Gift Box
Your gift, which is part of your welcome pack, is inside a slim rectangular box, made from cardboard.
Top left is the ‘4600 Gifts’ logo which is in the shape of a gift tag.
Top right there is writing ‘Handmade by the people of Birmingham for Athletes or the Commonwealth Games. Produced by Craftspace for the Birmingham 2022 Festival’.
Along the bottom of the front of the box there are images of iconic Birmingham buildings.
All of the logos, wording, and images on the front of the box are printed in blue and white.
The box can be opened along the width, by pulling out two tabs.
On the back of the box there is writing which reads;
‘Thanks and Acknowledgments
To the people of Birmingham, (adults, school children, young people and disabled people), for their time, generosity and skills
The artists’ team; Pottinger & Cole, Laura Nyahuye, Mahawa Keita and Kalandra McFarquhar
The Project Manager Jo Löki and volunteer team
The workshop delivery team; lead artists Mahawa Keita and Tia Parmar with Dawn Denton and Shelanu members
The many community groups who hosted workshops
Shelanu Women’s Craft Collective for use of their drawing of the Birmingham city skyline
Stephens Gaskets
The Scrapstore Birmingham
BPN Architects
Common Curiosity
© Craftspace’
Leaflet
When the box is opened there is a folded leaflet. The front of the leaflet reads ‘4600 Gifts, From one hand to another’.
When opened the copy in the leaflet reads;
‘A Small Gift of Welcome.
A token of friendship, made with love from the people of this region to you the 4668 athletes of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Each unique charm is hand-made by a local person in one of over a hundred citywide community workshops.
Joining two rings together as part of the design represents an act of friendship and connection, whilst the fabrics and coloured threads reflect the many countries and colours of the Commonwealth flags. The gift is designed so that you can decide how to wear or use your charm. You can attach it to your kit bag, wear it as a pin badge, clip it to your lanyard or take it home for display.
Take a look at the gift tag for a personal message from the maker of your charm. Share your thoughts and photos of you using your gift. #4600Gifts #B2022.
More About your Gift
Artists Pottinger & Cole, Laura Nyahuye, Mahawa Keita and Kalandra McFarquhar collaborated with Craftspace to devise the concept. Two metal rings form the base and are
decorated using a variety of textile techniques. The materials and packaging are locally sourced and upcycled with sustainability in mind. The metal rings are made by manufacturer Stephens Gaskets, reflecting the city’s industrial heritage. The threads and fabrics are from the Scrapstore and small independent traders.
Birmingham is the second biggest and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in England. With a population of 1.2 million, there are 40+ different languages spoken. It was known as ‘the workshop of the world’ with reference to many different trades, making skills and manufacturing that thrived here. Made by many hands, 4600 Gifts celebrates still thriving craft skills in our community today.’
On the next page there are QR codes which can be scanned to find out more about the 4600 Gifts story. The first QR code is a titled film by Ahsen Sayeed. The second QR code is a link to this audio description.
‘Fixing Instructions.
Attach your gift using the two fixings supplied.
Produced by Craftspace for the Birmingham 2022 Festival, twitter tweetcraftspace, Instagram craftspace_, birmingham2022.com/festival’
This section includes two images showing how to attach the gift to a bag using the clip and how to attach the gift to a piece of clothing using the pin.
The Gift
The base of the gift is two metal rings. They have been decorated and joined together. The rings have been wrapped with colourful patterned African and Asian fabrics and single-coloured threads leaving some of the metal uncovered. There is texture from a variety of techniques including crochet, blanket stitch, knotting and beading.
The gift sits on top of a cardboard insert, fixed to the carboard insert are clip and pin fixings.
The gift is accompanied by a small handwritten message on a white paper gift tag. One side of the tag has stamped text which reads ‘made in Brum with love by’ followed by a hand written name of the person who made the gift, along with a short message which reads ‘Welcome to Birmingham, be a rainbow in somebody’s cloud’.
