FIVE TO VISIT: DERBYSHIRE DESIGNERS

EYAM HALL

Former farm buildings at this historic manor are now the setting for Eyam Courtyard, home to a host of businesses, including restaurants, cafes and a yoga studio. It’s here Ralph Weston creates bespoke jewellery, with Blue John, a semi-precious mineral extracted from the

Blue John Cavern at nearby Castleton, often used to dazzling effect. Ralph beavers away in his workshop at the side of the shop, with visitors able to peer in and watch him in action. eyamhall.net

ROCK PAPER SILVER

There’s a similar set-up at Caudwell’s Mill in Rowsley. Here, silversmith Rebecca Green uses 5,000-year-old wax-moulding techniques to make jewellery and mini animal sculptures. Peak District hares have become a signature motif, and Rebecca runs jewellery-making classes for anyone wanting to try the DIY approach. rockpapersilver.co.uk

BASLOW POTTERY

The stoneware plates and vases on display at Baslow Pottery are mainly the work of Ray Gridley, who often uses clay dug from his own back garden. But works from a loose collective of potters, who fire and glaze using the facilities at the back of the handsome ivycovered building, are also proudly on display. baslowpottery.co.uk

RICHARD WHITTLESTONE

On the Chatsworth Estate in Pilsley, wildlife artist Richard Whittlestone huddles in his tiny studio, painting nature-packed Peak District scenes. His first love are birds, though, and the acrylic paintings of owls, oystercatchers, pheasants and kingfishers are the stars of his gallery. All the works have a tiny fly hidden somewhere within each composition, should anyone wish to set themselves the challenge of spotting them. richardwhittlestone.co.uk

DAVID MELLOR DESIGN

On the southern outskirts of Hathersage a striking, circular building occupies a space where a gas holder once stood. It’s now a factory that makes equally impressive cutlery, tableware and other kitchen essentials. There’s an adjoining shop, gallery and mini museum. Today, Corin Mellor is the creative force behind the company, but it was his father, David, who blazed a trail here. His work extended far beyond the dinner table. In the 1950s and ’60s, the Sheffield-born designer helped to transform Britain’s streetscapes with his lighting columns, bus shelters and postboxes. davidmellordesign.com