The Makers

This week’s #craftfocus is marionette making.

The making of traditional wood and string marionette puppets has a rich history that traces back thousands of years, with origins believed to lie in ancient civilizations such as Egypt, India, and Greece.

There is evidence of puppetry originally taking place in the UK around 600 years ago in the 1400s. The earliest recorded puppet show took place at Bartholomew Fair around 1600.

In the Victorian era, marionettes were a popular form of entertainment for adults and children in England. However, by the 1860s, permanent marionette shows were no longer popular, and traveling shows became more common.

More recently the tradition was continued with John Wright Marionettes (1952 in South Africa, then in Hampstead London by 1957) who then founded the Little Angel Theatre by the late John Wright and his wife Lyndie in 1961.

Marionette making techniques include:

-Drafting and designing
-Wood carving
-Joint making
-Treating and finishing
-Marionette control design
-Stringing

Classified as endangered on our crafts list, threats to marionette making include a lack of professional training opportunities; there is reduced opportunity to practice due to a limited number of productions, alongside an ageing workforce and few remaining teachers / practitioners.

Makers also encounter small business issues, reflecting general challenges to funding within the arts sector.

Images: Oliver Hymans @buddyollie

#heritagecrafts #craftfocus #marionettemaking

Over eight days we are profiling the recipients of our recent round of Endangered Crafts Fund grants.

Little Angel Theatre @littleangeltheatre in London has been funded to equip a new dedicated marionette-making workshop to practice and teach the craft.

Little Angel Theatre’s grant is funded by an anonymous donation to the Endangered Crafts Fund.

Peta Swindall, Executive Director of Little Angel Theatre, said:
“Receiving the Heritage Crafts Endangered Crafts Fund means we can take an exciting step forward – moving our design workshop into a public-facing shop space. This transformation will not only make the endangered craft of marionette-making more visible to the public, but also increase our capacity to teach marionette carving and support the important heritage of marionette puppetry at the Little Angel Theatre.”

📷 @garywilliams.photography

This week’s #mondaymaker is Tom Moy @tommoystudio – a furniture designer maker.

Tom crafts bespoke furniture, sculptures, and objects designed to forge meaningful, lasting connections with their owners – rooted in a profound respect for the natural world and inspired by its textures and forms. Working from rural Somerset, Tom combines contemporary design principles with traditional techniques, shaping pieces that are as functional as they are beautiful.

View Tom’s profile on our maker’s directory: https://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/maker/tom-moy-studio/

#heritagecrafts #mondaymaker #furnituremaking

Over eight days we are profiling the recipients of our recent round of Endangered Crafts Fund grants.

James Allen @cotmarshtannery from Wiltshire has been funded to buy a lime tank for the production of traceable vegetable-tanned leather from cattle hides.

James’ grant is funded by an anonymous donation to the Endangered Crafts Fund.

James said:
“Setting up an educational micro veg tannery has been a huge undertaking, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of organisations like Heritage Crafts. The lime tank that I will be able to buy with the grant from the Endangered Craft Fund is one of the key components of the tanning process and critical to the success of the tannery. Beyond the grant itself, the recognition and support from Heritage Crafts means a lot to me personally as it helps endorse my vision for the tannery and its objectives around education and supporting the tanning industry.”

Day one of @thefestivalofmaking done! Join us for day 2 in the beautiful @blackburncathedral.