How are Winsor & Newton working with artists to do this?
Artists such as Orlanda Broom and Adam Dix have generously welcomed us into their studio spaces to let us explore their practices. Orlanda gave us a valuable insight into how she embraces solitude in the studio, and graciously shared with us her preferred tools and colour palettes. Adam showed us how he uses watercolour techniques of layering paint and masking to develop his oil paintings.
Elsewhere, surface pattern designer Clare Therese Gray creates artworks for textiles, paper craft and fabric collections, and is the author of beautiful, globally published guides on watercolour. Our collaboration with Clare has allowed her expertise in gouache, paper crafts and fabric to inform our new watercolour content.
And we have worked closely with resident artist Tim Shaw, co-founder of art and mental health charity Hospital Rooms. Alongside Tim, Winsor & Newton are supporting the organisation in helping to redefine mental health spaces and immersive environments outside of the typical gallery space. This, in turn, allows us to see the world through eyes of community art crusader and learn how we can contribute to those needing to express, or de stress, through the power of creating art.
Our partnership with Drawing Factory saw us further sustaining art and artists in the community, providing over 30 young graphic artists as they set out on their careers in a unique artist residency in Paris, using Winsor & Newton graphic art materials and technical workshops.
Going forward we will continue to immerse ourselves in the world of those who share a desire to make their mark and to grow.
How are our products affected?
We are always learning from our community of artists. And we respond accordingly, developing products with artistic practises and studio spaces in mind. In our commitment to sustainability, Winsor & Newton are working to reduce unnecessary packaging, make safer spaces to work with paints and solutions, use sustainable sources and increase recycled content.
Switching to 100% recycled plastic for certain products will save nearly 248 tonnes of plastic from ending up in landfills annually. Moreover, our cadmium-free products, made for use in small spaces or home studios, have been developed in response to artists requesting paint options with less toxicity.
Right now, Winsor & Newton’s principal objective is to cut hazardous waste by 50% by 2025, as part of our overarching mission to transition into a carbon-neutral business.
How does this align with Winsor & Newton’s heritage?
Our brand has always been a pioneer in collaboration. Working with artists is simply a contemporary expression of the founding Winsor & Newton ethos, when William Winsor and Henry Newton developed innovative products to meet the needs of artist friends and peers nearly 200 years ago.
Winsor & Newton’s wealth of archive material showcases this lasting desire to make a mark and experiment through the eyes of those who were, and are, expressing their vision on canvas in watercolour, oil, inks and more.
How has this been recognised in the wider world?
Winsor & Newton is now a Certified B Corporation™, which recognises our commitment to social and environmental responsibility. In doing so, we have joined a global community of over 6,500 companies, driven by the collective aspiration of using business as a force for good.