Behind The Scenes With Bard

This month, as the days begin to feel more autumnal, we’re looking forward to cosying up with our new Cashmere collection. As part of this launch, we’re celebrating Future Heritage with the location behind our AW24 Cashmere campaign shoot, Bard. This month’s theme celebrates the precision and permanence of expertly created designs, crafted to become heirlooms of tomorrow, which aligns perfectly with the ethos of Bard. 

Bard is a cult homewares destination and gallery situated at the docks of Leith, Edinburgh, which celebrates the heritage and future of Scottish craft simultaneously. At Bard they believe that living with craft can ground and elevate our daily experience, at home and in society. Bard was the perfect venue to act as a backdrop to visually showcase the heart of our values, and to celebrate modern Scotland.

At the heart of both brands is the goal of bringing to light the rich heritage, craftsmanship, and skill sets that have their home in Scotland, whilst reimaging contemporary Scotland and the value of craft in present-day life. 

We chatted with the Founders of Bard, Hugo and James, to ask a few questions about their life in Leith, why they set up Bard, and what Scottish craftsmanship means to them…

Can you please tell us a bit about your mission with Bard and why you felt it was important to create a place that celebrates Scottish craft?

We knew from our travels there is such a wealth of extraordinary craft practitioners all over Scotland, but we struggled to find a single place that brought Scottish craft and design together in a compelling way to discover, learn, touch, and buy it. We’ve always felt that craft is fascinating but should not be untouchable. Paying to see craft in an exhibition and then buying mass-manufactured, disposable homeware feels nonsensically disconnected. We hope Bard is an important thread tying these disparate realities together; people can see, touch buy, and understand the value of craft in life, as something to live with, to use, and love using – not just something to look at. 

You both come from design backgrounds - how do you feel your past experience influences what you do with Bard?

James is an architect and a designer, with a special interest in old buildings, materials, and all forms of making. He loves process and commissioning, and making space within rigid systems to enable craft to have a place. He is tenacious (as his husband I see this first-hand, and say it with great pride!). He is an excellent curator – bringing mood and atmosphere to life, by understanding the relationships between materials, ideas, and objects. It is not about titivating or arranging this with that – it’s a far more soulful exercise. 

I (Hugo) am a critic, editor, and consultant in the realm of design and craft. I enjoy telling stories, bringing experiences to life, and working out how ideas connect. I used to be the design editor of Monocle and brand director of Ilse Crawford’s multifaceted design studio, so I am interested in the intersection of different cultural disciplines. Today, I’m the Global Design Director at Wallpaper* Magazine and am lucky I get to travel a lot and meet people across several cultures and sectors. It helps to have this lens on life; working out what we have in common with others and also what makes us unique. 

Why is it important to you to bring Scottish craft to a global audience? 

Scotland looms large in the global imagination, thanks in no small part to the success of tartan, Nessie, whisky, bagpipes, and red hair – instantly recognisable emblems of Scottish-ness that have been successfully (rampantly) commercialised. We hope to add to people’s appreciation and knowledge of Scotland and Scottish ingenuity and resilience, by showing them that craft thinking and practice is widespread throughout the country and islands. The quality and range of work are exceptional, each case study telling a story of people and places meeting a need with a material - past, present, and future. 

What do you look for when selecting the makers and craftspeople you work with at Bard?

Our values are bold, kind, and fun – and to a certain degree, we measure all that we do against these qualities. Integrity of practice and quality of work are crucial aspects we look out for. We also seek out people who are responding to a sense of place and Scottishness in ways that can be explicit or implicit. But fundamentally it starts with relationships – do we feel it makes sense to work together, and will we all enjoy the process? There is a lot of communication required in setting up and maintaining the relationships we have with the people we collaborate with – life’s too short for all involved if we don’t enjoy being in touch and pulling in the same direction!

Can you tell us about any exhibits or projects you’re working on for the future of Bard? 

We are in the process of putting together a large winter group show at Bard of candlesticks called: A Scottish Enlightenment. Winter is coming; we need to be prepared. Beyond this, we are looking for a sponsor to take a show to New York next year. 

What does the spirit of ‘Modern Scotland’ mean to you?

Cheeky, weird, proud, canny, resourceful, liberal, passionate, proprietorial, modest, fierce, wild, camp, kitsch. Baked goods and beautiful berries. Young people doing excellent things born from passion and courage. Texas. Clare Grogan. Excellent tap water. Macaroni Pies. There are lots of contradictions in there, but it’s precisely these dichotomies that make Modern Scotland so compelling and seductive to so many. 

Where do you go to feel inspired?

Back home to the Isle of Skye, off-season, and for a walk either to Leitir Fura on Sleat, or Camasunary on Strathaird.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Remember to breathe.
Learn to say no, but say yes more often than no.
Try replacing ‘but’ with ‘and’ as often as possible.

What is the best part of your day working at Bard?

Having contact with people in the analogue world and seeing their delight in physical materials and human stories. It feels like a small but powerful case for humanity as we navigate our way around the fourth revolution of automation and AI. 

We love hearing about what is inspiring others. Tell us about a book, podcast, or show/movie we shouldn’t be missing right now?

Book: ‘Ways of Life: Jim Ede and the Kettles Yard Artists’ by Laura Freeman
Podcast: ‘Things Fell Apart’ by Jon Ronson
Show: ‘Art That Made Us’ on the BBC

What does the future hold for Bard? 

We are growing the studio and consultancy side of Bard, using our combined knowledge and experience to help other individuals, brands, and businesses, through interior design, creative direction, and storytelling. 

Shop the AW24 Cashmere collection here, photographed at Bard.