When looking at a product in a shop and deciding on something to buy, people often notice colour, shape or style before anything else. At Just Makers, we focus elsewhere.
For us, "well made" isn't a vague compliment. It's a standard that determines whether something earns its place in our shop or not.
Over time, we've realised that there are a few key things that consistently matter in deciding what has been well made:
1. Skills that have been learnt, not rushed
We look for artists who have taken time to learn their craft and continue to refine it. Skill shows up in the small details, such as confidence in form, consistency of finish and work that feels considered rather than hurried.
Take Lorna Gilbert, a much-loved Yorkshire ceramicist. Lorna trained in fine art, experimental textiles, floristry and ceramics, and has been working with clay for over 20 years from her garden studio in Yorkshire. That depth of experience shows. There’s a calmness and assurance in her pieces, shaped slowly on the wheel, where the joy she takes in the process is carried through into the finished product.
Well-made work doesn't come from short cuts. It takes time, repetition and care.
2. Carefully chosen materials
Quality isn't just about how something looks on the shelf in the shop or when you buy it at the till. It's about how it wears, lasts and stands the test of time.
We are drawn to artists who choose their materials carefully, whether that's sourcing locally whenever they can, working with ethical suppliers or consciously repurposing existing materials.
Nancy Jones, for example, repurposes vintage lightweight tins to create jewellery, giving discarded materials a new lease of life. As she puts it, her pieces allow people to "wear a piece of history". The material choice isn't a gimmick but an integral part of what she does and what her business stands for.
When materials have been chosen with intention, it is noticeable in the final product.
3. Work that isn't driven by trends
We’re not interested in pieces that feel like they are here one minute, gone the next. Well-made work has a sense of permanence. It’s the kind of thing you live with for years, and sometimes pass on.
The atmospheric oil paintings of Ailsa Read are a good example. Her work captures the changing spirit of the sea in a way that feels timeless rather than fashionable. They’re admired by people of all ages, because they’re rooted in observation and skill, not trends.
Good work doesn't need to shout to find a place. It just lasts as it is.
This is why we are selective...
This is why we are careful about what we stock, both in the shop and online.
Well-made work takes time. It carries skill, care and intention. It truly reflects the person who made it.
We take time to get to know the artists we work with, learning how they make, why they do what they do and what matters to them. That understanding plays a big part in what we choose to sell. We want to know and trust our artists, so that our customers can trust when they buy from us too.
If you like knowing how things are made, where they come from, and trusting that something has been made properly, you’ll feel at home at Just Makers.
And if you value fewer, better things over more ‘stuff’, then chances are that we’re already aligned.
