We were very sad to hear the news that one of Ken’s oldest and most loyal friends had died – Christopher Miers. Christopher and his wife Teresa have been supporters of the Collection ever since Ken set it up in 2006, became Patrons and saw Ken receive his MBE in 2020. Here is a short appreciation:
Photo: (left to right) Christopher Miers, Ken Stradling, Teresa Quiros-Miers
Christopher Miers, Ken Stradling and the Bristol Guild
Ken Stradling’s friendship with the Miers family began with Wendy who lived, like him, in Clifton and came to work for him at the Bristol Guild – and through her he formed a lasting friendship with her son, Christopher, and, later, with Christopher’s wife, Teresa. Thanks to Ken’s inspiration and influence, Christopher himself became a collector and, over the years, acquired beautiful pottery, paintings and more besides. Teresa shared his love of art, craft and design and together they built a substantial collection.
When the Ken Stradling Collection was set up in 2006, Christopher and Teresa became enthusiastic Patrons early on and then agreed to renew when their original three years ran out. They were regular attenders at the Collection, and in 2015 it was Christopher and Teresa who paid for the whole team to have dinner at an Italian restaurant after the private view of the Collection’s exhibition at Margaret Howell’s Shop in Wigmore Street – so very generous.
Christopher and Teresa were very supportive of the KSC and extremely fond of Ken – and vice versa. Their support was shown really constructively recently when Ken asked Christopher if he would help and advise the Guild on resolving issues that he and the Guild were experiencing with the developers who had bought part of the Guild site, in 2022. Christopher, being an international expert in construction and architectural arbitration (DRBF & FIDIC), very kindly agreed to help (without charge) and Mike Cannings was in regular contact with him for his advice. He joined in on several zoom call meetings to resolve a series of problems and his analytical experience, coupled with his firm but calm approach, helped both sides to make progress. Ken was extremely grateful for his lending the Guild his excellence and vast experience.
Ken was delighted that Christopher could attend his MBE ceremony in 2020, and Christopher showed then that he was still fully engaged in the KSC’s activities. His particular interest in education showed in the long conversation he held with the KSC’s education trustee, David Beech. His generous support and enthusiasm will be sadly missed.
