drawing 1961
Biographical Notes
| 1933 | Born in Pudsey, West Yorkshire |
| 1944-48 | Littlemoor Secondary School, Pudsey |
| 1948-49 | Trainee cabitnetmaker at Dalescraft Furniture, Pudsey |
| 1949-54 | Apprentice jeweller and silversmith to Marcus Thain, Leeds. Evening class studies, Leeds College of Art - Jewellery, silversmithing and engraving |
| 1954-56 | National Service, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - armourer |
| 1956-59 | Returned to Marcus Thain workshop, Leeds. Continued evening class studies at Leeds College of Art |
| 1958 | City & Guilds of London Institute, Intermediate Diamond Mounting and Jewellery First Prize, Bronze Medal |
| 1959 | Full-time studies, Leeds College of Art |
| 1959-61 | Intermediate Certificate in Art & Craft |
| 1961-63 | National Diploma in Design, Industrial Design |
| 1963-64 | Industrial design trainee at Crompton Parkinson Ltd, Doncaster |
| 1964 | Established design office and studio, Leeds - industrial design, silversmithing |
| 1965 | Appointed Assistant Lecturer in Design, Leeds College of Art. Visited Finland and Holland (RSA Bursaries) |
| 1971 | Elected Member of Society of Industrial Artists and Designers (SIAD) |
| 1992 | Resumed to full-time activity as designer-silversmith |
| 1996 | Elected Member of the Association of British Designer Silversmiths (ABDS) |
Exhibitions
| 1966-71 | Group exhibitions with the Crafts Council of Great Britain |
| 1966 | Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol |
| 1969 | City Art Gallery, Plymouth |
| 1969 | Lincolnshire Association, Lincoln |
| 1971 | Herbert Art Gallery, Conventry |
| 1974 | Goosewell Gallery, Menston (solo) |
| 1976 | 'Loot', Goldsmiths' Hall, London |
| 1977 | 'Loot', City Art Gallery, Leeds |
| 1977 | 'Through Silver to Steel' (solo) Faculty of Art & Design, Doncaster Park Square Gallery, Leeds Lantern Gallery, Manchester |
| 1980 | SIAD North East Region Exhibition, York |
| 1981 | 'Drawings and Photographs' (solo), Leeds Polytechnic Gallery |
| 1983 | Photographs, The Studio, Menston (solo) |
| 1997 | ABDS 'Millennium Canteen', City Museum, Western Bank, Sheffield |
| 1998 | Silver and Tea exhibition, Goldsmiths' Hall, London |
| 1998 | ABDS Silver Show, Leighton House, London |
| 1998 | Millennium Canteen, Sheffield City Council |
| 2000-2004 | Goldsmiths' Fair, London |
| 2001 | ABDS British Silver – a Sterling Adventure, Keith Lipert Gallery, Washinton USA and Royal Cornwall Musuem, Truro |
| 2002 | Silver as Water Zilverkunst, Schoonhoven, The Netherlands |
| 2004 | Creation, Goldsmiths' Hall, London |
| 2005 | Design in Fine Metal, Clitheroe |
| 2006 | A Showpiece in Silver, Schoonhoven, The Netherlands |
| 2006-2007 | ABDS Ten Exhibitions, Bath, Birmingham and London |
| 2006 | ORIGIN Crafts Council, Somerset House, London |
| 2007 | ABDS CONNECT Collection and the CONNECT Conference, Aston University, Birmingham |
| 2007 | Moments of Indulgence ABDS/SGMT, Millennium Gallery, Sheffield |
| 2007 | Goldsmiths' Fair, London |
| 2008 | British Silver Week Goldsmiths' Hall (launch) and Lesley Craze Gallery, London |
| 2008 | Treasures of Today, Silver from Goldsmiths' Hall, London 1980-2008, Dublin. Satellite exhibitions at Design Yard and Eblana Galleries, Dublin |
| 2009 | British Silver Week, Launch exhibition, Goldsmiths' Hall The Master's Exhibition, Chatsworth House John Higgins Contemporary Silver, Bath and Tetbury Payne & Son S.J. Philips, London Styles Silver, Hungerford |
| 2009 | Side x Side Edge to Edge, Hameenlinna Castle, Finland |
| 2009 | Side by Side Edge to Edge Contemporary British and Finnish Silversmiths, Liverpool Hope University |
| 2009 | Metal Marvels, The Craft Centre and Design Gallery, City Art Gallery, Leeds |
| 2010 | Treasures of Today, Silver from Goldsmiths' Hall, London 1980-2008, Ruthin Craft Centre, North Wales |
| 2010 | BRITISH SILVER WEEK, Launch Exhibition- Pangolin London, Styles Silver, Hungerford, David Fowkes Gallery. Thoresby Park. Newark |
| 2010 | "Side by Side Edge to Edge" Contemporary British and Finnish Silversmiths, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro |
| 2010 | London Design Festival, V&A |
| 2010 | Museums Sheffield Metalwork Design Award, Millenium Gallery Sheffield |
| 2011 | British Silver Week at Inhorgenta international trade fair, Munich |
| 2011 | BRITISH SILVER WEEK 2011 |
| 2011 | 'Festival of Silver' at Pangolin Gallery, London, Butcher Works Gallery, Sheffield & Hamilton & Inches, London |
| 2011 | A Century of Silver and Metalwork from the Margo Grant Walsh Collection, San Fransisco Airport Museum April - September 2011 |
| 2012 | Contemporary British Silversmiths 'Fit for Purpose' at V&A, London,March - August 2012 |
| 2012 | Festival of Silver with Styles Silver, Goldsmith's Centre in Clerkenwell, 10-14th July 2012 |
Awards/Competitions
| 1962 | Royal Society of Arts Industrial Arts Bursaries Competition, commendation |
| 1963 | Royal Society of Arts Industrial Arts Bursaries Competition, bursary for electric light fittings. Copper Development Association Bursary. |
| 1964 | North of England Design Competition (Cutlery and Holloware), sponsored by Sheffield Design Council, Second Prize and commendation. Designs for the Future. |
| 1973 | Goldsmiths' Company Travelling Fellowship, to Poland, Finland, USSR, Sweden and Norway |
| 2010 | Museums Sheffield Metalwork Design Award 2010 |
Publications
| 1979 | Modern Design in Metal, Richard Stewart, John Murray, London |
| 1993 | Cricket Review (AXA Equity & Law League Trophy) |
| 1996 | BAFTA Awards (Lloyds Bank BAFTA Awards) |
| 1998 | Autosport (Formula Ford World Finals Trophy), 23 October 1997 |
| 1998 | Silver and Tea, a Goldsmiths' Company exhibition catalogue |
| 1999 | Silversmithing – A Manual of Design and Techniques, Keith Smith, The Crowood Press |
| 2000 | British Silver – A Sterling Adventure, ABDS |
| 2001 | Silver as Water, Silver Gallery, Schoonhoven, Holland |
| 2004 | Creation – An insight into the mind of the modern silversmith, a Goldsmiths' Company exhibition catalogue and video |