Meet new Companion Dan Goode
Dan, a new Companion of the Guild, is, in true Ruskinian spirit, something of a polymath, passionate about supporting and advocating for the makers and craftspeople of the UK. Here he introduces himself and the wonderful variety of events, organisations and initiatives with which he is involved.
Dan Goode of Making Goode and Handmade in Britain
I encountered The Guild of St. George at the opening of the most recent John Ruskin Prize exhibition. Struck by the event, and curious about the organisation behind it, I began to research the Guild’s history and mission. It wasn’t long before I was reaching out.
I had been longing for a greater sense of cooperation and community for some time, precious qualities that are often absent, or even discounted, in our modern world. I was deeply moved therefore when I visited the Guild’s website and encountered the very environment I had been seeking. Here was a place to engage with people, to share values, to proffer skills and to join a community of likeminded people who wish, in their individual ways, to make the world a better place.
It soon became apparent that Ruskin had hovered around me for years, although it had taken an encounter with the Guild to spot him. I learned that I had grown up and attended school not far from Ruskin Land, and my home backs onto the Wandle, a river Ruskin new well and cared about deeply. It was the Wandle of course which powered the textile mills of Merton Abbey, famous for the fabrics of William Morris. I have helped tend my local stretch of the Wandle for the last fifteen years, and the many parks through which it meanders offer a rare glimpse of a bygone Surrey, hemmed in now by South West London suburbs.
The River Wandle in South West London, much loved by John Ruskin
Professionally, I have been an advocate of the UK craft industry for nearly two decades, working with organisations spanning the whole making sector. Presently, I am the Consultant Director of Handmade in Britain, the organisation behind Handmade Oxford and Handmade Chelsea, two of the UK’s most established craft fairs. I curate up to two craft events weekly in London, with the key event, Canopy Market, offering a low-cost venue in the capital for established and emerging designer-makers. I sit on the board of The New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, and have been instrumental for several years in their annual Rising Stars Exhibition as a selector, judge and speaker. I judge the craft category of the annual Global Design Graduate Showcase, and for three years I have been the curator of the annual exhibition of The London Potters at The Morley Gallery in London. Lastly, I am an NLP Master Practitioner, and I coach makers and creative people through my own business, Making Goode.
While it may appear at first glance that I wear differing hats professionally, core tenets underpin everything I do:
- Initiating and sustaining craft communities and offering opportunities
- Connecting individuals and organisations
- Helping makers, and creatives in a wider setting, connect with their work more deeply
- Helping makers speak more authentically, and to be heard, over the din of our primarily mass-produced, disposable world
- Keeping talented and valuable people in the creative industries
- Creating sustainable and supportive working relationships
Curation, coaching, speaking, writing, judging, advocacy and my board position, all these roles unite under these banners and ultimately share the same mission.
Dan Goode, and Angel Tan of The House Directory, chatting to Beam Irwin of Blooms by Beam at Handmade Oxford 2025
An aerial view of Handmade Oxford
It was in the spirit of forging connections that I initially reached out to the Guild with the idea of celebrating John Ruskin via Handmade in Britain’s annual craft shows in Oxfordshire and Chelsea: an opportunity to bring the works of the Guild to a wider audience passionate about craft, art and provenance. I would still like to explore this with the blessing of the Guild and its Companions in the coming months. In the short term, I would like to organise a special discounted ticket for this year’s shows for anyone in the Guild who wishes to attend, beginning with Handmade Oxford which will return to Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire from the 12th-14th June.
I understand a key component of being a Companion is to offer skills to the Guild and its community and I would like to offer to the Guild and its Companions my event planning experience; my knowledge of nationwide craftspeople across all disciplines; my passion for forging connections between individuals and organisations; the knowledge I have gleaned from sitting on the board of a gallery; my curatorial experience and my NLP and coaching skills to help others to develop and to grow.
In addition, I offer a germ of an idea I have been building which connects to the environmental and humanitarian aspect of the Guild’s work. I am slowly formulating an extension of my coaching practice which will see me walk clients in an uncultivated, natural setting. What drives this ambition is a belief that we could all benefit from exploring our inner lives, and inner obstacles, while walking in a space that would encourage us to let go, if only briefly, of the more intensely cultivated aspects of our personalities. I believe that walking in a wild space, teeming with life and evoking freedom, would encourage and support this kind of exploration. I see this development in my own practice uniting art, nature and mindfulness in a process designed to help and enrich the lives of others.
The moving of my coaching practice into nature is not a random idea. Alongside my work in the creative sector, my husband and I have in our own small way supported nature in south London for years by turning a classic, lawned suburban garden into a wildlife haven with ponds, wildflowers and nature-supporting plants and habitats. I have benefited profoundly from experiencing a less cultivated, more natural space, and I want to share these benefits in the coaching setting.
I am thrilled to join the community of The Guild of St. George, and I look forward very much to meeting you all in November. If anyone would like to know more about any aspects of the work I do, would like to visit the Handmade in Britain shows this year or would like to discuss my idea of bringing the Guild to the Handmade in Britain shows, please do not hesitate to contact me.
A wildlife haven beside the River Wandle in suburban South London