Change Making Symposium

Please join us for our annual ethical making symposium, Change Making, at the Glasgow School of Art.

Make change by changing the way you make.

Innovative and thoughtful design and material choice are the cornerstones of ethical making and making to create positive change. Design is where new ideas are born, with the potential to disrupt damaging patterns and enact real change. Material choice can account for up to 95% of a product's social and environmental impact. Choosing materials that are responsibly sourced, that reduce waste and promote social welfare is critical in the process of making for change. Combining this with innovative design transforms how and why we make, creating a better future of making.

Join the Incorporation of Goldsmiths for their 4th Ethical Making Symposium, Change Making. This year our conference will focus on how through innovative design strategies and alternative sourcing methods, jewellers and makers can design out waste, source ethically and create better brands-- to make for change. We welcome all students, makers and industry professionals to attend.

The 2020 Change Making Symposium will be hosted by the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) in partnership with GSA Sustainability.

The symposium talks will address Scotland’s design culture and legacy of ethical making, what sustainable materials are and how they can make positive change, and circular economy design principles.

Speakers and suppliers will include:

Dr Stacey Hunter, Design Curator and Producer

Kira Kampmann, Marc’Harit Pearls

Mary Michel, Ostrero, Circular Economy Research

Maira Toledo Rodrigues, Gemstones Brazil

Stuart Pool, Nineteen48 Gemstones

Betts Metals

Fairtrade

Fairmined

And more to be announced!

After a morning of engaging talks from makers, suppliers and researchers, there will be an ethical supplier fair in the afternoon for attendees to talk to suppliers and learn more about ethically sourced materials, followed by a drinks reception.

We will then be screening The Shadow of Gold, a new documentary examining the global gold trade, in partnership with the Fair Luxury Group. This will be the second screening as part of the films UK premiere. A Q&A will follow the screening.

There will be ample time for networking in the morning over coffee and during the evening drinks reception.

Ticket price includes:

• Tote bag on arrival
• Morning coffee and cake from 9:00 to 10:00
• Lecture series
• Supplier Fair
• Evening drinks reception
• Networking with industry professionals
• Screening of documentary film The Shadow of Gold with Q&A

Please bring a reusable water bottle with you to the event.

Attendees may also register for a workshop in the afternoon (tickets are first come first serve and sold separately). Scotland-based maker Jo Pudelko will be leading a practical jewellery workshop in which attendees will be reconstructing pre-owned jewellery into new pieces .

The Incorporation of Goldsmiths is committed to helping makers on their journey towards ethical making. We do this through our annual Symposiums, a range of grants, our Ethical Making Resource and our Ethical Making Pledge with the Scottish Art Colleges.

The Ethical Making Resource has been created by the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh, which trades as the Edinburgh Assay Office, and is Scotland's oldest consumer protection group. We have hundreds of years of experience in third-party, independent assessment and we are now applying that experience to one of the most important issues in the industry today: making ethically and sustainably in a global world.

For more updates on the symposium and the Incorporation of Goldsmiths, please follow us @incorporationofgoldsmiths on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter at www.incorporationofgoldsmiths.org. Head to www.ethicalmaking.org to learn more about our Ethical Making Resource.

We are currently monitoring advice regarding COVID-19. At the moment, there is no need to cancel our event. In the event that recommendations are made to limit public gatherings and we are required to cancel, we will offer a full refund for tickets.