Sara Grady and Alice Robinson co-founded British Pasture Leather in 2020. The duo aim in their own words ‘to link leather with exemplary farming and, in doing so, to redefine leather as an agricultural product’. All of which means creating a new network of systems within the industry. Essentially, the pair are attempting to make the material we buy traceable in the same way food is. In 2022, they created an exhibition, entitled Leather from British Pastures, during the London Design Festival, which included collaborations with the likes of Mulberry and New Balance, as well as Material Matters favourites, Bill Amberg and Simon Hasan. More recently, Alice has written a new book, Field Fork Fashion, which charts a bullock’s journey from a field to a series of finished products and dishes – creating her own supply chain in the process.In this episode we talk about: how most leather is made; issues around the chrome tanning process; how British Pasture Leather is trying to make a difference;  increased meat consumption across the globe and why it changes the value of a hide; building a new supply chain; the state of the British tanning industry; producing their material entirely in the UK; redefining quality and embracing imperfection; how leather brought them together; buying a bullock and writing a book. Support the show

Florian Gadsby is a bit of a phenomenon. The ceramicist currently has a new show at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and has also published a memoir, By My Hands, that charts his formative years with clay, including apprenticeships in the UK and, most intriguingly, Japan. Essentially, it unpicks his route to becoming a fully, fledged professional potter, while at the same time, providing tips about his thinking and process. Since he started on Instagram a decade ago, Florian has built up a social media following that can only be described as formidable. He’s part of a generation that has changed the way pots, in particular, but craft, in general, can be communicated, using Instagram and YouTube as educational tools but also as a hugely effective channels for selling work. In this episode we talk about: what his studio says about him; his YSP show; selling ‘merch’; being young to publish a memoir; comparing writing to pottery; his fascination with the colour green; going to a Steiner school; deciding against university; his love of mugs and the joy of repetition; his apprenticeship in Japan; resisting the tag of the ‘Instagram potter’; the pressure of social media; and wanting his own apprentice (eventually). Support the show

Christien Meinderstma is a Dutch designer who has a fascination with materials. She currently has an installation at the V&A, entitled Re-forming Waste, which shows new work based around her interest in linoleum, as well as technological advances with the material she has described as her first love, wool. Christien came to wider attention initially when she graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2003, with a book that catalogued a week’s worth of objects confiscated at security checkpoints in Schipol Airport. She followed that up a few years later, with PIG 05049, an extraordinary tome which looked at all the products made using a single pig. Her work is the collections of MoMA, the V&A, and the Vitra Design Museum. Over the years, she has won numerous Dutch Design Awards, as well as creating the award for the prestigious Earthshot Prize.In this episode we talk about: working alone; experimenting with linoleum; her family’s history with wool; the importance of provenance; defining failure and success; not being interested in selling things or mass production; working with the city of Rotterdam to find ways to deal with its wool; collaborating with a ‘wobot’; designing like a journalist, the energy of Design Academy Eindhoven; and the unexpected uses of a single pig…We are delighted this episode has been sponsored by the Surface Design Show. The event of choice for architects and designers, it runs from 6-8 February at London’s Business Design Centre and you can register for free at surfacedesignshow.com. We hope to see you there. Support the show