Jam Factory

The Jam Factory has been a South Australian icon of craft and design since its inception in 1973. For years they have help many artists, craftspeople and designers in developing their creative. As part of the SALA Festival I have decided to give a factory a visit.
I am not much of an art person, but went I first visited this factory I was amaze at some of the creativities. The detail and the time spend to create these art works are amazing. The jam factory is divided into 4 areas; ceramics, furniture, metal and glass. As part of the SALA each area showcases some of their work to the public to see. One of my favour area is the glass studio, where you can go on a guided tour for a behind the scenes on how they make their glass work.
The factory is not just a place to create great artwork but also a school to help students to learn from experiences artists. They have a 2 year cause not only teaches students the techniques of their craft but also teaches them the necessary business skills to manage their own creative practice.
If you have any free time during the weekend visit the Jam Factory and be amaze at what you see.

I’ve never really spent much time in the Jam Factory. In my mind it was a shop, filled with pretty colourful things made by people far cleverer than me. But that was about as far as it went.
Then I popped in here to pick up some pieces my 11yr old niece had made during a kids holiday pottery class, and I was pretty impressed.
There are galleries with different exhibitions, where you can wander at your heart’s content. And there’s even a glassworks viewing platform, and glasswork is always interesting to watch.
I’m sure with a bit more time to spend here you’d be able to uncover even more.
I’ll definitely be back to explore it further.

I love anything that supports local arts, and the Jam Factory is a beautiful example of this.
Full of colour and glass, this not for profit organisation is a wonder for local artists and craftsmen to fulfil their passion and have it justly appreciated. The gallery always hosts wonderful unique and bold pieces and the tours allow you to watch art being created, a truly amazing experience.
The only thing that it’s lost a star for is how expensive everything is, but I get it. Artists most definitely need it, and it’s all so beautiful.

Hi, I’m Rosyn and I’m stupid. When I first heard of this place, I took the title too literally and thought it was going to be full of tasty jams. Well, its not quite a source of spreadable delights, but it certainly is delightful.
This not-​for-​profit organisation celebrates all that is design, art and crafts. A well known place of excellence, the Jam Factory presents exhibitions, tours of craftsmanship, public and educational programs, shops, and helps support local talent.
Whether it be ceramics, glass, furniture and metal design, this place offers an inspirational artistic experience. Expect to be google eyed wondering around the shop section!

Nestled in beside Adelaide’s Fowlers Live, a lager-​soaked music hall of teenage angst, is the Jamfactory. The interactive lay-​out of this arts centre enables visitors to watch artists while they are creating their pieces. This fly on the wall approach makes the Jamfactory a little like the Big Brother house of craft and design: you don’t have to be an accomplished artist to appreciate how cool it is to watch glass blowing from a viewing platform inside a glass studio. Also, all of the exhibitions at JamFactory are open and free to the public, all year round.
Jamfactory provides a unique opportunity for visitors to watch artists in action. You can see a ceramic bowl being thrown, and meet its creator. Or you can look at cups and saucers covered in drawings of Alice in Wonderland, kangaroos and bung fritz, or a series of small coloured bottles labelled with imaginary character cocktails like arrogance, ignorance, and narcissism. JamFactory is one of Adelaide’s most prestigious galleries. Go there and talk casually about it to your friends over brunch later: your cred will go sky high.

This is a beautiful facility that supports creative craftspeople by promoting and selling their work in a not for profit situation — meaning they do not charge the artists a fee as such. They are also a facility where artists can blow glass and use studios to create other work. There are a coupe of gallery spaces in the facility but the one I enjoy the most is the shop out the front because you can always purchase really beautiful art that is either practical, original or beautiful — and most of the time it is actually all three of these things.
It is possible for you to go and look around the exhibition galleries, but the most exciting t hing is to sneak a peek at the artists and crafts folk themselves actually doing their work. Glass blowing is so fascinating to watch, and it is easy to get quite involved as you see remarkably wonderful processes taking place before your eyes.
They pride themselves on their design work and craftsmanship and they do a wonderful job of supporting what could otherwise become a dying art, so get along yourself and check it out. Particularly good if you are looking for an exclusive gift for a great friend, newly weds or anniversary type of present. There are a variety of quite lovely things made of wood, metal and glass, and sometimes all three!

The Jam Factory is the biggest contemporary craft complex in Adelaide. The Jam has four exhibition spaces, a glass hot shop, a retail store, a bunch of interns and associates, plus ceramics, furniture and metal studios. People come from all over the world to exhibit in the galleries or work in the studios. Of all the cultural attractions Adelaide has, this is one of the few that is truly world-​class.
The gallery has a range of different shows — often more skewed towards the design or craft oriented, but sometimes showing excellent contemporary art. Some of my favourite shows to come out of the Jam have included a project matching craftspeople up with tradies to make new works and a beautiful jewellery show of delicate handmade works by Peta Kruger. If you like to invest in small batch designs by artisans, the Jam Factory is the place to go. In particular I like some of the jewellery they stock — Kath Inglis’s bracelets for example. My friend also owns one of the kink oil bottles — pretty elegant.
I would recommend taking a tour if you’re really interested — you can check out all the behind-​the-​scenes stuff. Watching the glassies at work is particularly magical. Everyone who blows glass is pleasingly muscular because they spend all their time throwing and blowing shiny, soft, molten lumps of glass into perfect bubbles. Even when they fuck it up it’s beautiful. Needless to say, it’s labour-​intensive and highly expensive. Which makes it even more exciting.