0:00:18 > 0:00:22It's almost like if you spend enough time with Hull and it trusts you
0:00:22 > 0:00:26enough to open itself up to you, all of these gems start coming out.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39Hull has this really interesting history of community spirit and
0:00:39 > 0:00:41community connection
0:00:41 > 0:00:46and working with tools and working with materials and hand making.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52Not everybody can use these sophisticated machines but everybody
0:00:52 > 0:00:54can use their hands to make something.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59As with anything handmade, people are not just buying the product.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02It becomes an obsession, while you're working.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04It's a fever, sort of thing.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07There's only one way to do it and that's properly.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I don't think we get a lot of help from anybody.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15They just get on with it in Hull.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28For me, the most interesting thing about Hull and the most special part
0:01:28 > 0:01:30about Hull are the people that make it.
0:01:51 > 0:01:58I am fascinated by people using tools and people who find their
0:01:58 > 0:02:01sense of belonging through using their hands.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05And I wanted to look at different ways,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09different craft techniques or different materials can relate and
0:02:09 > 0:02:10give a sense of place.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14It's all about stories, isn't it?
0:02:16 > 0:02:17That's what makes it important.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41HUMMING
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Any particular job, if you are engrossed in it...
0:03:03 > 0:03:04..you can get lost in what you're doing.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09And everything else doesn't matter.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Because there's a lot of pressures in life,
0:03:15 > 0:03:16it can become a therapy.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- VOICEOVER:- The Mariner's compass is distracted by other magnetic bodies
0:03:26 > 0:03:28and some corrective means have to be found.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33In front of the compass is the Flinders bar
0:03:33 > 0:03:35which rectifies the magnetic pull of the ship's funnel.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38And around it is grouped a massive iron to counteract the pull from
0:03:38 > 0:03:40other metallic parts of the ship.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45It's a scientific job for the compass adjuster.
0:03:45 > 0:03:46A final examination,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49a little adjustment here and there and the compass is ready for a
0:03:49 > 0:03:51practical test under working conditions.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01In our heyday, we used to make about 80 of these a year.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Every time you come in the door, there's something different to do.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12So I might be a week on the lathe downstairs, turning the big castings.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18Then a week on the small lathe downstairs turning the small parts.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30And then after that, I'll be assembling for a week.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38And then I'll be finishing off and spraying.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42So it's a process that's from start to finish,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44so you're never going to get bored of it.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52The compass has a liquid in it
0:04:52 > 0:04:56to stop the directional system from vibrating.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07If you didn't have it in spirit, it would be vibrating all over the place,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09picking up every movement of the ship.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16So I put it in the test rig and I'm able to view it from eyelevel,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18to see that it's completely balanced
0:05:18 > 0:05:20and it's also central.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23And that it's pointing the right direction.
0:05:38 > 0:05:39When I left school...
0:05:41 > 0:05:44..I sort of had a choice of about three or four jobs but this was the
0:05:44 > 0:05:48only job where I could do an instrument from start to finish.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54That's the main thing because very few jobs where you get that
0:05:54 > 0:05:55satisfaction.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12I started in 1968 here.
0:06:14 > 0:06:15So that's...
0:06:17 > 0:06:1868... 50...
0:06:22 > 0:06:24I can't work it out. It's a long time.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28A very long time.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39It was a five-year apprenticeship then
0:06:39 > 0:06:44and by the age of 21, you was expected to be able to make one,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46you know, from start to finish.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59To me, apprenticeships was a good thing because...
0:07:00 > 0:07:04..if you was learning from a chap who had all the knowledge,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08you was obligated to that chap and you would respect him because you
0:07:08 > 0:07:09wanted his knowledge.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19So you learnt character from that chap...
0:07:24 > 0:07:26..and that's how apprenticeships worked.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30So if you didn't do your job, you got a right...
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Well, you got a right telling off in them days.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37And that's how you got respect for the job.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Before they built that building,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05I used to be able to see the adjusters going up and down the river on the
0:08:05 > 0:08:09boats. They used to give us a wave when they went down the Humber.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11And I could see them
0:08:11 > 0:08:12and we used to wave to each other.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18And you could see them as clear as day waving away.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50We used to say, it makes men out of boys, when they go to sea.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59You either get used to it and you adapt to it and you toughen up,
0:08:59 > 0:09:00or you don't go to sea any more.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39You had to watch yourself what you was doing, you could soon get
0:09:39 > 0:09:41knocked over the side. But in general,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45the major loss of life obviously was to the weather conditions,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48to the ships capsizing because they iced up and ran aground
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and that kind of thing, you know.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08We went to the Arctic,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12so you obviously were going to get bad weather conditions.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15And you got a lot of icing up
0:10:15 > 0:10:19where the superstructure on the ship bridge, the masts and everything,
0:10:19 > 0:10:23used to collect ice due to the conditions.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Difficult to clear it off, could become dangerous.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32You were fishing the Arctic so you weren't going to get
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Caribbean weather, were you?
0:10:40 > 0:10:42From starting as a young deckhand,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46the things you had to know was how to gut a fish, how to clean the fish.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52How to repair the net and fix the net together and the main thing was
0:10:52 > 0:10:55actually hauling and shooting the gear because it was a dangerous
0:10:55 > 0:10:58thing in lots of respects.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00And it was the most important thing,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03that you got the gear up and down as quickly as possible.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05You know, cos time meant money.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18When the trawl get snagged on the bottom, you can do considerable damage.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21You know, you might have a rip down the trawl that's about 20-25,
0:11:21 > 0:11:2530ft long and you've got to start repairing that.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30The whole purpose of this is to make sure that you repair the hole and
0:11:30 > 0:11:34that every mesh has got four sides to it,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36as it should have.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41If you've done a lifetime at sea, on board of a trawler,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44you mend nets regularly, you repair nets regularly,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46so it just becomes second nature.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49It's automatic. Probably do it with my eyes closed, you know.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Fishing, it brought prosperity to Hull.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01In particular West Hull.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05West Hull was the hub of the fishing industry,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and Hull Hessle Road.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12It was such a vibrant area, you know.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17There's a saying by a local author, it's a village within a city.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41You know, this was the place where, you know, every fisherman...
0:12:41 > 0:12:45I wouldn't say everyone was born and bred on this road but once you
0:12:45 > 0:12:47entered the fishing community,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51this was where you gravitated to most of the time.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59We didn't think of ourselves as being heroic for going to sea.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01We didn't think about it or talk about it much.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03And I don't know anybody who did.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05No, no. But we lost many, many friends.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10- Yes.- I should imagine I lost maybe a third to half of the people that, you know,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12I'd grown up with and first gone to sea with.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17If we could turn the clock back, we'd all probably do it again, you know.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Even knowing what we know now.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21We would probably do it again, wouldn't we?
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Yeah, yeah. If you could get a Zimmer frame aboard the trawler!
0:13:46 > 0:13:48People have always had fish in Hull.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Part of their identity, right?
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Filleting is a specialised job.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59You might not think it, but it is a specialised job.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Once you've learnt a trade, it's just like riding a bike, isn't it?
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It's no different to riding a bike.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12You learn them skills, you can always get work.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15And that's how it is, that's how life is.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31It took me round about three years. That was to get to do it properly
0:14:31 > 0:14:32and cut every type
0:14:32 > 0:14:34of fish that was available to cut.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38So it's not a quick process.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40But that's just the way I was brought up.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58The key thing about a knife is never to be frightened of it.
0:14:58 > 0:14:59You know, get a good grip on the handle.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Don't be frightened of the knife.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03If you're going to get a cut, you get a cut.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05I've had some really bad cuts in my time.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11I've took the full top of my thumb off once.
0:15:11 > 0:15:12You know. That's how it goes.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14But you know...
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Get on with it, do you know what I mean?
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Just get on with the job and that's it.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Done.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- What are you after darling? - Who, me?
0:15:27 > 0:15:32- Yeah, what do you want?- Er, can I just have two boxes of batter, have you got any?
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- Yeah, one here. How many do you want? One?- Two.- Two.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42- Nice morning.- Lovely.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46- Going anywhere good?- No.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- Oh, well. - Not today.- Don't be mardy.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52People love shopping round this area.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55You get a personal touch,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58you get a conversation about the fish, if you want it.
0:15:58 > 0:15:59You can ask any question.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04But we are struggling, competing with supermarkets.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14I mean, things move on in life, do you know what I mean?
0:16:14 > 0:16:15But it is sad in a lot of ways.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19And, you know, especially Hull now, just like...
0:16:19 > 0:16:22It's a crying shame because, you know, it could be better.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34I first started when I was 15.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38That's all the work there was at that time.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Either an apprenticeship or go down the docks.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42I chose to go down the docks.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44That's where I ended up.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54It was hard work but I enjoyed it. It was good. It was good fun.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55And it was exciting, do you know what I mean?
0:16:55 > 0:16:58You felt... You weren't stuck in a factory, you felt free.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Actually. Do you know what I mean?
0:17:28 > 0:17:31There was a great community spirit,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33especially if you were from this side of the town.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37You'll have heard people talk about Hessle Road and that was a big community.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45We've had the whaling industry, we've had the fishing,
0:17:45 > 0:17:51and I suppose it's bred a sort of tough type of person here.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05The gentleman that used to do this job before me,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08I was so fascinated with what he did,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12I mistakenly asked if I could just try it when he was on a quiet period.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15And once he retired,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17"Julie, can you go do this?"
0:18:17 > 0:18:18And I've been doing it ever since.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33I always find when I'm talking to people,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35they might ask me, "Well, where do you work?"
0:18:35 > 0:18:36And I tell them.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37"I've seen that place."
0:18:38 > 0:18:40"What do they do there?"
0:18:40 > 0:18:41And people have thought...
0:18:41 > 0:18:45At one time, somebody thought the place manufactured eggs because it's
0:18:45 > 0:18:47got the lion - British Lion - eggs.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49No, no. We do heraldry.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09I'm actually carving a centrepiece for a large coat of arms that's
0:19:09 > 0:19:12going to be on the side of a train.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16It's going to be actually cast in metal and we are just doing a
0:19:16 > 0:19:22master mould, if you want, for the resin centrepiece.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29I suppose I'm one of the old hands here now, you know,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31doing all this sort of thing.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38I suppose after 44 years, I should know it now.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Although, you can learn something new all the time,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44like most jobs.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57It's rather a strange job it is,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00in the fact that I don't know anybody that does this sort of thing.
0:20:02 > 0:20:09And the difficulty is looking at the picture and realising which part is
0:20:09 > 0:20:13going to be the most prominent and that's got to be the deepest part in
0:20:13 > 0:20:16the plaster. So it's a little bit trial and error sometimes,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18especially with the eyes.
0:20:42 > 0:20:43I get them like that...
0:20:45 > 0:20:47..and then I've got to put all the detail on.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52So I get them as a silhouette and I've got to put all the detail on...
0:20:55 > 0:20:56..and I have to cover up all the mistakes.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07And I'll ink it on because it gives it a finer detail.
0:21:12 > 0:21:13That's how it goes.
0:21:13 > 0:21:14What was I doing?
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Hull has its good points and its bad points.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28It's no different to anywhere else.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Everywhere has its scruffy places, everywhere has its posh places.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I don't think we get a lot of help from anybody.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44They just get on with it in Hull.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45You know. We just don't whinge.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47We just get on with it.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03I personally think everybody's got some sort of artistic skill.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06I know you hear people say, "I can't do that."
0:22:06 > 0:22:08But there's some artistic skill in everybody, whatever it is,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12even if it's a piece of abstract art or anything.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I'd like to be a lot better than I am but I've still got the interest
0:22:18 > 0:22:21to carry on learning and trying to find out new things.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02I've always worked next to the Humber.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04I was born here. I feel its moods, as well.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08It's a moody river. It's the most beautiful river in the world for me.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14It's a big sky and it's never the same.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Ever the same.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28I'm often called a sculptor and I'm not.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30I'm called an artist, I'm not.
0:23:30 > 0:23:31I do what I do.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44In the old days, there were the shipyards, where there were always ship's carvers.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45Great furniture workshops.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48They're all gone. They're not fashionable now.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51You see there are not facilities for carvers,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54it's just a decorative thing nowadays, mostly.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09The first thing anybody ever says is, "Oh, how long does it take you?"
0:24:09 > 0:24:11And the answer is I don't know.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13And the other thing they ask me,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17"What happens if you knock a bit off and you shouldn't?"
0:24:17 > 0:24:20I've got it all planned in me head.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22In order to make a real mistake,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26I've got to give it 20 or 30 blows in order to make that mistake,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28haven't I?
0:24:28 > 0:24:29So...
0:24:36 > 0:24:39And now the finger is starting to go under, very nicely now.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54When I'm doing the detail and I'm doing the under carving and the bits
0:24:54 > 0:24:56that I like to show off with and people think,
0:24:56 > 0:24:57"How the devil has he got in there?"
0:24:57 > 0:25:01I've made a tool to do it and just for a few cuts.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03And I have a lot of tools.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05I recognise them all, I know where they all are,
0:25:05 > 0:25:06and I recognise them.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09I don't know how. But by the handles and whatnot.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13I love my tools and I do take great care of them.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17I have to. And they are an extension of me.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25This particular piece is part of a 600-year tribute to the
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Agincourt archers.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35I had the privilege to shoot on my birthday at Agincourt for the 600th
0:25:35 > 0:25:41anniversary. So I am an archer and that was the inspiration.
0:26:18 > 0:26:24I do like to see beautiful things and I like to express myself in wood
0:26:24 > 0:26:26but I don't think that I'm an artist,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29from most of the artists I've met I'm completely different.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39When I'm working, I work to the radio.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I work to music or I work to Radio 4,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46unless there's some daft plays on that drive me mad.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48But I can't work in complete silence.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00Sometimes I go back to the work and I remember the piece of music.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02So there must be something instilled in the wood.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Plus the other thing is it helps with the thinking process
0:27:07 > 0:27:09As I'm working,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12I'm working it out because it's not always obvious where I'm going to go
0:27:12 > 0:27:13with it.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18It sort of reveals itself.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Rather like a crossword puzzle.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26You get a clue here and a clue there and eventually it all gradually comes together.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41It becomes an obsession while you're working.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43It's a fever sort of thing.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46But I quite enjoy it really.
0:27:46 > 0:27:47It's not a bad thing.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18I guess it all started with my dad because my dad restored an 1884 Hull
0:28:18 > 0:28:20sailing trawler.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23And I guess my dad, with having wooden boats, maybe angled me
0:28:23 > 0:28:25towards Lowestoft College
0:28:25 > 0:28:26so he had a son that good fix his boats.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38The actual building process is pretty...
0:28:38 > 0:28:41You know, it's one foot after another because that's the traditional way,
0:28:41 > 0:28:45you know. But then there's a final approach where you just say, "That's
0:28:45 > 0:28:48right," you know. And it's an eye thing and so that's where I think the
0:28:48 > 0:28:49artistry comes in.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11It's nice that people are interested in it.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16The fact there is still people wanting to spend money on vessels like this, really.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18You know, I'm lucky in that respect.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21And everyone here who works here actually likes what they do.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Projects like this, it's got to pulse with the owner's wallet, really.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38And you know, we're into this just over two years now.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41So yeah, this one is
0:29:41 > 0:29:44probably going to span five years, actually, in the end.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56It's the first time we've copper-bottomed such a big vessel.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01And they chose to do it, A, because it was originally coppered,
0:30:01 > 0:30:05and B, because it's the best anti-fouling you can have.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10There's what, 29,000 copper nails in that.
0:30:10 > 0:30:1212,500 pounds worth of copper.
0:30:14 > 0:30:15Expensive to do,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18but in the long term, it will probably last about 30 years.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27The fact that it's actually a machine that you're making and it is going
0:30:27 > 0:30:31to go to sea and people's lives depend on it then, means that there's only
0:30:31 > 0:30:33one way to do it and that's properly.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39MUSIC: Coming Home by Leon Bridges
0:31:32 > 0:31:36It's a hard thing to do is to keep that, you know,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40positive attitude about what you're doing, because it is a big project.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42They are all big projects, you know.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46But you get big satisfaction out of bringing something to completion,
0:31:46 > 0:31:47for sure.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06I think if somebody said you had to either make boats or go sailing and
0:32:06 > 0:32:08you couldn't do both and what would you do?
0:32:08 > 0:32:11I think I would make boats, you know.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07Flowerpots are quite different to sort of studio pottery.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Most flowerpot makers are able to easily turn out half a tonne of clay a day.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12Half a tonne of pots.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15If they had to, they'd be able to do a tonne of clay in an eight-hour,
0:33:15 > 0:33:16nine-hour day.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43People would look at this and go, "It's a very creative job", but it isn't, really.
0:33:43 > 0:33:44I'm an artisan.
0:33:46 > 0:33:47There's no art in what I do,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49it's just craftsmanship.
0:33:49 > 0:33:50It's just, you know...
0:33:51 > 0:33:53I'm making things that other people want.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Although, yeah, you do take care and you've got pride in your work...
0:34:00 > 0:34:04It's a flowerpot at the end of the day.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44You'd make around about 500 of these in a day.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Something like that. Depends on the size of the pot you're making.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51So, these are a very quick and simple pot.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55Got to try and do it in so many moves.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Sometimes it's quite a difficult pot to talk to because you
0:35:01 > 0:35:03lose slight concentration and you lose the pot.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16There's pots that are suited to our clay.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18This is quite a rough and ready...
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Our clay is a wild clay.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25We use it as dug.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27So this is pretty much straight from the ground.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35The main tool we use is the rib, which...
0:35:35 > 0:35:39The name is derived from the fact we would have used animal ribs,
0:35:39 > 0:35:40originally.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44The ones that I use in particular are titanium
0:35:44 > 0:35:50and they were made unofficially in the Jaguar factory many years ago by
0:35:50 > 0:35:54an apprentice's father-in-law, who was a panel beater there.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56So I've got some quite special ribs.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Normally we'd use
0:36:01 > 0:36:03the end of a stainless steel spade,
0:36:03 > 0:36:05and cut that.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17As you come across the bridge,
0:36:17 > 0:36:22you'll see a myriad of ponds all over the place.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25So there was at one point up to 18 yards.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36And most of the yards were on the banks.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39So coal would come in for firing the kilns
0:36:39 > 0:36:42and tiles would be taken away, all by boat.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52MUSIC: River by Leon Bridges
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Those machines are what we call stupids.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37So, originally they would have had where you saw the small... the crank handle, where the
0:37:37 > 0:37:38electric motor is now.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41The guy would have cranked that round.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43So that probably
0:37:43 > 0:37:45would have had to be quite stupid
0:37:45 > 0:37:47to do that. So hence the name stupids.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51So if you go to any tile works, what machines do they use?
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Do they use an extruder, wod box or a stupid?
0:37:54 > 0:37:56And everybody will know what it is.
0:38:28 > 0:38:34There is still a call for this type of tile, so we'll get a small premium
0:38:34 > 0:38:36because it is a handmade product.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48As with anything handmade, people are not just buying the product,
0:38:48 > 0:38:50not just buying that,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53they are buying also a little bit of their experience of having been here,
0:38:53 > 0:38:58met you, talked to you, seen the clay that you use, how you use it,
0:38:58 > 0:39:00what you make it in, and what you make.
0:39:04 > 0:39:10If yards like this cease to exist, you'd be losing a lot of skills,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13skills to actually manipulate clay, to move clay.
0:39:17 > 0:39:22There's not many people with my sort of levels of skills left.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26You know, we're all getting old and there's no-one really
0:39:26 > 0:39:28coming up behind us.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40It will be a real shame if that's lost, if that's gone.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17My work generally consists of making tools
0:40:17 > 0:40:22and doing an artwork that is based around traditional heritage craft
0:40:22 > 0:40:25or a traditional material from the location where I am.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32Tools are the best way, for me, to make objects that talk about caring
0:40:32 > 0:40:34for a public space.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47So I'm interested in this rallying cry of looking after things and working
0:40:47 > 0:40:49with your hands and finding a sense
0:40:49 > 0:40:52of yourself and finding a sense of yourself,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55and finding a sense of place through working with your hands.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Making tools and showing them in an exhibition...
0:41:01 > 0:41:06..can be problematic, because you're making an art object, almost a
0:41:06 > 0:41:11fetish object of something that's practical,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14so there's a balance there, there's a line to walk really.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22But my fond memories of Hull are the
0:41:22 > 0:41:27people that I've met and the chats with people I've had so what I wanted to do
0:41:27 > 0:41:32is to make a tool for each of the people that I've met and to make
0:41:32 > 0:41:36something that's actually useful for them, so it's not an art object,
0:41:36 > 0:41:40so to speak. It is something that actually they want
0:41:40 > 0:41:42and it's useful for them.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47For Julie, it's a bit of a hybrid
0:41:47 > 0:41:51between carving tools and ceramic tools
0:41:51 > 0:41:55and you know she's kind of borrowing from lots and lots of different
0:41:55 > 0:42:00disciplines, which is quite interesting because she's got that freedom and
0:42:00 > 0:42:03that kind of spirit to just grab what she needs from
0:42:03 > 0:42:05lots of different places.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08So I want to work with that and make some tools for her that fit
0:42:08 > 0:42:10the bill perfectly.
0:42:16 > 0:42:17I'm making Brian a
0:42:17 > 0:42:24set of vessels which he will use to pour the liquid that he uses to fill
0:42:24 > 0:42:25the compasses.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Brian is a man who knows what he wants and can probably make it
0:42:30 > 0:42:32himself in lots of instances.
0:42:32 > 0:42:37So it needs to work really well for him so actually all of that kind of
0:42:37 > 0:42:42design element is quite important because you can't have something that
0:42:42 > 0:42:45looks beautiful that basically doesn't do the job properly.
0:42:48 > 0:42:55And then Gabriel has some tools that he really likes, which are called ribs
0:42:55 > 0:43:00and he has a set of them that are titanium.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03But he's missing some of the shapes that he now wants with the different
0:43:03 > 0:43:04things that he's making.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11You can look at something and you can unpick it,
0:43:11 > 0:43:15you can understand what it could have been for.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17You know, even if you've never seen it before,
0:43:17 > 0:43:20you can imagine what's been made with that or what you could make with that.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22And so they're really special objects.
0:43:34 > 0:43:40People feel quite emboldened to just interact with things in Hull.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45So, there's this incredible spirit of no-nonsense,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48for sure, no-nonsense,
0:43:48 > 0:43:53and resourcefulness and just a practical nature.
0:43:56 > 0:44:02Having that sense of power and sense of strength to be able to use your
0:44:02 > 0:44:06hands to make things if you want to, means that you can connect with an
0:44:06 > 0:44:09environment in a different way.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11And you are more of an active participant in the world,
0:44:11 > 0:44:13rather than a consumer.
0:44:17 > 0:44:22Hull is this really, really knotty ball and it actually takes a little
0:44:22 > 0:44:27while to get through that first layer and as soon as you do, you know,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29it rewards you.