Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 1[st] September 2024 To 31[st] August 2025
Charity name: The Guild of Enamellers
Charity registration number: 1196237 (England and Wales), SC051518 (Scotland)
Objectives and Activities
The Guild’s objectives are
- to further the preservation, skill, excellence and improvement of craftsmanship in vitreous enamelling for the benefit of the public, and
2. to advance public education in such craftsmanship.
The activities that have been carried out since September 2023 in support of these objectives are
-
Annual conference – April 2025
-
Regional work shops
-
On-line workshops
-
The quarterly journal
-
Bursary Award 2025
More detail is given on each of these in the following section. Membership of the guild of enamellers is open to any member of the public who is interested in vitreous enamelling so all of these activities are aligned with the requirement that the Guild must operate for the public benefit. The trustees are fully aware of the guidance from the Charity Commission with regard to operating for public benefit.
The Guild is run by an enthusiastic volunteer community, the two principle components are the Regional Representatives who co-ordinate activities with in their regions, and the Executive Committee who are responsible for overseeing Guild activities.
Achievements and Performance
Annual conference – April 2025
The annual conference was held in Rugby School and was attended by 73 Guild members. The attendees benefited from recognised experts in the field of vitreous enamelling who gave their time to deliver a master class in enamel painting and seven workshops. The workshops covered the following subjects
-
Stone setting within the enamel - Alexandra Raphael
-
Torch fired enamel on copper and silver – Amanda Zoe
-
Watercolour Enamels – Emma Wilson
-
Enamel Painting - Gillie Hoyte Byrom
-
Working in Wire - Jacky Oliver
-
Stencilling - Janine Partington
-
Non-traditional Mark Making for Enamelling - Jessica Turrell
The master class was also made available over Zoom for people who were unable to attend the conference in person. In many cases people who attended the conference went on to deliver the same workshop in their local regions thus meeting the Guild’s second objective to advance public education in vitreous enamelling.
Regional work shops
The following regional workshops have been held this year – many thanks to the the organisers and the the tutors who travel to teach at them.
| Region | Date | Subject | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Cumbria) |
26/04/25 | Playing with metal; corrugation, hydraulic pressing and fold forming. |
Jill Leventon |
| 07/06/25 | Cold connections, combining enamel multiples |
Tilly Wilkinson | |
| 1 (Glasgow) |
30/11/24 | Enamelling on Steel | Julie Rattray |
| 14/06/25 | Crackle Enamel | Julie Rattray | |
| 2 | 21/09/24 | Seed beads | Navah Langmeyer |
| 08/02/25 | Basics day | Multiple | |
| 31/05/25 | Painting | Sheila McDonald | |
| 12/07/25 | Cold Connections | Navah Langmeyer | |
| 3&4 | 21/09/24 | Making waves | Deba McDonald |
| 19/10/24 | Designing in stencils | Harriet St Leger |
| 30/11/24 | Press forming | JillLeventon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/01/25 | Model making | Jill Leventon | |
| 17/06/25 | Bowls | Sharon Ford | |
| 28/06/25 | Gold/Silver foil | Sheila MacDonald | |
| 19/07/25 | Copper beads | Ann Jones | |
| 16/08/25 | Basic enamelling | Multiple | |
| *** | |||
| 6 | 08/06/25 | Plique a jour | Carole Lockwood |
| 22/03/25 | Bling | Multiple | |
| 7 | 28/09/24 | Hand engraving | Heather Larsen |
| 25/05/25 | Bowls | Sharon Ford | |
| 28/06/25 | Stencils | Janine Partington | |
| 02/08/25 | Decals | Shirley Gore |
*** Region 4 also run an (approximately) monthly session ‘Enamelling for fun’ led by Jill Leventon
ICHF participation
During early 2025 the Guild participated in two ICHF (International Craft and Hobby Fair) events, one in Glasgow and a second at the NEC in Birmingham. During these events members of the public were invited to ‘Have a Go’ at enamelling in sessions led by volunteers from the Guild. These sessions serve to meet the Guild’s second objective to advance public education in the craft. There are plans to continue the Guild’s involvement with ICHF. Our thanks go to the organisers and volunteers at the these events whose efforts have made them such a success.
Bursary award 2026
The 2024/5 Bursary was awarded to Imogen Hales The Bursary is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors - Milton Bridge, Proops Brothers, Vitrum Signum, Harrison&Harrison, Corby Kilns, the British Society of Enamellers, Cromartie Hobbycraft. and HS Walsh. We are delighted to welcome Taylor’s Enamels and Maddison’s of Durham as new sponsors for 2026.
The Journal
The Guild continues to produce four issues of the Journal each year, these are sent to all members. The educational/instructional articles from the Journal have been added to the relevant section of the website.
Donations
This year we were delighted to receive a significant donation from the estate of Kathleen Kay – a long term member of the Guild who made many valuable contributions to the Journal and teaching videos.
Financial Review
Policy on holding reserves
The Guild aims to hold sufficient reserves to be able to cover the cost of an annual conference. The conference is the Guild’s highest annual expenditure and highest risk item. In the event that we had to cancel a conference at short notice, it may be difficult to recover money that has already been committed to the venue.
The amount of reserves is held is: £45,468
Structure, Governance and Management
The Guild’s governing document is the Constitution and the Guild is constituted as an Association CIO.
Trustees are voted in annually at the Guild’s AGM in accordance with section 13 in the constitution. It is expected that trustees will be members of the Executive Committee and will usually include the three chairs (vice, current and retiring) and the holders of the following positions:
-
Secretary
-
Treasurer
-
Membership Secretary
-
Webmaster
-
Bursary Secretary
Reference and Administrative details
| Charity name | The Guild of Enamellers |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | - |
| Registered charity number | 1196237 (England and Wales) SC051518 (Scotland) |
| Charity’s principal address | 27 Avon Way, London, United Kingdom. E18 2AR. |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| Trustee name | Ofce (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) enttled to appoint trustee (if any) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoe Slatery | Webmaster | ||
| Roselyn Ann Jones | Awards and Selecton secretary, Bursary Secretary |
||
| Susan Rowley | Treasurer | ||
| Navah Langmeyer | Secretary | 8thOctober 2024 - present | |
| Carole Lockwood | Retring Chair | September 2024 – 11th April 2025 |
|
| Kathryn Phipps (Willis) |
Retring Chair (2025/6) | ||
| Julia Riddington | Membership secretary | ||
| Fiona Gurney | Chair (2025/6) | ||
| Christne Pearson | Vice Chair (2025/6) | 11thApril 2025 - present |
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Full name(s) Position Date
==> picture [140 x 161] intentionally omitted <==