Stephanie is interested in the role jewellery and craft can play as a method of healing. As a student she identified a number of gaps in how the public sector mental health and substance use services operate. She believes the assumption that service users can effectively communicate their needs verbally, or that they understand the full extent of what their needs are, is unfortunately often not the case, as a high percentage of service users suffer from related trauma, which prevents this from happening. This was where Stephanie had the idea for a new trauma-informed service in which people can express themselves non-verbally using craft – a service that would allow people a safe space to find their voice again.

As founder of Dundee Community Craft CIC, Stephanie is on a mission to make Dundee the Recovery Capital of Europe using Craft and Design. It is an organisation that provides workshops, education, employment opportunities, mental health and well-being support to highly vulnerable communities in Dundee affected by poverty, complex trauma, and substance use. Their team works with people within these communities, whom they call ‘community makers,’ to co-design and co-produce unique, hand-crafted metalwork and jewellery that are sold commercially to galleries and retail outlets.

DBACE Bursary Recipient