All-INKlusive - What is the 'Away Weekend'?
Our 2023 INKers at our first pit stop - the V&A in Dundee
So we’ve been through the selection process, we’ve all had our Christmas break and the rest of the world is hunkered down for January. But there is no time to rest up at Vanilla Ink, as January is such an exciting month for us. It’s when we get our new intake of INKers together for the first time and we all pile into a minibus and head up to gorgeous Aberdeenshire for our induction weekend. For the past couple of years, we have pulled up in the car park at Brook Street our Glasgow HQ to collect the new INKers for our weekend away. The mornings have been bright and there’s always a real buzz in the air. Usually, most of our new cohort are just introducing themselves to each other, and the excitement about the start of this journey is felt by everyone.
The 2024 INKers take a look at the Vanilla Ink video exhibit in the Design Galleries
So, all aboard the bus and off we head for our first stop in Dundee. Did you know that the fabulous addition to the Dundee Riverside, the V&A, hosts a video exhibit about Vanilla Ink? The video was taken in the early days back in Finnieston and focuses on Vanilla Ink as part of Scotland's design and education culture. The visit to the V&A in Dundee, particularly to the Design Galleries, always gives our INKers so much food for thought and time to bond over their own interests and inspiration. There’s plenty of time to explore before we jump back on the bus for the rest of the journey north.
Vanilla Ink The Smiddy
Our gorgeous community based studio and centre of excellence in Banff, Aberdeenshire.
A fabulous place to kick off our INKubator Programme
A few hours later, we arrive in the beautiful coastal town of Banff. This beautiful wee gem on the North East coast is a gorgeous understated little town with an incredible history of silversmithing. Our very own Centre of Excellence for Silversmithing and Jewellery, The Smiddy is a cracking wee studio based in the heart of the town just a few moment’s walk from the beach. So, what a great place to kick off our INKubator Programme!
The weather and light on the beach at Banff never fail to disappoint
Banff is overflowing with history and the local pub, the Market Arms is no exception! The walls are full of great pictures of the area. And the pub itself played more than just a bit part in the cult classic, Local Hero. So this makes it a great venue to kick back and enjoy some food and a few beers at the end of our first day.
In 2023, we visited a farm to hear the inspirational story of Welan, a company devoted to creating ethical wooly hats
Our 2024 INKers [and staff] get ready for some beach hunting!
We always like to mix things up a wee bit, so we’ve done lots of different activities including searching for particular items on the beautiful coastline, visiting a local ethical wooly hat maker, creating textures on copper sheets using rocks, pebbles and stones to be made later into a box, and of course visiting The Smiddy itself to indulge in a bit of gin/cocktail stirrer or spoon making! And we always throw in a little more inspiration with a stop off a the incredible Tarlair Swimming Pool in Macduff. Once a thriving outdoor pool, this incredible location is now receiving regeneration funding thanks to local interest and support, but there is also an incredible beauty in the abandonment and dereliction of this man-made pool on the edge of a wild and unforgiving coast.
Our INKers were, as we have been so many times, completely taken with the contrasts and juxtaposition of this unusual setting.
Tarlair swimming pool is currently undergoing extensive refurbishment and will be open to the public soon!
Tarlair is a properly special place, with dramatic scenery and stunning geology. It’s sheltered, meaning that a stroll around the place is peaceful and not exposed to the vicious north east cost weather! The Needle rock provides a stunning backdrop, and in 2024, our INKers spent time here using rocks and pebbles to bash some copper sheet, creative texture and patterns from nature. We then used these ‘hammered’ sheets to create a box once we got down the road to Glasgow.
The INKers of 2023 explore Tarlair
Spot the INKer! Our 2024 cohort using the local rocks to texture copper sheet
Then it’s time for something different. With all that fresh air in our lungs, we turn our attention to the Programme itself. We look at how it all works, what each INKer should expect, and how both the Skills and Professional Development works. All the while, we’re taking in all our conversations with each of the INKers which allows us to pair them up with the best mentor once the Programme gets going. It’s also time to take on board individual and collective opinions as well… after all, it’s their Programme and we feel that all input is vital to how it runs. It’s always good fun getting to know new people and see friendships beginning to form. After all, these guys will be spending a lot of time together, so it’s good for everyone to hit it off from the beginning and learn about each other’s personalities and how they think and feel.
Our 2024 INKers get ready outside The Smiddy
The 2023 cohort get cosy inside
After a bit of fun over dinner and drinks the previous evening, day three will find us back on the road, all very sorry to be saying goodbye to Banff. But the excitement is not over. Further inspiration awaits us at the Black Watch Museum in Perth. Welcomed with a wonderful lunch, we then have time to explore the museum, which is full of some of the most incredible pieces of silverware, from goblets to daggers and swords and so much more.
The INKer Away Weekend is a fabulous mix of inspiration, connections and focus. It’s hard to describe the incredible feeling of coming together as a cohort. The thing that overwhelms us is the way in which we see our values being demonstrated by the new cohort right from the outset. There is a hunger to learn, not just from the course content and tutors, but from each other, too. The willingness and openness with which the INKers are ready to share their experiences and journeys always confirm for us that these are the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
And now, as we come towards the end of this year’s Programme, we are so proud of how our class of 2024 has worked together, supported each other, and how incredibly far they have come.
We can’t wait to do it all again in 2025!
Want to become a 2025 INKer? Apply here.
Need some more information? Download our INKubator Guide.
Want to visit our studios to see what it’s all about? Get in touch!
