At the last HammerClub meeting in Dundee Dr Gordon Hamme introduced a short summary of his PhD thesis Crafting the 21st UK Artisan-Silversmith: Exploring the Elements of a Silversmith Development Framework. A number of people expressed interest in reading the final document, and now a link to it is published on the HammerClub website.
[Crafting the 21st Century UK Artisan-Silversmith]
The thesis outlines a brief history of British silversmithing up until the contemporary period. The balance of the thesis discusses the motivations of being an artist craftsperson followed by an analysis of the 60 interviews he undertook over the 5 year period of his research. Finally the thesis draws conclusions on the future development of the industry. For those who just want a flavour of the study the final chapter acts as a summary.
Dr Hamme would appreciate comments and analysis of his thesis from you to gordon@hamme.co.uk