Our Partners

Gloucestershire embroiderer Beth Somerville @beth.som has won the inaugural Young Embroiderer of the Year Award, supported by the Worshipful Company of Broderers, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

The inaugural award celebrates a young embroiderer who has made an outstanding start to their craft career. The winner is highly skilled amongst their peers, whilst raising the perceived value of their craft through sharing and awareness raising. They have given themselves a fantastic chance of achieving long-term success, perhaps overcoming disadvantage or setbacks along the way.

Beth Somerville started a degree in plant science at Manchester University, before diverting to pursue a career as a textile designer at Falmouth University. In 2023 she was awarded the New Designer of the Year after exhibiting at New Designers, and invited to show her work at the Knitting and Stitching Show. Since graduating, Beth has completed the Chanel and @kingsfdn Metiers d’Art Fellowship.

The two other finalists for the award were @imogen.marmont, who combines traditional skills with organic materials to create exquisite designs, and in 2023 received an award for stitch innovation sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Needle Makers, and @rosiemerrimanstudio, who strives to make impactful, unconventional textile pieces, and who received the Principal’s Award for Studentship during her degree in Textile Design, and has since studied in Paris. Both Imogen and Rosie have also completed their Chanel and King’s Foundation Metiers d’Art Fellowships.

Among the award judges was goldwork embroiderer @hannynewton, recent recipient of the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Sanderson Rising Star Craft Award.

The Worshipful Company of Broderers is an ancient company with a busy programme blending a keen interest in the art of embroidery with an ethos of friendship, charity support and fun.

Read more via the linktr.ee in our bio. We will be posting about each of our awards over the next few days.

📷 @robertwadephotography

This week’s #mondaymaker is Szilvia Burrows – a knitwear designer and designer-maker.

Szilvia learnt constructive knitting at university and was immediately intrigued. She loves working on her industrial machine due to the fabric it produces, and takes pride in working on a machine that is no longer in circulation, carrying on this craft for future generations.

If you want to read an exclusive interview about Szilvia’s work, become a member of Heritage Crafts and learn more in the members portal: https://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/join-us/

#heritagecrafts #mondaymaker #knitweardesign

London upholsterer @libbypayneportfolio has won the 2024 Young Upholsterer of the Year Award, supported by @house_of_sonnaz, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

The award, now in its second year, celebrates a young upholsterer who has made an outstanding start to their craft career. The winner is highly skilled amongst their peers, whilst raising the perceived value of their craft through sharing and awareness raising. They have given themselves a fantastic chance of achieving long-term success, perhaps overcoming disadvantage or setbacks along the way.

Libby Payne sought employment within the upholstery trade early in her studies, and her enthusiasm quickly led her to secure a position at a commercial workshop. Where others may have paused their formal education, Libby recognised the value of combining her studies with hands-on experience, dedicating all her time and energy to both. Her work rivals that of upholsterers with decades of experience, and she consistently produces results of the highest quality.

The two other finalists for the award were Maya Bennett, who has been studying with @the_amusf diploma syllabus part-time at the Bristol Upholstery Collective for two years, and @maisiefox, who had previously worked for an interiors company, making upholstered furniture to clients’ specifications, before dedicating herself to gaining her AMUSF diploma at London Metropolitan University.

House of Sonnaz is a sustainability-led luxury lifestyle and homeware brand from @sonnaz_ Nooranvary (BBC The Repair Shop). Its furniture range features innovative ways of designing, making and supplying, with a mission to create incredible furniture and furnishings, bringing fabulousness and craftsmanship into every space it possibly can.

Read more via the linktr.ee in our bio. We will be posting about each of our awards over the next few days.

📷 @robertwadephotography

Kent-based furniture maker @sean_evelegh has won the second annual Young Woodworker of the Year Award, supported by @axminstertools, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

The award celebrates a young woodworker who has made an outstanding start to their craft career. The winner is highly skilled amongst their peers, whilst raising the perceived value of their craft through sharing and awareness raising. They have given themselves a fantastic chance of achieving long-term success, perhaps overcoming disadvantage or setbacks along the way.

Sean Evelegh set up his own furniture making business straight out of university, making pieces for clients all around the world. In 2020 he won a TV show called ‘The Chop’, to be crowned Britain’s top woodworker, competing as a teenager against experienced professionals. He was recently recognised by the Furniture Makers’ Company as one of 60 future leaders in the furniture industry.

The two other finalists for the award were @jessiehills.design, who studied 3D Design and Craft at Brighton University, and went on to study fine furniture making at Robinson House Studio under the guidance of renowned makers Marc Fish and Theo Cook, and Lizzie Jarvis, who started working alongside a carpenter at age 13, and at age 14 started her own workshop to delve further into woodworking. At age 16 she set up her own business, @bramblecarpentry, and recently completed her Silver Arts Award.

Global suppliers of woodworking tools and machinery, Axminster Tools has spent 50 years building their family business into the renowned organisation it is today. Working together with makers and creators at all levels, from trade professionals through to craft enthusiasts, their commitment to supporting woodworking skills fits perfectly with the ethos of Heritage Crafts.

Read more via the linktr.ee in our bio. We will be posting about each of our awards over the next few days.

📷 @robertwadephotography and @josh.fmc

Surrey weaver Scarlett Farrer @scarlweaves has won the 2024 Young Weaver of the Year Award, supported by @roseuniacke, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

The award, now in its second year, celebrates a young weaver who has made an outstanding start to their craft career. The winner is highly skilled amongst their peers, whilst raising the perceived value of their craft through sharing and awareness raising. They have given themselves a fantastic chance of achieving long-term success, perhaps overcoming disadvantage or setbacks along the way.

Scarlett Farrer has been weaving for three years, after discovering her passion for it at University. Within that time she has experimented with multiple materials, fibres and techniques. In June this year she qualified as a TEX+ finalist and went on to exhibit alongside 24 other designers and makers at the Chelsea College of Arts. There she was awarded the Helga Goldman Award for outstanding contribution to future textiles.

The two other finalists for the award were Sauda Imam @simplysauda, who was inspired by her grandmother’s stories of the wondrous women weavers of Kano, Nigeria, to relocate to the UK to study at Central Saint Martins, and Natalie McCormack @botanicatextiles, whose work combines the beauty of handcrafted textiles with the meticulous research of natural dye making, earning her a Collect Open Award and an Young Innovators Award with Innovate UK.

Rose Uniacke has long been committed to championing traditional skills and craftspeople. Over the years, she has nurtured relationships with an exceptional group of highly skilled artisans and craftspeople who have the experience, virtuosity and sensitivity to interpret her designs. Since 2021 Uniacke has been supporting Heritage Crafts through donating profits of her Remnant Weave range, created from Rose Uniacke fabric remnants.

Read more via the linktr.ee in our bio. We will be posting about each of our awards over the next few days.

📷 @robertwadephotography

Maille maker @philparkesmaille has won this year’s inaugural Wales Maker of the Year Award, supported by @silverliningfurniture, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

The award celebrates a heritage craftsperson in Wales who has made an outstanding contribution to their craft within the previous year. It recognises a contribution that is far beyond the ordinary, either in pushing their craft to new levels, contributing to its promotion or continuation in an exceptional way.

Phil Parkes is an accredited conservator with over 30 years’ experience. Since 2018 he has been studying maille (sometimes known as ‘chain mail’) and working to disseminate understanding of this endangered craft. In this relatively short time, he has become recognised for his incredible skill, and recently completed a piece of 15th century style maille for a researcher in Australia to study the effects of different types of arrowheads against maille armour.

The two other finalists for the award were Ian Dennis, an antler worker whose work with @guerillaarch to reinvigorate this lost craft has seen him recreate complex antler items recovered from historic sites in Scotland, and @marithomasjewellery, a jewellery maker who has received commissions from leading cultural institutions such as the Welsh Assembly Government, National Eisteddfod of Wales and the National Library of Wales.

Founded in 1985, Silverlining has built a reputation for innovation and excellence at its base in Wrexham, blending traditional hand skills with cutting-edge techniques to make one-of-a-kind furniture that is known for creativity and performance.

Read more via the linktr.ee in our bio. We will be posting about each of our awards over the next few days.

📷 @robertwadephotography and @dewitannattlloyd

North Wales-based dry stone waller Barney Murray @barneywalling has won the first Young Building Craftsperson of the Year Award, supported by @englishheritage, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

The new award celebrates a heritage craftsperson aged 25 years or under who has made an outstanding start to their building crafts career. The award was open to practitioners of any skilled craft that is primarily focused on the construction, conservation or repair of buildings or the human landscape.

Though still young, Barney Murray has already attained the highest standard, as recognised by the Dry Stone Walling Association, achieving Master Craftsman certification in September this year. He has won several dry stone walling competition prizes and has acted as an ambassador for dry stone walling, taking a keen and active role in helping others develop their skills by undertaking an instructor course.

The two other finalists for the award were William Blackmore @the_works_department, a multi-skilled conservation practitioner at Chester Cathedral with an NVQ in stonemasonry, carpentry and joinery, and rudyhewlett, a fourth generation thatcher in a family-run business that has been going for nearly 100 years.

Read more via the linktr.ee in our bio. We will be posting about each of our awards over the next few days.

📷 @robertwadephotography