CRAFTING INNOVATIVE ENTERPRISES

Jeweller and metal smith Rohan Nicol offers a salutary look at establishing a financially sustainable studio-based craft and design practice, through linkages to Australian micro-manufacturing firms. The paper outlines practice-led research he undertook, describing a series of handcrafted prototypes that evolve through computer-aided design (CAD), into objects suitable for computer-aided manufacture (CAM). Nicol details the value of digital technologies in expanding the creative and commercial capacity of his studio craft practice through connections to local manufacturing partnerships. Nicol’s paper identifies the constructive potential of collaborative and cooperative linkages between studio craft and Australian micro manufacturing sector in driving product innovation. His findings identify issues impacting on the expansion of linkages between studio craft and manufacturing firms.