235 Years of Craftsmanship with Smedley: Zoe Wilson

On May 10th 2019, QEST scholars Zoe Wilson and Alice Walton held an event at John Smedley’s Jermyn Street Store on Craft & Form.

Zoe Wilson started out as an apprentice stonemason, carrying on having over 10 years of training in the craft and is now known as a very accomplished craftsman; Zoe brings forward the importance of appreciating a solid practical foundation.

Firstly, starting out in the industry 11 years ago when Zoe worked for a company that specialised in Granite work surfaces, her role here was cutting and polishing large pieces of granite along with limestone flooring tiles. This is when she realised, she really enjoyed the workshop environment and had her first taste of skilled craftsmanship.

Zoe’s company name ‘Lapidis’ comes from the Latin name for ‘of the stone’. Lapidis provides a range of pieces, all hand carved in stone, these range from individually designed pieces to letter carving, sculpture work and architectural work.

Zoe’s favourite part of creating a piece starts with generating an idea, turning the idea into a design and then carving the design into stone. The process is made up of different elements all of which Zoe enjoys, however, the final stage of carving into stone just using a mallet and chisel has always been her favourite aspect.