At the conclusion of my MA in History of Design, I participated in the 2021 ‘Material History / Virtual World’ symposium, which formed part of the cohort’s degree show. The show happened in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and grew out of our collective wrangling with how scholars of material culture can work when bereft of material things.

I featured in the panel ‘Knowledge Exchanges’ chaired by Yarden Levy, alongside my colleagues Toni Rutherford and Fleur Elkerton. Due to intermission, I was at an earlier point in my work than the rest of the cohort, but I discussed early elements of what was to become my MA thesis ‘Repair Design and the RCA / V&A Conservation Programme Between 1989 and 2008’.

Material History / Virtual World symposium, 2021, Knowledge Exchanges panel