Making Change

Make change by changing the way you make.POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE - we'll update you as soon as new details are announced.The Incorporation of Goldsmiths 4th Ethical Making Symposium, Change Making 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.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.The 2020 Change Making Symposium is open to students, makers and industry professionals and 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.Tickets can be purchased once the new date is announced.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, the second screening as part of the film's UK premiere followed by a Q&A session.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 and do this through their annual Symposiums, a range of grants, the Ethical Making Resource and the 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. They have hundreds of years of experience in third-party, independent assessment and 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, follow @incorporationofgoldsmiths on Instagram and subscribe to their newsletter at www.incorporationofgoldsmiths.org. Head to www.ethicalmaking.org to learn more about the Ethical Making Resource.