A voice for craft
The national charity for heritage craft skills
Supporting craft heritage
We are the national charity set up to celebrate, support and safeguard traditional craft skills, and to facilitate a national conversation about their importance to everyone now and in the future.
We are passionate about ensuring that everyone has access to craft skills that have developed over generations, and which we believe will be vital in helping us tackle the challenges of the future – and to be able to enjoy making as part of a fulfilled life.
Our Patron is His Majesty King Charles III.
Latest stories
35 new training bursaries awarded
2027 Calendar Photography Competition
Five-day Passementerie Masterclass with Jessica Light
Featured makers
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Heritage Crafts was set up just fifteen years ago. Since then it has gone from strength to strength, advocating at the highest levels for crafts, publishing the Red List of Endangered Crafts, and distributing 95 grants through the Endangered Crafts Fund. We have awarded 131 training bursaries, established the Heritage Crafts Awards and shone a spotlight on our world-renowned makers through 33 National Honours successes.
Many more people are now aware of traditional crafts and the objects produced by those who carry in their hands, heads, and also hearts the skills and techniques that have been passed down through the generations.
To continue this work we need your support. Please consider making a donation, however big or small, to help ensure that heritage craft skills in the UK are given the opportunity to thrive.
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We are thrilled to award 35 new bursaries for trainees from across the UK to learn heritage craft skills, supported by the Capri Holdings Corporate Foundation, the Dulverton Trust, the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, the @cityandguildsfoundation, the @ashley_family_foundation_4321, the Royal British Legion, the newbytrust, and Malcolm and Rosalind Gammie. 🙌
• John Allison – saddlery
• Zainab Bello @thezainab.b – tailoring
• Isobel Blackburn @isobel_blackburn_costume – tailoring
• Sophie Buckingham @buckingham_sophie – silversmithing
• Daniel Cope – shoe making
• Emmaly Crimmel @crimmelemmaly – stained glass
• Olumide Emmanuel Faleti @minuel.uk – shoe making
• Reece Gilroy – spectacle making
• Vitalija Glovackyte – piano tuning and restoration
• Amelia Goncalves – costume making
• Lee Gordon @oui.enamel – watch dial enamelling
• Elliot Greenfield @ex.astudio – engraving and stone setting
• Amar Grewal @amarthemaker – pottery
• Jasmine Harper-Jones @jasmineharperjones – ceramic painting
• Alex Hawes @alexhawes_embroidery – costume making and embroidery
• Rachel Holding @curiousgilding – reverse glass gilding
• Rachel Jacobs – paper conservation
• Matthew James @friend_of_lime – leadworking
• Nancy Johnston @upholsterycats – upholstery
• Joanne Kelly @jokellyart – banner making
• Laura Kriefman @laurakriefman – neon making
• Henrietta Lawrence Van Pooss – stonemasonry
• Lisa Lloyd @lisalloyddesigns – upholstery
• Jake Mann @mj.leatherwork – saddlery
• Domal McKenzie @rhubarbncustardco – tailoring
• Em Mount – stonemasonry
• Shirley Nelson @shirleynelsonjewellery – enamelling
• Zane Palmer @33andco_– diamond setting
• Viola Prokopova – stringed instrument making
• Gavin Roberts – stone conservation
• Chiazam Saint Venit – tailoring
• David Bimudu Scott @bimu_woodcrafts – furniture making
• Evie Spurdle @the_strap_and_hammer_armoury – armour making
• Noah Staley-Mathews – armour making
• Polina Volochay – sail making and boat building
Read more via the linktr.ee in our bio.
Come and join the fun at @craftfestival Wales at Cardigan Castle, today until Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Featuring @samanthajonesquilts, @wade.evans.designs, @barneywalling, @isabellaossett and @maryeluned_craft.
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Trainee furniture maker
Where: London
Founded by furniture maker Matthew Hensby, the @hensbyworkshop was set up with a belief that traditional craftsmanship can hold a lasting place within contemporary design.
Matthew is looking to hear from people at the beginning of their furniture-making career who are interested in developing their skills within a professional workshop environment. The role would involve working alongside an experienced maker on bespoke furniture commissions, starting with the fundamentals and gradually taking on more responsibility as skills develop.
Some practical furniture-making experience is desirable, whether through formal training or time in a workshop, but qualifications are not essential. More important are a strong eye for detail, patience, care in making, and a genuine commitment to developing traditional furniture-making skills.
Find out more including how to apply at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/matchmaker.
#matchMAKER is the online platform for work-based training and entry-level employment opportunities hosted by @heritagecrafts and supported by @soanebritain.
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Craftsperson Operative (willow)
Deadline: 4 September 2026
Where: Somerset
Are you passionate about craftsmanship and hands-on work? Somerset Willow is looking for a motivated individual to join its team as a Willow Craftsperson. You’ll learn time-honoured weaving techniques and help create premium handmade willow products cherished by customers across the UK and abroad.
Somerset Willow is a leading UK manufacturer of premium handmade willow products, supplying industries ranging from funerals to interiors and fashion. Its commitment to craftsmanship and quality has earned it a strong reputation at home and internationally.
Find out more including how to apply at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/matchmaker.
#matchMAKER is the online platform for work-based training and entry-level employment opportunities hosted by @heritagecrafts and supported by @soanebritain.
2027 Calendar Photography Competition
Deadline for entries: 21 September 2026
We are creating an official Heritage Crafts 2027 Calendar, to be sold through our online shop later this year.
To make this calendar a true celebration of traditional craft skills across the UK, we are inviting makers to submit high-quality photographs of their work and workshops.
Twelve selected makers will be featured as the main image for each month of the year, showcasing the incredible breadth, precision and beauty of heritage crafts to thousands of craft enthusiasts.
Find out mor at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-stories/photocompetition2027/ or via the linktr.ee in our bio.
📷 Gerald Monaghan blacksmith at Ulster Folk Museum, by Philip Utton
In yesterday’s Guardian, ‘AI-proof? Younger workers desert the digital world for traditional crafts’.
“It’s a bleak moment for young people entering the workforce for the first time. For decades, a university degree seemed to promise a stable career – but entry-level white-collar jobs across almost all sectors are being disrupted by AI…
“Even creative fields are struggling against AI tech that can produce artwork, lengthy prose or complex design briefs in seconds.
“But many young workers have responded by turning to what they see as ‘AI-proof’ heritage crafts. These are the centuries-old, hands-on jobs, such as boat-making, metalwork or bookbinding, that require specialist knowledge built on creative judgment and dexterity, skills not yet mastered by AI.”
Featuring @ludlowbookbinders @coxlondon and @nationaltheatre.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/aug/27/ai-proof-jobs-traditional-crafts or via the linktr.ee in our bio.
Encaustic tile maker and Heritage Crafts Endangered Crafts Fund recipient Craig Peebles @welbyandwright featured on Radio 2’s Pitch Your Passion segment with Romesh Ranganathan.
He did an amazing job pitching his love for encaustic tile making… but could he beat the mighty Lego?
To support our work in safeguarding endangered skills join up as a member and make a donation at heritagecrafts.org.uk.
Who do you think should win?
Heritage Crafts at Craft Festival Wales @craftfestival
When: 11 to 13 September 2026
Where: Cardigan Castle
We’re thrilled to be back at Craft Festival Wales this September, bringing with us makers dedicating their lives to keeping rare and remarkable skills alive.
This year, you can meet drystone waller Barney Murray @barneywalling, polisher and enameller Freya Bletsoe @isabellaossett, quiltmaker Samantha Jones @samanthajonesquilts, and milliner Emily Gash @wade.evans.designs.
Mary Lewis @maryeluned_craft, Head of Craft Sustainability at Heritage Crafts, will also be hosting a panel discussion featuring Barney Murray and Katy Bevan from Quickthorn Books @quickthornbooks at 3.30pm on Sunday 13 September – Living Lineage: What Does Heritage Craft Mean Today?
https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/events/craft-festival-wales-2026/ or via the linktr.ee in our bio.
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