Ian Hankey, Principal Technician at Fab Lab Plymouth in Plymouth College of Art, recently completed a successful campaign with Crowdfunder for the Upcycled Glass Project, working with Andy Bradford, a farmer from Brimpts Farm in Dartmeet, Dartmoor, and Richard Glass, an award winning designer and expert glassmaker. As a result, Ian and a number of expert colleagues are now launching the Upcycled Glass Company CIC.
Ian Hankey (top left), Andy Bradford (top right) and Richard Glass (bottom)
The Upcycled Glass Project Crowdfunder successfully raised the initial funding of over £10,000 to build a new sustainable glassblowing workshop on Brimpts Farm, where the team intend to implement a circular economy model and upcycle local waste glass (the majority of which cannot currently be recycled) into new glass suitable for use in handmade art and design products, utilising a mixture of new technologies, modern farming methods and historical glass mixing processes that go back to the 17th century.
Devon Climate Challenge has provided £5,000 of funding to the campaign, as part of the #BackTheFuture initiative, in which Devon County Council and Crowdfunder have teamed up to support projects who are tackling the climate emergency.
‘We were delighted that the Upcycled Glass Company received a large match fund pledge from Crowdfunder’s #BackTheFuture, to support turning its ideas into reality. This might not have happened without Crowdfunder and Plymouth College of Art’s collaboration on the iMayflower project, leading to Ian’s involvement through Fab Lab Plymouth. He quickly realised that crowdfunding would be a perfect way for him to raise pump priming money for his own creative business,’ said Dawn Bebe, Director of Crowdfunder.co.uk.
The concept for the Upcycled Glass Company CIC brings together multiple strands of glass expert and Master Glassmaker, Ian Hankey. After initially leaving school with no qualifications due to undiagnosed dyslexia, Ian has worked in the glass industry for over 40 years, from his first apprenticeship at Pilkington Glass and later managing the hot glass workshop at the Royal College of Art and managing Teign Valley Glass Studios, to his work to establish in 2014 and subsequently manage Fab Lab Plymouth at Plymouth College of Art.
Ian Hankey blows glass at Plymouth College of Art
During this period, Ian studied for his BA (Hons) 3D Design at Buckinghamshire College, received a Commendation for his MA at the Royal College of Art, and while working as Hot Glass Instructor at the RCA, he also gained a Distinction on his PGCE in Teaching and Learning Art, Design and Communication at the London Institute. Ian has delivered papers about glass and methods and approaches of thinking and making at conferences hosted by Cambridge New College, The V&A, Liverpool University, University for Creative Arts and Plymouth College of Art, and his research has been published by the Society of Glass Technology, Columbia University and Plymouth College of Art.
In 2018, Ian stepped back from his role as Manager of Fab Lab Plymouth to a role as Principal Technician, in order to spend more time working in the glass department at Plymouth College of Art, and to pursue his personal work recreating a number of historical glass processes, particularly focusing on recipes and processes from the Renaissance. Alongside his work with glass, Ian has developed his own skills in the Fab Lab, learning specific and advanced CAD CAM processes, and researching historical glassmaking processes. During this period he became a qualified Autodesk Instructor and expert in CAD (Fusion 360, Rhino, Meshmixer, Keyshot), gaining expertise in 3D printing, 3D scanning, CNC milling and routing, laser cutting, waterjet cutting and vinyl cutting.
Ian said: “Throughout my life, dyslexia and reflective rationality have shaped the path of my career, which is to say that I work with my hands and my heart. This direct approach has enabled me to solve problems at times when others could not. My tacit understanding of and approach to glass led me almost 20 years ago to help Imperial College and The V&A to develop a ‘cure’ for glass disease (the corrosion of historical Venetian glass), solving a problem that many material scientists and experts in the field could not.
“As a result of working with glass for most of my life, I’ve had incredible opportunities to develop new techniques, recreate old methods of glass blowing and think about how some of these skills can be combined to solve environmental problems that face us as a society. Adding my knowledge of glass to some of the collaborative opportunities that we create in Fab Lab Plymouth have led to so much innovation. I’ve spent over 20 years developing methods of reducing emissions and reducing the costs of building and running glass equipment, from creating a portable glass furnace that cuts emissions over traditional furnaces by up to 70% to developing more efficient solar panels and helping to develop small-scale CO2 recapture systems.
Ian Hankey in Fab Lab Plymouth
“Whether we like it or not, we’re living through a climate emergency. Everything I’ve seen and done in my life points to the fact that for every environmental problem that we solve, someone with money is going to come along and try to use that solution to create more money for themselves, undermining the positive change that could have benefited society. The only way to tackle societal problems of sustainability is to change the framework we’re working in and find new ways to work together. The Upcycled Glass Company CIC is my attempt to bring into the world one small part of the change that we need to live in a more sustainable way.
“Thanks to everybody who contributed to our successful Crowdfunder, we can start work building a small furnace in the grounds of Brimpts Farm on Dartmoor, which we hope to have finished by the end of 2021. Did you know that UK glassblowers pay up to £2,500 a ton to import ‘art’ glass material from the EU? Worse than that, in the UK and EU, we recycle about 71% of container glass, but end-of-life building waste glass, such as window glass, is almost never recycled into new glass products, and mostly ends up in landfill
“On Brimpts Farm in 2022, we plan to use a mix of new technologies, modern farming methods and historical glass mixing processes to use the furnace that we’ve built to develop a technique to refine the waste glass from nearby Teign Valley Glass Studios. By melting waste glass and using locally harvested bracken from Brimpts Farm (with the added bonus that in harvesting these plants we’ll create wildflower meadows), we’ll reduce emissions for road transport and shipping across the world, and demonstrate a way to reduce the landfill waste glass mountains, which are recognised globally as a major environmental problem.
“Additionally, through my work at Fab Lab Plymouth, I’ve provided technical support to Barnaby’s Brewhouse, helping to develop a small-scale CO2 recapture system. If I fit a similar system to the new glass furnace on Brimpts Farm, we’ll be upcycling waste glass that companies currently pay to dispose of, and burning bracken from the local farmland to extract the chemicals that we need. If we power the furnace equipment with methane from the cows and farm slurry, at the end of the process, the only waste product that we create should be water.
“That’s just the start of our sustainability plans, working as part of a circular local economy, where businesses work together for their own benefit, for the benefit of the community and the environment. Alongside acting as Managing Director of the Upcycled Glass Company CIC, I’m going to continue my work at Plymouth College of Art. Fab Lab Plymouth is based here, in an art school with over 160 years of history, allowing new technologies and traditional methods of making to come together, and this is where the solutions to so many problems in society begin to come together.”
Brimpts Farm land
Ian is now preparing to launch the Upcycled Glass Company CIC, with Brimpts Farm owner Andy Bradford, expert glassmaker Richard Glass, Dr Katie Shanks, Dr Sarah Fearn, Victoria Oakley ACR FIIC, and IT and data expert Jamie Kaye.
Dr Katie Shanks has expertise is in designing optics for concentrator photovoltaic applications (including their development from concept to manufacturing and experimental validation) and is currently working on the use of novel materials, such as plastics and biomimicry surface structures, for CPV optics, as well as building integrated CPV windows.
Dr Sarah Fearn is a Research Officer in the Department of Materials at Imperial College and manages the surface analysis lab. Her area of expertise is Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), ion beam analysis, and materials science. It was during her first post-doctoral studies at Imperial in conjunction with the V&A, that Sarah was introduced to ancient glasses, their properties and possibilities, working with the help of Ian Hankey to monitor the changing composition of replica Venetian glass as it corroded in ambient air.
Victoria Oakley is a conservation professional with 40 years’ experience working in museums, most recently as Head of Objects Conservation Section at the V&A Museum. Her practical expertise lies in the conservation of ceramics, glass, enamels and wax objects, with a particular interest in the chemical deterioration of historic vessel glass.
Together, as the Upcycled Glass Company CIC, this team of experts will collaborate to make the vision of a circular economy model for upcycling waste glass into a reality.
Find out more about Ian Hankey’s work with the Upcycled Glass Company in his Smart Citizens Sustainable Design Talk, ‘Rethinking glassmaking technologies and sustainable business models’, part of the Plymouth Social Enterprise City Festival, hosted by the Plymouth Social Enterprise Network (PSEN). The event takes place online from 5:30pm to 7pm on Thursday 18 November 2021. Register for your free ticket.
Support was given to Ian as part of the iMayflower project and has been supported by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who fund the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.
Local people have been harnessing the power of solar energy and digital technology to create their own sustainable illuminated artworks, in workshops hosted by Plymouth College of Art’s Smart Citizens Programme and South West-based art collective, Art and Energy CIC.
Fourteen local people and students attended these two-part workshops, held three months apart at Fab Lab Plymouth. During the workshops, participants learned new skills in reverse glass painting, soldering solar cells, computer aided design and laser cutting, in order to construct their unique artworks. Charged by sunlight, these solar-powered artworks light up at night, illuminating the participants’ designs.
Participant Kerry Brosnan soldering her solar cell circuit (Photo credit: Smart Citizens Programme)
Through creative projects, Art and Energy CIC develop artistic responses to the climate emergency, to help people engage creatively with the huge changes we experience with our energy system.
Their Moths to a Flame project, co-led with Plymouth Energy Community, is working with nationwide collaborators to make 20,000 moths and record messages about the Climate Emergency to turn calls for urgent action into a magnificent mass-participation art installation to be displayed at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), taking place in November in Glasgow.
In November 2020 Plymouth Energy Community and Art and Energy CIC launched a campaign with iMayflower partners Crowdfunder to hold free Moths to a Flame creative activities in Plymouth throughout 2021. Theirs was one of seven within the Plymouth Climate Challenge hosted by Plymouth City Council, with their project raising £45,189.
Participant Lorraine England’s reverse glass painting, ready to add the solar cells (Photo credit: Lorraine England)
Workshop participant Lorraine England, a retired nurse and midwife who now works as a maker and workshop tutor, said: “The workshops with Smart Citizens and Art and Energy really kindled an interest in solar power for me and how it can be incorporated into our lives, not just from a functional but also from an aesthetic perspective. Within my own creative practice I make predominantly in felt, fibre and textiles. I left Fab Lab Plymouth trying to consider how solar light could be incorporated into the illumination of artwork made from wool. Overall, I found the workshops to be fascinating, engaging, innovative and inspirational.
“During my research before and afterwards, I found many remarkable global projects where solar power has been merged with creative practice, in beautiful and functional ways such as solar trees or architecture. This inspired me to look into the history and principles of solar-powered systems, so that I could better understand the wiring process. This was a fascinating lesson in basic electrical circuitry and energy which I wish had been taught in science when I went to school.
“From both a societal and cultural perspective I think that the Smart Citizens Programme is timely and very relevant. Plymouth not only supports a vibrant creative community but it is one in which there are huge economic and social challenges. There is huge social deprivation and poverty in the city and an energy crisis starts to loom. With national energy costs escalating, many families are going to suffer from energy poverty. There is therefore an emergent need to make this technology more accessible to these groups of individuals, in a way that is affordable.”
Participants Kerry Brosnan (left) and Vanessa Crosse (right) with their finished solar artworks (Photo credit: Smart Citizens Programme)
Sarah Trotter also took part in the workshop. A local experimental visual artist and play and support worker, Sarah said: “I learnt so much during the workshop and about Art and Energy’s work within communities. I really enjoyed learning about the Fab Lab processes and laser cutting and also how solar power cells actually work - my mind was blown and I loved the connection between the two processes! It was a truly enlightening workshop, both in terms of creativity and in gaining knowledge into how energy can be created by the sun. I was so chuffed with my completed artwork at the end of the workshop.
“The workshop has supported my knowledge around sustainability and how much of an effect it has within the world - however small a contribution, education will make a huge difference for our futures. It has made me more mindful within my own practice and something that I am looking to integrate more within the way I work and resources and materials that I use.”
Participant Sarah Trotter was ‘chuffed’ with her finished artwork (Photo credit: Smart Citizens Programme)
Jenny Ayrton, Director of Art and Energy, said, “When I first graduated from Plymouth College of Art as a glass artist, environmental issues weren’t particularly on my agenda, however the experience of making my own solar artwork with other members of the collective brought home how the future is in our hands, and it is possible to live a fulfilled creative life whilst also making work that responds to the climate emergency.
“A creative approach to learning and engaging with sustainable energy helps people find their own ways to join in, and also alleviates eco-anxiety, which is a challenge for anyone who wants to take responsibility and make a difference.
“Working with the Smart Citizens Programme has opened up new ways of working, allowing us to combine our solar artworks with digital technologies such as laser cutting, and engage new audiences with creative approaches to solar energy.”
Chloe Uden, founder of Art and Energy, demonstrating how to solder the solar cells (Photo credit: Smart Citizens Programme)
Participants Chloe Georgakis and Will Harvey with their reverse glass paintings (Photo credit: Smart Citizens Programme)
Art and Energy CIC launched in 2018 with a vision to transform the look of solar panels through art, in order to brighten up our cities, celebrate a diversity of culture and inspire more people to consider using renewable energy. Ian Hankey, the Principal Technician at Fab Lab Plymouth and a master glass craftsman with extensive experience gained from the Royal College of Art, Pilkington Glass and Teign Valley Glass, worked with Art and Energy to develop a range of mark-marking processes using traditional glass processes and digital subtractive manufacturing suited to the photovoltaic panels. These panels were tested by Dr Katie Shanks at the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter and now form part of Art and Energy’s ongoing work. Jenny Ayrton, one of the Directors at Art and Energy, is a Plymouth College of Art graduate and practicing artist, specialising in sand and kiln cast glass, etching and engraving.
Art and Energy CIC have benefited from collaboration with expert staff members from Plymouth College of Art, Fab Lab Plymouth and Crowdfunder as part of the Environmental Futures & Big Data Impact Lab and later the iMayflower Smart Citizens Programme.
The solar-powered art workshops are part of the iMayflower project and have been supported by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who fund the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.
On 22 September, local projects and organisations across Plymouth opened their doors as part of the first Fab City Plymouth Open Day, celebrating Plymouth’s status as the first, and currently only, Fab City in the UK. Co-hosted by Plymouth College of Art’s Smart Citizens Programme and the University of Plymouth’s Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Laboratories, the Open Day saw 12 local hubs come together to share access to and information about their work relating to the Fab City initiative, which champions local production, circular economies, digital social innovation and global collaboration.
Over 300 local people, businesses, entrepreneurs and students visited the Fab City hubs, to discover more about Fab City and take part in a range of free activities and tours. The hubs celebrated multiple themes, including digital innovation and technology, food, art, nature, sustainability and business support. Bringing together such a diverse range of sectors, the Open Day was the first large-scale Fab City event to be held in Plymouth, showcasing how organisations, projects and local people can work together to make a truly Fab City.
Visitors explore Fab Lab Plymouth on the Open Day
Sustainability and Collaboration
The Smart Citizens Programme based at Fab Lab Plymouth in Plymouth College of Art, the Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Laboratories at the University of Plymouth, and the Market Hall in Devonport, all opened their state-of-the-art venues for the Open Day. Hosting free activities for members of the public including 3D scanning and laser-cutting, the hubs celebrated the range of ways that local people and businesses can access cutting-edge digital fabrication and immersive technologies to realise innovative ideas and develop sustainable solutions for the city and planet.
Eli Zahoui, Smart Citizens Programme Manager at Plymouth College of Art, said: “When Plymouth applied to join the Fab City network in 2019, there was a lot of support for the idea, but initially it wasn’t obvious how other individuals and organisations across the city could get involved. The Fab City Open Day was all about opening our doors to demonstrate what a great community we’re growing across Plymouth, of individuals, local businesses and bigger organisations, all working together towards the same common goals of using innovative thinking to promote sustainability and really make a difference for the future.”
Visitors of all ages explored Fab Lab Plymouth at Plymouth College of Art and learnt about the Smart Citizens Programme
Vanessa Crosse, a community development officer and BA (Hons) Craft & Material Practices student at Plymouth College of Art, said about her visit to Fab Lab Plymouth: “During the Open Day I discovered the incredible design and fabrication possibilities at the Fab Lab and how these digital technologies are supporting Plymouth to become a Fab City. The Smart Citizens team were very approachable and knowledgeable. Their enthusiasm for their work and their commitment to sustainability clearly showed. I loved the opportunity to laser cut my own coaster, which was great fun!”
Open Day visitor, Vanessa Crosse, with Fab Lab Principal Technician, Ian Hankey at Fab Lab Plymouth
Food Plymouth offered foraging tours in Blockhouse park, while in Central Park the Green Minds Living Lab and Pollenize CIC shared how they use digital technologies to monitor and protect the environment and wild species such as bees. Sophie Paterson, Sustainable Food Places Coordinator at Food Plymouth, said: “Our team were able to speak to people of all ages and invite them to consider new ways of engaging with sustainable food, learning how to safely forage in Blockhouse park, sampling delicious local apple juice thanks to the All Ways Apples initiative and exploring how to get involved with a forthcoming campaign to put Plymouth’s #BestFoodForward.
“Collaborating with The Village Hub in Stoke as a venue for the day resulted in the joy of getting to know their fabulous team even better and the unexpected privilege of hearing some beautiful poetry, courtesy of volunteer and talented poet Sarah. It was a day that felt rooted in community at every level. Thanks to all who made it happen.”
The Green Minds Living Lab team at their stall in Central Park
Brittany Clarke, Marketing and Communications Assistant at Pollenize, said: “We spent a glorious sunny day at Central Park with our E-Cargo bike, talking to members of the public about pollinator decline and what they can do to get involved. We were really pleased to have such a positive reaction to our work across Plymouth, in particular the community beekeeping and rewilding projects!”
Brittany Clarke, Marketing and Communications Assistant at Pollenize, with their E-cargo bike and decorated beehive in Central park
The University of Plymouth Sustainability team showcased how they are tackling climate change through the research and testing of a range of low carbon solutions, and working with the creative industries on the low carbon agenda. Dr Paul Hardman, Manager of the Sustainable Earth Institute (SEI) and Deputy Director – Sustainability Hub: Low Carbon Devon, said: “Participating in the Plymouth Fab City Open Day was a great opportunity to welcome visitors to the Sustainability Hub after an extended period of ‘closed doors’ due to the pandemic. It provided a valuable forum to share opportunities, with organisations and individuals, to collaborate with the University on projects working towards a more sustainable future.”
Promoting Fab City values of circular economy, open data and digital fabrication literacy, the University of Plymouth Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Labs showcased community-oriented student work created at the labs.
Bethany Holmes, a student of the University of Plymouth MSc Integrated Design Innovation programme, displayed her work at the Plot. Bethany, making use of her Computing background, links material flows and circular sustainable processes around Plymouth. She demonstrates the cross-disciplinary potential of Fab City as well as its distributed nature across a range of companies, social enterprises, research organisations and civic institutions. Her work at the Plot involves working with local residents and community organisations on the co-design and prototyping of products and ideas using digital fabrication tools such as 3D printing and CNC cutting.
Bethany Holmes, a student of the University of Plymouth MSc Integrated Design Innovation programme, displays her work at the Plot
Mat Holmes, a University of Plymouth MA Design student, delivered hands-on printing workshops using an iconic piece of technological heritage – the printing press. A culmination of several years of Mat’s close collaboration with printing experts at the University of Plymouth and wider community, Mat has translated and adapted the iconic machine design for the faithful recreation, using the full range of tools and processes available at the Digital Fabrication lab. The symbolism of Mat’s work in the context of the Fab City digital literacy agenda is particularly strong considering the transformative role on society brought about by the invention of the original Gutenberg printing press.
Both students made extensive use of the new outreach toolkit, Lab in a Box, which comprises a complete set of digital fabrication tools with the focus on accessibility and user-friendliness.
Visitors explore the University of Plymouth’s Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Labs
Creativity and sustainability combined at Precious Plastic Plymouth, where waste plastic was transformed through injection moulding into new objects like soap dishes, while at Plymouth Scrapstore CIC, visitors created their own artworks from materials saved from landfill by the Scrapstore initiative. Ocean Studios, where Precious Plastic Plymouth is based, also opened their doors as part of the Open Day. Jane Hembrow, Volunteer and Co-Founder of Plymouth Scrapstore, said: “We offered the opportunity to rummage and chat about how we give waste material a new life through creativity, and have a tour of our site. We welcomed our regular visitors and some new faces, one of which completely fell in love with what we do!”
Visitors to Precious Plastic Plymouth saw how waste plastic was transformed into soap dishes through injection moulding
Social enterprises Bikespace CIC and Nudge Community Builders opened their doors to celebrate the different ways that they support local communities. Visitors to Bikespace’s workshop learnt how they offer training for young people outside of mainstream education, vulnerable adults and supporting refugees. At The Plot, one of Nudge Community Builder’s sites, visitors explored how the previously disused site is now a thriving hub for local businesses.
Hannah Slogget, Co-founder of Nudge Community Builders, said: “The day brought some interested parties looking to learn more about how digital manufacturing might benefit them. It was fantastic to meet so many motivated people in Plymouth and the surrounding areas who want to do their bit, socially and environmentally.”
AJ Bishop, Workshop Manager at Bikespace, said: “Through the Open Day we made useful links with other organisations - we hope this is the beginning of future collaborations with Fab City projects across Plymouth!”
Leading the way for the Fab City initiative in the UK
Plymouth is the first Fab City in the UK, in 2019 joining the global Fab City network of 38 cities committed to producing nearly everything they consume by 2054. Together, Plymouth College of Art, University of Plymouth, Real Ideas, Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Culture worked jointly on the citywide commitment to become the UK’s first Fab City. Originally growing out of the Fab Lab rapid prototyping movement, the Fab City manifesto covers everything from farming and manufacturing to making and culture, asking how we can make the best use of the resources on our doorstep and fully realise the social, economic and environmental benefits of a more circular economy.
Through the Fab City initiative, cities are challenged to enable an urban transition towards locally productive and globally connected cities. By embracing strategies in circular economy and digital social innovation, Fab Cities foster collaboration between a global network of cities and territories to meet the planetary challenges presented by climate change and social inequalities.
The Fab City Plymouth Open Day marks the start of Fab City events in the city, which will invite even more organisations, projects and people to realise the incredible potential of the Fab City initiative and implement strategies for sustainability and local and global collaboration into their practices, supporting Plymouth to achieve its Fab City aims by 2054.
Sign up here to the next Fab City Forum on 22 October 2021, and learn more about Fab City Plymouth here.
This activity is part of the iMayflower project and has been supported by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who fund the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.