Hello readers, and welcome to our latest instalment of our Proper People blog - our space to shine a light, doff the cap, shake the hand, and give a hearty Lancashire pat on the back to makers and creators we admire.
In today’s episode, and featured heavily across our Axis campaign films, we visit our friend Jason Stocks-Young at his leather workshop in Woodend Mill, Mossley.
Jason makes things the way they used to be made, and he's spent over a decade proving why that's still worth doing.
ABOUT JASON
At Diamond Awl Leather Workshop, located in Woodend Mill in Mossley, Jason works almost entirely with vegetable-tanned leather: a waste product turned into something built to last 20 years. The mill itself carries decades of craftsmanship heritage, and Jason's adding his own chapter to it.
Commissioned work keeps him at the bench, but teaching matters just as much. His workshops are a safe place to learn traditional leatherwork, kept small because everyone learns differently. People leave knowing how to measure, prepare, stitch and finish leather themselves, and it gives them a chance to slow down, take their time, and come away with a bit of an identity in the process. "I'm a better person doing craft," Jason says.
He puts a lot of that down to Lancashire itself, a community he's proud to be part of, supportive and inclusive, one that's embraced craft as a way of bringing people together, young and old. Shoes, he reckons, are one of the pillars of craft that this industry does properly.
Jason's work has featured on BBC Two's ‘Saved and Remade’ and BBC One's ‘Made in Great Britain’. He's a member of the Guild of Master Craftsmen, served on the Equity Advisory Council supporting the Craft Council's development work, and judged Collect Open at Somerset House. He now sits on the board of the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair.
Looking ahead, Jason wants to give something back to Mossley, transforming Woodend Mill into a community space with a café, along the lines of Altrincham Market, right for Mossley.
Craft with no interest in cutting corners. Exactly why he fit right into our Axis campaign.
AS SEEN IN THE AXIS CAMPAIGN
Jason was a familiar face before the concepts of the Axis campaign started to take shape. LANX’s Creative Lead, Evan, met Jason at Blackburn's Festival of Making, where they bonded over craft, traditional leatherwork, and of course, proper footwear.
For those who may have missed it, the idea behind the Axis campaign was that a solid pair of boots is all you need to carry you through your everyday, whatever that looks like. The film follows a number of creatives as they tackle their daily tasks, whether it’s the school run, the walk to the post office, the Friday big shop, or - in Jason’s case - running a leather workshop.
Like the Proper People blog, the campaign was also a celebration of the creatives and artisans that make up the community in Lancashire, continuing what sometimes feels like a lost art in an ever-evolving world. Making things properly and taking pride in doing so is worth celebrating, and we know that Jason shares the same mindset.
PROPER PEOPLE BLOG BY LANX
Our Proper People Blog is our feature to shine a spotlight on the fantastic businesses and amazing people that make up the community. Whether it’s a local company, a brand we have partnered with, or someone interesting we found in the local paper, we want you to know about them.
Jason fits the bill to a T.