What is Echo Mines, Who is Shal Mines & What We Use To Make Our Art.

 Echo Mines Studio is a small, independent art studio based
out of Bedfordshire, England.  The studio
is primarily operated by upcycle and mixed media artist Shal Mines, she
embodies the ethos of finding beauty in the most damaged items, reclaiming and
repairing them, and granting each item a new lease of life while retaining its
original form. 

 The studio finds inspiration through the Japanese aesthetic
philosophy Wabi-Sabi: the idea of finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence
and incompletion.

 Echo Mines Studio has always been inspired by the patina,
damage and wear that can be found on items, especially those that really
shouldn't have survived. Shal looks to draw on the influences of Wabi-Sabi and
other mixed-media art forms to juxtapose these items with a life they could
never have had.

 In an age where items are discarded and not reused or reclaimed,
Echo Mines Studio takes pride in creating art with an array
of items and materials that already had stories to tell.  Shal often includes the history of where an
item came from and the state of disrepair before she began to work on it.

 

About Shal Mines:

 

Shal Mines is an English mixed media artist based in
Bedfordshire, England. She has developed her skills over the last 15yrs to
become a mixed media specialist and recently a propmaker to Cosplayers and Escape
rooms  making props and costumes via commission for various companies and individual Cosplayers.

 And when shes not doing that she is
using her skills to repurpose items of yesteryear to create stunning, unique
works for exhibitions and galleries to further her career as a Professional Artist.

 Shal discovered that she was born with a spectrum disorder called
Aphantasia (the inability to visualise with the mind’s eye). She discovered this while studying her
BA in Art and Design. This realisation allowed her to understand her artistic
process in a way she never could before and opened up her design process to
create individual, striking works.

 As her studio begins to flourish, Shal continues to re-evaluate
how she'd like her studio to move forward. She currently spends her days
creating intricate book carvings, repurposed artworks, custom leatherwork and
cosplay props. Regardless of her direction, the goal will always be to retain
the usefulness of past items while juxtaposing them with an artistic flair that
is truly unique.

Manufacturing Info :

Here at the Echo Mines Studio we are just a bunch of dust bunnies and love to make item from really broken and damaged items that for some reason have managed to avoid ending up in the bin. We embrace the idea of Japanese aesthetic
philosophy Wabi-Sabi: the idea of finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence
and incompletion.

So we make items that may be up to and over 150yrs old. Even though every item is inspected we cannot guarantee what is in the original construct of the materials we use. So we can only advise that if you do suffer with allergies to certain materials that you contact us first before a purchase.

Please note also that all our items ( unless stated ) are not toys and are for display purposes only. The vast amount of art works created at the Mines are paper or book based or leather with a smattering of what ever wonderful item we found while down the Mines.