Trends that occur without any form of advertisement or media support always fascinate. They must stand alone supported by no bullshit and live or die on their own merits. Along with the growth in healthy eating and wholefood shops and the proliferation of car boot sales (the Sunday morning alternative to church) a quite amazing branch of furniture, that has nothing to do with high design or any of the government councils (crafts, arts, design) has evolved. Major pieces of material culture are being commissioned by a growing clientele who are in the know, and from a growing body of small studios creating work that is the technical match of any period of furniture history. This show has been curated, in part, to highlight this phenomenon and reveal some private parts of these makers practice.

The commissioning process is itself a private relationship between maker and client and often great works are never seen by a public largely unaware of the possibility. Some feel that cost prohibits the option and a trip to Ikea for an off the peg disposable fashion item is their furnishing call. These hand crafted pieces are heirlooms that will outlast us all and seen as such represent better value for money. Does anyone who enjoys food shop entirely in Asda, when the delicatessen, butcher and farmers market offers so much more? Whether this phenomenon amounts to a movement has been open to discussion on internet chat rooms of late.

The work spans a broad family of objects that operate on many independent levels incorporating the skills of fine craft through to fine art. The various studios represented operate largely in isolation and the artistic objectives are diverse and often have little in common. Perhaps this lack of communication, this lack of an 'ism' or a 'post', this lack of a common philosophical thread is its very strength. There is just the dance. Literary critics have yet to nail us down and analyse what we are doing. Once they do, it could all get very self-conscious, like when the lights come back on at the end of the night. Once writers suck out and reassemble all our common denominators it is time to move on to the next party. But until the music stops...

The artists in this show have all been selected through long and deep consideration, though explaining the logic is nigh on impossible. I hope that aesthetically the reasoning will be apparent and beyond words. Julie's photography has always fascinated me, the poetry of chance and the magic of her observation. Gareth's furniture, like a series of life forms will surely be remembered as amongst the best of its' time. Fred, whose work inspired me to realise that furniture could be more than just the background. There are few genuine one offs and we are lucky to have some here.

The title of the show has always been tongue in cheek but it captures some of the vulnerability of exhibiting. As an artist you put your views and beliefs on the line and present them for the general public to pass judgement on. It can be a traumatic experience but also a rewarding one. There are a couple of artists exhibiting here for the first time. They aren't new to design or making just that their working practice has never required them to do this. In many ways this show is most of all about them, as they epitomise the concept or reason for holding the exhibition …to highlight an inspiring yet largely secret avenue of material culture that has evolved and is growing without media help or hype. A group of working artists without grants or benefits who get by purely on the quality of their work.

Michael