Clay excavated from HS2’s Old Oak Common station site is now being used as a dinner set after being made by a creative group of 17-21 year-olds
Park Royal-based arts organisation, The Absolute Beginners, created a dinner service with 100 plates and 100 bowls made from the London clay.
The 200 piece dinner set will be used by HS2 station staff to celebrate milestones with locals and stakeholders where food is served.
The first event where the plates and bowls were used took place at the Old Oak Common station site on 21 September 2024 and saw 80 people attending.
Peter Gow, project client for Old Oak Common Station at HS2 Ltd, said: “It is fantastic to be working with the local creative community around the Old Oak Common station site to support these fantastic projects. We’re committed to building a sustainable station, for Britian’s new zero carbon railway, and this includes finding sustainable ways for waste materials to be used. It’s a pleasure to celebrate the Absolute Beginners project with the local community, using our new dinner service.”
Tom James, director, Absolute Beginners, said: ‘We’ve spent the last two years learning to work with the clay that’s being extracted from Old Oak Common – and turning it into 100 plates and bowls. Led by artist Phil Root, our young people have learnt every step of the process: from breaking down the raw material, to learning how to make these plates by hand, to developing prototypes and going into production. It hasn’t been easy, but we’re thrilled with the results.”
