Welcome to Brilliant Bamboo
A people and planet-friendly project for Stoke and Staffordshire.
Hello! We’re an organisation creating projects for people and planet using bamboo and other materials to create and imagine greener futures in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire and the planet.
We are a Community Interest Company with a mission to marry the arts, communities and professionals from across the sectors in exploration and collaboration around growing, building, and creating from bamboo.
We’re here to develop environmentally positive projects that explore sustainable materials for people and the planet. We’re developing our organisation and projects all the time and we’ll be looking for you to be involved by coming along, taking part, volunteering, becoming a partner or collaborator, or as a funder.
You’re invited to have a look around to find out more about us and why bamboo, join our mailing list, follow us on socials, or contact us to be involved.
About us
Story so far
Why bamboo
Support us
Recent projects
In October 2024, Brilliant Bamboo was awarded funding to develop two projects as part of the Stoke High Street Accelerator Greenspace Project through Stoke-on-Trent City Council and funds from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Brilliant Bamboo Brownfield Parklet, has a range of things it offers: The funding will support the project’s development, […]
Brilliant Botanicals is inspired by our passion for bamboo, our research that brings the connection to our local story of the pottery industry through their caneware and surface pattern designs from the late 1700’s onwards. For our first phase of this strand of our work, that has taken place in Stoke town between October 2024 […]
From February to March 2025, Brilliant Bamboo worked with Middleport Matters and those in the Middleport area as part of the #DiscoverMiddleport project to co-create a new piece of bamboo sculpture and furniture with artist, Spencer Jenkins. Middleport residents were some of the first to work with Bamboo as part of Imagine Bamboo for North Staffordshire, […]
Booming Brilliant is Brilliant Bamboo’s emergent and DIY podcast. Created by our Director, Gemma, the podcast captures short conversations during conference-style events and longer chats with colleagues to learn more about what and how they have worked with bamboo and why. The podcast will continue to develop as a place for conversations, learning and championing […]
In late 2023, we were pleased to be able to work with LadyBird Su or artist Su Hurrell who supported us to investigate a site in a village, Fulford, at the edge of the city towards Stone. Although the project did not come to be, we have the lovely image by Su, and the commission […]
Recent posts / news
Brilliant Botanicals: Public art rooted in place, sustainability and story
Brilliant Botanicals is a public art project from Brilliant Bamboo that brings two striking new murals to Stoke-on-Trent, honouring the city’s ceramic history while exploring
Brilliant Botanicals: Inspiration and Approach
Springtime 2025, we entered a fantastic time where projects in our imagination began to become a reality. We collaborated with two artists with experience and
Brilliant Bamboo’s Journey of Discovery with Local Artists and Makers
Blog by Sally Malkin In today’s fast-paced world, where few have the time to pause and reflect, it was a true privilege to gather a
Four weeks with YMCA Go getting “stuck in”
Every Tuesday evening in June, artists and makers we work with and collaborate have worked with the young people visiting YMCA through the YMCA Go
UK Bamboo Summit 2025 in Stoke-on-Trent
Brilliant Bamboo and Imagine Bamboo Creative Director, Orit Azaz, alongside the Bamboo in the UK Group partners are working to develop the fifth UK Bamboo
How an Email About Bamboo Changed My Life
Blog by Sally Malkin. Back at Easter in 2022, I received an email from an arts programme I’d previously worked with. They were asking if
