Heritage Crafts

Join Heritage Crafts in conversation with embroiderer Hanny Newton, online at 7pm on Wednesday 20 November. Hanny Newton is an embroidery artist who specialises in a contemporary approach to metal thread embroidery, and is currently exploring the potential of straw and other plant fibres as a ‘natural gold’. In 2023 Hanny was awarded the QEST Broderers Company Scholarship to further her study of the techniques, tools and historical context of straw embroidery, and has recently been announced as the winner of the inaugural Sanderson QEST Rising Star Craft Award, which will enable her to study rare collections and make important contributions to the scarce knowledge and tools of straw embroidery. From her studio in North Shropshire Hanny works with interior designers and art consultancies, applying her creative approach to historical techniques to large-scale international projects, including with 3-star Michelin restaurant Core by Clare Smyth. She currently teaches at Hand & Lock London and West Dean College, and has taught embroiderers worldwide, including in Australia, America and the Netherlands. The session will take place on Zoom and attendees must register in advance via https://lnkd.in/eePqxnnD. Attendees will also have the opportunity to submit questions in advance.

Many craftspeople are facing significant challenges in sustaining their practice, due to a combination of financial pressures and systemic marginalising factors. Heritage Crafts’ Maker Relief Fund is targeted at people facing severe financial hardship while striving to make their living as a professional craftsperson. The fund will award 50 grants of £1,000 over a 12 month period to practising professional craftspeople who are based in the UK, are over the age of 18, are struggling financially, and who consider themselves to be in one or more of the following categories: • people on low incomes; • working class people; • Black and ethnically diverse people, including Gypsy, Roma and Travellers; • people with disabilities, who identify as neuro-diverse, and/or have chronic physical or mental health issues; • members of the LGBTQIA+ community; or • people with caring responsibilities. Recipients will be identified from all the eligible entries received by midnight on the 15th day of each month, between November 2024 and October 2025 inclusive. For more details and to make a submission, visit https://lnkd.in/e3A6PYGH. Please share this with any craftspeople you believe would benefit. This fund is financed by an anonymous donor specifically for this purpose. We thank them for their incredible generosity.

How can craft support men’s wellbeing and community, and what strategies can we use to reach men who aren’t yet involved? Co-hosted by Creative Lives and Heritage Crafts, Creative Network Crafts is a regular group for anyone interested in participatory, amateur, and heritage crafts. Join us online at 7pm on Tuesday 15 October for an inspiring discussion on the powerful role that craft can play in fostering community and enhancing individual wellbeing amongst men. We’ll be joined by Rachel Meadows, Volunteer and Community Development Manager at UK Men's Sheds Association, along with a member of a local men’s group. We’ll discover why engaging in hands-on activities can be an effective way to combat loneliness, build connections, and promote mental health. Rachel will also share practical strategies for reaching out to men who aren’t involved in craft, offering tips on how to communicate the benefits, and create welcoming, supportive spaces where they can thrive. Whether you’re a community organiser, a volunteer, or simply interested in the intersection of craft and wellbeing, this event will provide valuable insights on craft as a transformative tool for community building and personal growth. Booking is free via https://lnkd.in/e7t6hkxh.

Over the next 29 days we will be profiling the recipients of our recent round of training bursaries. Alison Pascoe, from Belfast, is a self-employed macramé craftsperson who wishes to branch out into the related fields of passementerie and braiding in order to make her business more sustainable. She will study one-to-one with Elizabeth Ashdown, Julie Hedges and Jacqui Carey. She plans to develop a body of work to submit for exhibitions, as well as seeking potential clients in historic interior conservation. Alison’s bursary is funded by the Art Scholars’ Company, which seeks to represent all those involved in the study, curation, collection and trade in antiques, antiquities and objects of decorative and applied art. Alison said: “Having the support of Heritage Crafts to pursue my passion, elevate my skills and access a bespoke programme of one-to-one training is an incredible opportunity that would otherwise be out of reach. The true value of craft is in the people that make and the stories they tell; a dynamic community I am so grateful to be a part of.” Photos: Native Ivy and Jess Lowe Photography

Join us online at 7pm on Tuesday 8 October for Chris Fisher RPT in Conversation. Chris is known as 'The Blind Woodturner' and is currently the UK’s only completely blind professional and accredited woodturner. Born in 1969 in Eccles, Manchester, Chris lost his sight in 2008 at the age of 39. Following a year of rehabilitation to re-learn basic life skills, he taught himself woodturning, acquiring his initial knowledge by listening to YouTube video tutorials for over 600 hours. He turned his first commission in 2014, and became a full time self-employed woodturner in 2018. His work and style have evolved, and he is now building a reputation as a craftsperson. Chris has a YouTube channel to share his experiences in woodturning, and to challenge the perceptions of what people with disabilities can achieve, which now has over 8,000 subscribers. His goal is to inspire others by demonstrating that anything is possible, and to show the world that having a disability isn’t the end; it’s just a new beginning. The session will take place on Zoom and attendees must register in advance via https://lnkd.in/ez4dT9zH. Attendees will also have the opportunity to submit questions in advance.

We are delighted to award 29 new bursaries for trainees from across the UK to learn heritage craft skills, supported by the The National Lottery Heritage Fund (made possible by money raised by National Lottery players), City & Guilds Foundation, William Grant Foundation, Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, Army Benevolent Fund, Royal British Legion, Ashley Family Foundation, Newby Trust, SUSSEX HERITAGE TRUST, Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars, D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable Settlement, Soane Britain, Kendrick Hobbs and Malcolm Gammie. These follow 8 bursaries awarded earlier this year supported by The Royal Mint, the Costume Society, the Golsoncott Foundation and Jennifer Chen, providing up to £4,000 to support heritage crafts trainees whose talent might otherwise by lost to the sector were it not for vital additional hands-on training at the start of their career. • Ayham Aldoghim – lime plastering • Saul Beardsley – blacksmithing • Amanda Boachie – bookbinding • Chanelle Brown – woodturning • Sacha Chandisingh – tutu making • Isabella (Bella) Cobby – men’s hat making • Leon Fairbrother – dry stone walling • Elena Fleury-Rojo – scientific glassblowing • Roisin Gearty – jewellery making and silversmithing • Jo Hills – millinery • Kate Holmes – stone carving • Nicola James – jewellery making • Oliver Kinge – blacksmithing • Joseph Lancaster – lime plastering • Ziyaad Lorgat – bookbinding • Hannah Macfarlane – in kiltmaking • Exaucé Mondo – pattern cutting and garment construction • Alison Pascoe – passementerie and braiding • Katie Raithby-Veall – punch needle and spinning • Cai Gwilym Roberts – blacksmithing • Kate Robertson – sporran making • Celina Sawicka – pottery • Jamie Smith – boat building • Lily Thomas – jewellery making and silversmithing • Marcia Vidal – jewellery making and silversmithing • Elliot Walker – mouth-blown flat glass making • Leo White – straw marquetry for furniture • Tim Wills – Cornish hedging • Tobias Wright – stonemasonry Read more including details of each of their projects at https://lnkd.in/eBgqvAJ9. We will also be posting about each of the recipients over the coming weeks.

The Skills Needs Analysis report from Historic England outlines reports of shortages of carpenters and joiners, as well as listing the already endangered crafts crucial for heritage work including flintknapping, vernacular slating and even brickmaking.

Do you know a talented craftsperson who deserves recognition? This is your chance to shine a light on their incredible work! Nominations for the prestigious Heritage Crafts Awards are closing next Friday, and we need YOU to help us celebrate the masters and rising stars of traditional crafts. Award categories currently open: • Precious Metalworker of the Year – with The Royal Mint • Woodworker of the Year – with Axminster Tools • Fashion and Textile Maker of the Year – with The Costume Society • Leatherworker of the Year – with Leather UK • Potter of the Year • Young Woodworker of the Year – with Axminster Tools • Young Metalworker of the Year – with Lucy Butcher (Hieatt-Smith) • Young Leatherworker of the Year – with The Leathersellers • Young Building Craftsperson of the Year – with English Heritage • Young Upholsterer of the Year – with Sonnaz Nooranvary • Young Weaver of the Year – with Rose Uniacke • Young Embroiderer of the Year – with Worshipful Company of Broderers Nominate today and be part of a movement that keeps our craft traditions alive for generations to come. Visit https://lnkd.in/eM56Sd2t to submit your nomination before it’s too late! Or why not nominate yourself?

Please do join us at Craft Festival Wales at the magnificent Cardigan Castle on the weekend of 6 to 8 September where we’ll be hosting a Marquee of Heritage Crafts, including shoe maker Ruth Emily Davey, basketmakers Rosie Farey and Mandy Coates, marbler Rachel O'Connell and sign painter and puppet maker Andrew Grundon. https://lnkd.in/eFVwMpn9

We are delighted to be a supporting partner in an innovative project to tackle gender inequality in woodworking. Sylva Foundation, a national environmental charity based in Oxfordshire, has been awarded a grant of £240,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to tackle gender inequality in Britain’s heritage woodwork and furniture making sectors. The charity runs a successful wood school and hosts multiple businesses at its Wood Centre in Long Wittenham, South Oxfordshire. Through its work, including training the next generation of craftspeople and supporting business start-ups, Sylva is increasingly aware of gender inequality in the woodworking sector. This has been reinforced by the charity’s independent research which showed that among 954 employees represented in a survey, only 20 per cent of the workforce were women, and among those working in manufacturing the percentage dipped as low as 8.5 per cent. Heritage Crafts’ Tessa Osman will sit on the project steering group. https://lnkd.in/ecSspAf5