Create Growth: Designer Maker Business Support

Representatives from Derbyshire County Council and the Derbyshire Makes Team held a roundtable event with a range of Derby and Derbyshire’s most successful Designer-Maker businesses, to consult with them about their most immediate business support needs.

High quality product photography was identified as a key need.

Funding was secured to provide support to businesses in partnership with the University of Derby and the Create Growth D2 Hub.

In February this year, the photography bursary was launched for designer-maker businesses in Derby and Derbyshire supporting:

14 Designer Maker businesses 

7 Photographers

£13,000 funds allocated 

100s of high quality product photographs produced

These Derbyshire businesses were successful in receiving funds to commission the following photographers from the region:

•Beauvamp and Will Slater Photography

•Blackpop and Chris Webb Photography

•The Clayrooms and Jenny Macare Photography

•CRZyBest and Studio 74

•Curiousa and Emma Croman Photography

•Denver Designs and Emma Croman Photography

•Emma Britton Glass and Lucy Glen Photography

•Full Grown and Chris Webb Photography

•Handford Makes and Emma Croman Photography

•Laik Style and Emma Croman Photography

•Louise Mary Designs and Emma Croman Photography

•Stevie Davies and Jonty Howe Photography

•Tania Purdy Ltd and Will Slater Photography

•Wirksworth Pottery Company and Will Slater Photography

“I wanted to say how lovely these shoots have been - everyone has been so lovely, and it’s been such an honour to work with these makers.“

Emma Croman Photography

“Thank you so very much - you’ve really helped when we needed support.”

Gavin Munro, Full Grown Ltd

“Thank you so much for supporting my studio making product photography for my new Floral Twist glassware collection.”

Emma Britton, Decorative Glass Designer

With her new photographs produced by Emma Croman, Curiosa's founder Esther Patterson was able to secure a feature article on her new mixed-material lighting collection in the June 2025 edition of Elle Decoration magazine.