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Making east London
Historically known as a region of small makers, east London is still famous for its independent craftspeople. Creativity has always been a route to empowerment, as stitched by a Hackney schoolgirl in the 1600s: ‘May I learn both art and skill to get my living with my hands so I may be free.’
Some 300 years later, the founders of feminist printing press Lenthall Road Workshop echoed this message: ‘Once you start seeing yourself as a person who can do things then you're in a position to take control of your life.’
Written by: Georgia Haseldine, Senior Curator of V&A East Storehouse
Published: May 2025
Sourcebook for Design
- Museum Number
- E.287-2013
- Description
- London Olympic Cauldron model
- Artist/Maker
- Thomas Heatherwick
- Location and Date
- London, 2012
- Materials/Techniques
- Copper, Brass, Steel
- Museum Number
- E.225-2012
- Description
- Print-it-yourself
- Artist/Maker
- Lenthall Road Workshop
- Location and Date
- Hackney, c. 1985
- Materials/Techniques
- Ink, Paper, Screenprint
- Museum Number
- T.39-1935
- Description
- Sampler
- Artist/Maker
- Downes, Hannah
- Location and Date
- England, 1684
- Materials/Techniques
- Silk yarn, Linen (material), Embroidering