Making Spaces Committee

Our 2023 selection committee (including the heads of each organisation and others with a specific interest in craft including Kerryn Harper-Cuss - 3x Editor of British interiors magazines, Selina McCabe of Winch Design, Jay Blades and Bunny Turner of Turner Pocock) hand-picked their favourite 15 makers from these communities and provided them with an opportunity to display their products to an interior design audience.

Lousia Pacifico, Founder, Future Icons

Louisa Pacifico founded Future Icons in 2017, previously having been the Chief Executive of Craft Central and leading sales teams for both New Designers and Clerkenwell Design Week.

As founder of Future Icons, Louisa selects makers and designers to represent and nurture through business consultancy and curated showcases. Most notably, she developed and managed the curated showcases for The Future of Craft at London Craft Week, gallery venues within the iconic Burlington Arcade in Mayfair and was appointed VIP room curator for prestigious London Art Fair.

In addition to Future Icons, Louisa freelances as a consultant for venues across London, lectures at universities and colleges and has been appointed as an interior designer for private and corporate clients.

Deborah Pocock, CEO, QEST

Deborah has been the CEO of QEST since 2018, and immediately prior to that the Development Director of the Royal Warrant Holders Association for 5 years. Deborah is passionate about ensuring that regardless of background or circumstance everyone should have the opportunity and access to training in order to be able pursue a career as a professional maker, whether as a sole-trader or within industry.

Since QEST was founded in 1990, supporting the continuation and development of craft skills - and contributing to the thriving and valuable future of the UK craft industry - have been the core functions of the charity. Whilst we will continue to support more established makers through the Scholarship Programme, it is essential that we provide opportunity, inspiration and support to the next generation of professional makers so that they, in turn, can have fulfilling and creative careers, whatever their background or circumstance, whilst pushing the boundaries of materials and techniques ensuring that craft is relevant for the 21st century and beyond.

Selina McCabe, Senior Partner, Head of Interiors, Winch Design

Since joining Winch Design in 2007, Selina has become invaluable within the Interiors team. Her outstanding level of creativity has been evident in the multiple yacht, aviation and architectural projects which she has completed.

Selina now focuses on leading the Studio Winch team with an energy and enthusiasm that’s infectious, reverberating throughout the whole studio. Tirelessly managing FF&E and presenting concepts and schemes to clients, Selina also mentors the junior members of the team, encouraging them to be confident and creative in their decisions. Selina is also responsible for collaborations with other brand partners.

Joshua Hudson, Furniture Lead, Rycotewood Furniture Center

Josh Hudson heads up Rycotewood Furniture Center, within his role he develops and oversees the faculty on a day-to-day basis, engaging with students on all course levels and staying in contact with Rycotewood’s industry partners.

He teaches Rycotewood’s prestigious furniture manufacture apprenticeship programme using his vast industry knowledge and previous endeavours of taking his own apprentices to national final recognition to develop future industry makers.

After graduating from Rycotewood in 2001, he spent many years honing his skills within different timber industries. He then built an established business with his good friend over 15 years, specializing in high end internal cabinetry and heritage joinery working with high profile interior designers, architects, and private clients.

Jo Sealy, Head of Marketing, The Black Artisans

Jo is a London based photographer with a focus on close up and social documentary works. She is interested in subjects around culture, heritage and age and is currently touring photography exhibition: www.theblackartisans.org

She is also a marketing agency owner – specialisng in food, creative and tech clients and networks since 2005

Jay Blades, Founder, Jay & Co

A modern furniture restorer and eco designer devoted to sustainability, social enterprise and inclusion.

Best known for being an award winning presenter on TV, where his enthusiasm for reinvention and love for life shine through on many programmes, most notably The Repair Shop.

In addition to presenting, Jay spends time working on furniture projects for commercial and individual clients, running workshops and motivating disadvantaged people in the community.

Kerryn Harper-Cuss, Freelance Editor & Content Director

Respected interiors journalist Kerryn Harper-Cuss is a long-term advocate of British and indigenous craftsmanship as well as sustainable design. She has championed the stories of makers and the importance of heritage skills for more than 20 years, not only through her editorship of The English Home and House Beautiful magazines, but now as a freelance content creator and in her ambassadorial role with the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust.

At Decorex she regularly moderates seminars with erudite panels and was also sole judge of the Best in British Craftsmanship Award for nine years.

Fabienne O'Neill, Head of Operations, Cockpit

Fabienne heads up all aspects of business operations at Cockpit, including both operational and HR functions, in addition to property, commercial development, future development and strategy.

Fabienne is an entrepreneurial business leader bringing with her 12+ years’ experience in media, operational businesses, and property.

As an entrepreneur and executive consultant, over the past eight years Fabienne has created and lead award winning brands across artist studios, co-working, child care, hospitality and design, whose key focus was adapting to the changing way we work, whilst creating community-based platforms that meet the needs for great-design and a clear-eyed purpose.

Fabienne has been a regular speaker and judge at events such as Clerkenwell Design Week, Urban Living and The Frame Awards.

Sarah Myerscough, CEO, The New Craftsmen

As CEO of The New Craftsmen since November 2023, Sarah Myerscough brings a new creative vision to the strategic development of the brand, as a platform for genuine and meaningful craft, playfully imagined and properly made by artisans of the British Isles.

Sarah founded her eponymous gallery in 1998. At Sarah Myerscough Gallery, she represents a distinguished group of contemporary craft and design artists, whose practices are grounded in craft-making traditions but defined by contemporary innovation and invention. Through diverse making processes, they collectively embrace the complex intersections between history and future; hand and technology; form and function. Sarah’s position on the board of trustees for Cockpit Arts, since 2016, is representative of how she has become a key figurehead in the world of luxury craft and design.