About DDS

David Dudgeon Studios was set up in 2007 to explore artwork in the medium of Steel.  

  Humble beginnings

An opportunity arose during a building project for David to experiment with a steel Balustrade, and with his years of experience in the arts, a beautiful, bespoke piece was fabricated and installed.  David produced designs and two workers fabricated and installed the ironwork over a period of about 2 months.  This was the beginnings of DDS.  While the work was exquisite and unique, the workshop was quite the opposite; initially working in a covered yard that resembled a shanty-town.

  Public Arts

Upon completing several works for local building contractors, at the height of the housing-boom, we embarked on building a larger workshop.  We have been actively persuing Public Art tenders, something of a return-to-his-roots for David, submitting some 70 tenders over the following 3 years, in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England, the USA and Austrailia.
We have been successful in 17 Public Arts Projects to date, with many other private projects completed alongside.  

Some of our most enjoyable (and challenging) projects have been for Belfast City Council, Armagh City and District Council and Derry City Council. See the Client List for a full record of clients to date.

   Arts Council of Northern Ireland - Creative Industries Innovation Fund

In 2009-10 we applied for funding from the Creative Industries Innovation Fund, Managed by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.  We were awarded a generous grant which allowed us expand the workshop further, installing, among other things, an overhead crane and additional machinery.  David was also able to refurbish a shop-front adjacent to our premises, converting it into an Art Gallery.

  The DDS Team

Although named "David Dudgeon Studios", and certainly built upon David's love of the Arts, the company could not exist as a one-man operation;  David's business partner is regularly involved in the direction of the business; an engineer/fabricator produces drawings for fabrication and installation; several associate Artists are called upon for developmental work, with great results!  Four people work full time in DDS, and at busy times we have four welder/fabricator contractors we bring in to move larger projects through.  

  Company Aims

• We have always done things differently - it's the creativity of David that drives this different thinking.  We want to continue, in the same way, but differently...
• We love it when clients come to us with an idea that we can develop fully; we aim to continue.
• We don't want to compete with other, same, businesses. We want to provide a unique, bespoke creation, so clients don't simply get what they are looking for, but get something they are thrilled about.