In the UK traditional crafts fall outside the remit of all government support agencies. We do not fit in the innovative artistic remit of the Crafts Council and English Heritage’s remit is buildings and monuments. This leaves traditional basketmakers, sievemakers, Sheffield folding knife makers, country potters, weavers and anyone else making traditional functional craftwork without an agency to promote and…
Last week I was away on holiday but Radio 4 did a nice piece on the plight of Portland Works and the traditional Sheffield trades housed there. I did a brief interview the week before which is included toward the end and if you are in the UK you can listen to it on iplayer here Portland Works item starts…
Regular readers of this blog will have seen Mike Turnock’s workshop before and read about how he is the last sieve and riddle maker in the UK, steam bending wooden rims and weaving wire mesh sieves for gardeners, shellfish fishermen, cooks and potters. The Heritage Craft Association have done much to help publicise Mike’s work both nationally which has helped…
Friday and Saturday were spent in London again. Friday was meetings with charitable trusts who we hope may help fund the Heritage Crafts Association’s work and also gave us good advice about how efficient, successful organisations work. Then after a night in a cheapy £35 hotel (a cellar room near Earls Court) it was back to our committee meeting rooms…
No blog post from me today but I wanted to share Ewan Clayton’s inspirational speech from the Heritage Crafts Association forum at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Many folk found it incredibly thought provoking and asked for a transcript, thankfully we had a recorder running and Ewan gave permission for it to be published. I am sure my blog readers…
Nice article on the BBC news website today. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8586172.stm Mr Wood gave up his job as a National Trust forester in 1995 to become a professional woodworker, making traditional bowls and plates from local timber using a foot-powered lathe. The last professional pole lathe bowl turner before him, George Lailey, died in 1958 without passing on his trade. Mr Wood…
So what is craft? Most folk who work in the field have a pretty clear idea what they think craft is. I want to explore a little the history of the word, what it means and the way the things that come under this banner have changed remarkably over time. I also want to address the misconception that “Heritage Craft”…
Tuesday the 23rd of March was a great day for traditional crafts. The Heritage Crafts Association finally had it’s official launch at the V&A and opened up it’s friends membership scheme and Jon Henley published a wonderful article in the Guardian’s G2 section. Jon has a deep understanding of the crafts and we were delighted he was able to contribute…
Phil Harding told us how pleased he was to be asked to speak not as an archaeologist or as a man off the telly but as a craftsman. He was speaking at the V&A as one of the country’s top flint knappers and as a passionate supporter of traditional craft skills. Most of the Mastercrafts mentors joined us along with…
The Mastercrafts TV programs have generated tremendous interest in traditional crafts and highlighted the dedication required to learn the skills. What comes next? another series? we hope so. An end of show mastercrafts party? well sort of. The Heritage Crafts Association have been working hard to raise the profile of these crafts and bring all the crafts together to campaign…
