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.
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Jessica Light in Conversation
National Apprenticeship Week – highlighting our Apprentice-ship+ recipients
Sally Pointer in Conversation
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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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#matchMAKER opportunity!
Trainee Multiskilled Cloth Production Operative
Location: Guiseley, Leeds
Abraham Moon & Sons @abrahammoonsons is an international brand with a long-standing reputation for innovation, design and premium quality – producing authentic, woollen fabrics and accessories for leading fashion brands and interior designers worldwide.
The company is looking for an enthusiastic Trainee Multiskilled Cloth Production Operative to join its team. You’ll work alongside experienced weavers, twisters and tuners, learning all of these technical crafts while completing the in house training program. The role plays a key role in preserving Abraham Moon & Sons’ craftsmanship and heritage while building the foundations of a skilled career.
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.
The Wales Members meet up was wonderful!
Co-ordinated by volunteer Gavin Davidson @mrgdfd and hosted by Gill Jones at her @RuralSkillsCentre in South Wales, Heritage Crafts Members had the opportunity to meet, eat cake and share their crafts with each other.
The importance of these sorts of socials is invaluable, and we are certain that everyone who attended gained something from the day. There is something special about meeting other people who care about the same things you do.
If you would like to support heritage crafts or join in on an event, consider becoming a member.
Here are the wonderful members that we got to meet:
James Ashwell of @Mottes_Pots who is a clay pipe maker who completed a Heritage Crafts funded residency with the @ironbridgegnt Trust in 2024.
Paul Morgan who was the former King’s Assay Master.
@IsabellaOssett a bursary recipient, who is doing an apprenticeship with master @goldpolisher for polishing.
@SamanthaJonesQuilts who is a recipient of the @jw_anderson bursary for quilt making in the frame.
@MandyNash, who is a jewellery and textile designer who has a love of British wool and felting.
@little_robin_red who has been working with and teaching the heritage craft of strawcraft and is working to gain more recognition for Welsh heritage crafts.
@scarecrowcottage crafts original and unique art dolls as objects of power and interpretations of cultural influences. She uses dollmaking as a form of craftivism and is interested in the ancient and historical use of effigies and elementals.
Thank you so much to @ruralcraftscenter for hosting us and providing delicious food and cake and thank you to our volunteer Gavin for your support in organising this.
Thank you to the Heritage Crafts team who spent the day with us and specifically @elizabeth.bizz.fretty, our membership manager who shared her last day with us on Friday.
#wales #heritagecraft #livingheritage
This week’s #mondaymaker is Ruth Osborne @ruthosborne_art.
Ruth is a Northern Irish textile artist and print maker based in rural County Down. Her work is linked to place, seasonal transitions and heritage.
She uses a range of printmaking processes – particularly the historic process of nature printing, and the heritage crafts of natural dyeing and ink making – to create original artworks on Irish linen.
View Ruth’s full profile on our Makers’ Directory: https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/maker/ruthosborne/
#craft #printing #naturaldyes #heritagecrafts
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Bespoke Staircase Timberwork Trainee
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Founded in 1966, Spiral specialises in the design, manufacture and install of bespoke feature staircases, serving both residential and commercial clients all over the world.
Spiral is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Bespoke Staircase Timberwork Worker/Trainee to join its specialised team. This paid position offers an excellent opportunity to develop skills in timber craftsmanship, manufactured and installing within a high-end bespoke staircase environment.
The successful candidate will gain hands-on experience in timberwork processes while supporting various organisational tasks. A proactive attitude, strong communication skills, and a willingness to learn are essential for this role.
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.
Northern Ireland is home to an incredible wealth of traditional skills. We are thrilled to announce that nominations are now OPEN for the Northern Ireland Maker of the Year Award 2026 supported by @mournetextiles.
We want to recognise a heritage craftsperson in Northern Ireland who has made an outstanding contribution in the past 12 months. Whether you’ve pushed your craft to new heights or worked tirelessly to promote its survival, we want to champion the simple, humble and essential skills that define our communities.
There is a £1,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November. Plus, one winner from the four UK nations will have their prize topped up to £2,000, supported by the Marsh Charitable Trust.
📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)
➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/northern-ireland-maker-of-the-year-award/
📷 2024 finalist Aaron Leach @swiftsforge
#heritagecrafts #craftskills #northernirelandmaker #madeinnorthernireland #traditionalskills
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Heritage Craft Brickwork Apprentice
Location: Hampton Court Palace
Deadline: 7 May 2026
Historic Royal Palaces is the independent charity responsible for the management of six royal palaces and their associated content and landscapes. In collaboration with Simpson Brickwork Conservation and The Building Craft College, Historic Royal Palaces is recruiting for a Heritage Craft Brickwork Apprentice to train to become a skilled craftsperson specialising in the conservation, repair, and restoration of historic brick structures.
Working alongside experienced heritage bricklayers and conservation professionals, the apprentice will develop traditional skills, technical knowledge, and an understanding of historic materials and methods, while completing a Level 3 apprenticeship qualification. This role is ideal for someone passionate about traditional construction, historic buildings, and high-quality craftsmanship who will work and train under the expert mentoring of Simpson Brickwork Conservation.
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.
Over three posts we are profiling three additional recipients of our recent round of training bursaries.
Rosy Cousins, from Manchester, is a self-employed environmental scientist retraining in the critically endangered craft of pietra dura, a decorative technique that involves inlaying precisely cut stones into a surface to create intricate designs. She will train with @greenawaymosaics, as well as undertaking short courses in allied crafts.
Rosy’s bursary is supported by @heritagefunduk and made possible by players of the National Lottery.
Rosy said: “I simply wouldn’t be able to do this without the support of a bursary from Heritage Crafts and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It comes at a crucial time in my career, as I try to develop quite an unusual set of historic stoneworking skills, with very few opportunities for training. The bursary makes it possible for me to access the technical support and guidance I need, allowing me to continue on my journey. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity.”
This week’s #mondaymaker is Jenny Beattie @jenny_beattie_millinery – milliner.
Jenny uses traditional millinery techniques to make innovative, bespoke headpieces for individuals, fashion and theatre. She uses tools and techniques ‘borrowed’ from different craft disciplines to produce uniqueness, and prides herself on having a high level of technique and skill.
With fine art and millinery training, she has a materials-led practice with a unique aesthetic. She has a reputation as someone with an interest in transforming rubbish or leftovers into ‘Trash Hats’, in which eccentric fabrics such as cat food pouches or used teabags are transformed into stunning headpieces.
She says that craft has always been enormously important to her, as well as the cross pollination from other disciplines.
View Jenny’s full profile on our Makers’ Directory: https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/maker/jennybeattie/
#craft #millinery #heritagecrafts #mondaymaker
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