What is the current zeitgeist or “spirit of the times”? Every country in the world seems to be in debt and times are hard. But there is some real positivity here too. Whilst the money was flowing everyone wanted new fashionable things, new furniture, white goods, kettle, giant fridge, giant tv, a new kitchen and oh yes granite worksurfaces are…
William Morris’ lecture given to the Trades’ Guild of Learning, December 4, 1877It’s a bit slow starting as was the way with Victorian writing but is worth reading beyond the the first few paragraphs. Hereafter I hope in another lecture to have the pleasure of laying before you an historical survey of the lesser, or as they are called the…
Just finished a wonderful spooncarving course. Lovely folk and with 6 of us carving for 3 days and learning new skills and techniques not single drop of blood was spilled of plaster used. I think this North West Coast style feast ladle is one of the nicest things I have had carved on a course and the spoon is a…
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } A quiz….who said this; “I have long had an admiration and respect for craftsmen of all kinds. It seems to me extraordinary that there hasn’t been enough attention paid to the development of these living traditions.” p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm…
I am in search of the perfect cooking spoon. My charity work with HCA is very fulfilling but increasingly eats into work time, as a trustee of a charity I can’t be paid for any work I do for HCA. I still have bills to pay and kids to feed so my latest attempt to keep head above water is…
I am very pleased to report that traditional crafts now have a powerful voice and strong advocate in government. One of the reasons traditional crafts have struggled for recognition in the UK is that they cross the boundaries of many different government organisations but don’t fall completely within the remit of any. We have never been recognised as art because…
How about this. Floorboards without the straight lines. I love it. These are made in Finland using computer CAD/CAM by Bolewood Modern life is so full of straight lines a wavy line brings a bit of nature into the home. This is the high tech way of doing it, I do it with a saw and by eye in the…
Today was a quick trip to London for a meeting with a range of organisations in the world of heritage and craft. We are trying to work together to see if there are key issues that affect us all. If there are then joint campaigns are more likely to be successful than working alone. We met at HLF offices and…
A none wood, non craft post. This is more about me trying to balance life out a bit as an antidote to too much time recently at the computer. Friday night my friend Chris and I drove up to the Lake District fish and chip dinner in Windermere then set off up the hill in the dark. We pitched tents…
The Wolf report on vocational education this week set out the way vocational education will change in the UK over the coming years and highlights significant problems in current provision. http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00031-2011. It also shows how as a nation we have Michael Gove, education secretary, when commisioning the report said“For many years our education system has failed properly to value practical…
