Workshop

Dorset Button making day

18 June 2022, 11:30am - 4:00pm

Join Dorset button maker and artist Anna McDowell to explore the history of Dorset button-making and take part in a workshop to make your own buttons.

Ticket: £25. Includes tea and coffee and an opportunity to explore the Museum.

• 11.30-12.30 –The rise and fall of a cottage industry
  In this talk, Anna Macdowell follows the history of this local cottage industry, started by Abraham Case in the 1600s, to its demise two hundred years later. She’ll explore how these buttons were used on original items of clothing, and what is being done now to help keep this heritage craft vibrant.
• 12.30-14:00 – Break for lunch and opportunity to look around the galleries, including Dorset buttons on display. You are welcome to bring a packed lunch to eat in the Learning Centre.
• 14:00 – 16:00 – Button-making workshop
  Spend an afternoon with Anna Macdowell learning how to make Dorset Buttons. For those who already know the craft of buttony, there will be the challenge to work a button in two colours similar to one of the buttons made for Carey Mulligan’s outfits in Far From the Madding Crowd. This workshop is designed for all levels and a chance to meet and chat whilst working on this heritage craft.