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Heritage Crafts was set up just fourteen 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 66 grants through the Endangered Crafts Fund. We have awarded 30 training bursaries, established the Heritage Crafts Awards and shone a spotlight on our world-renowned makers through 30 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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This September saw the presentation of the inaugural Lady Mayor’s Livery Apprentice Awards to celebrate twelve outstanding apprentices across the City’s historic Livery Companies, as part of her Heritage Crafts Taskforce.
Victor Perez-Alvarez @martin_alteman, watchmaker, was nominated by the @clockmakerscompany.
Victor started off teaching himself the basic skills of watch servicing, practising on simple watches with only a few components. Following the Clockmakers’ Company Advanced Apprenticeship over 18 months, he has learned to service complex watches with many interacting parts, and is now adept at correcting the distortion of balance springs and manufacturing individual replacement watch parts.
Congratulations to all the winners and to former Heritage Crafts Chair Patricia Lovett MBE and Richard Hefford-Hobbs for organising the awards.
Over 35 posts we are profiling the recipients of our latest round of training bursaries.
Gavin Roberts, from Somerset, is an army engineer transitioning to civilian employment who has completed six modules towards his historic building repair qualification. His bursary will fund four remaining @westdeancollege diploma modules covering lime plasters, slate and stone masonry, earthen mortars and wildlife management.
Gavin’s bursary is supported by the Royal British Legion.
Gavin said: “This funding will broaden my practical skills in traditional heritage crafts, including lime plasters and renders, stone and woodwork. As an engineer in heritage building maintenance, it will strengthen my ability to care for historic buildings using traditional methods, while providing an important stepping stone as I transition from the military into a new career in heritage conservation.”
This September saw the presentation of the inaugural Lady Mayor’s Livery Apprentice Awards to celebrate twelve outstanding apprentices across the City’s historic Livery Companies, as part of her Heritage Crafts Taskforce.
Kemi Ajose @kemi_19xx @morenikeji_textiles, textile artist, was nominated by the @haberdasherscompany.
Originally destined to be an athlete, Kemi uses knitwear and textiles to explore identity through colour, pattern and style. Inspired by West African textile traditions and contemporary British fashion, her clothes allow the wearer to express a hybrid identity. Sustainability is at the core of her design process, and all of her garments are handmade using locally-sourced deadstock yarns with zero-waste.
Congratulations to all the winners and to former Heritage Crafts Chair Patricia Lovett MBE and Richard Hefford-Hobbs for organising the awards.
Over 35 posts we are profiling the recipients of our latest round of training bursaries.
Rachel Jacobs @racheljacobsstudio, from London, has seven years of experience in library collections and is currently in her second year of the BA in Book and Paper Conservation at @cglartschool. Her bursary will support her tuition fees as she advances her training in historic bookbinding, tear repairs, pigment preparation and paper conservation.
Rachel’s bursary is funded by the Dulverton Trust.
Rachel said: “I’m really grateful to Heritage Crafts for supporting my practice in book and paper conservation and medieval illumination. This opportunity will allow me to focus on developing my craft and creating new work, and I’m really looking forward to being part of a community of craftspeople who are helping to keep traditional skills alive.”
Over 35 posts we are profiling the recipients of our latest round of training bursaries.
Chiazam Saint Venit, from Croydon, has completed Level 1 Bespoke Tailoring at @newhamcollege alongside art and design foundation studies. His bursary will fund his tuition for a pattern making course and SEG Awards Level 3 Award in Tailoring at the @fashiontechnologyacademy, as well as the Bespoke Drafting at @thelondonacademyofbespoke, preparing him for a tailoring house apprenticeship.
Chiazam’s bursary is supported by the Capri Holdings Corporate Foundation.
Chiazam said: “Securing this funding is hugely impactful for me. It strengthens my ability to keep developing in my craft and consolidate my practice.”
Over 35 posts we are profiling the recipients of our latest round of training bursaries.
Em Mount, from London, has a background in illustration and community kitchen management, currently completing the first year of a heritage masonry diploma. Their bursary will cover the remaining course fees for their second year of study in stonemasonry at the @buildingcraftscollege in London.
Em’s bursary is supported by the Newby Trust.
Em said: “The Heritage Crafts training bursary has enabled me to complete my final year studying heritage banker masonry. I can’t wait to continue learning and getting to work on such interesting pieces. Many thanks for the funding and to the team.”
Over 35 posts we are profiling the recipients of our latest round of training bursaries.
Zane Palmer, from Luton, has five years of self-taught experience in jewellery fabrication, casting and CAD through his brand concept @33andco_. His bursary will fund a phased seven-day masterclass programme in micro-pavé, grain setting and advanced stone setting with master diamond setter John Daniels FIPG @diamondsetting4u.
Zane’s bursary is supported by the Capri Holdings Corporate Foundation.
Zane said: “Receiving the Heritage Crafts training bursary is the best news I’ve had all year and marks a true turning point for my career. In an industry where high-level stone setting is notoriously difficult to access, this funding could not have been timed better. It genuinely means the world to me – I feel I’ve finally been given the opportunity to learn directly from a master, refine my technical skills and prove what I can achieve. I am deeply grateful to Heritage Crafts and the Capri Holdings Corporate Foundation for investing in my future.”
Over 35 posts we are profiling the recipients of our latest round of training bursaries.
Vitalija Glovackyte @vit_pianoservices, from Manchester, works as a piano technician assistant at the Royal Northern College of Music and runs an independent restoration practice. Her bursary will fund specialist grand piano servicing and one-to-one regulation training with Doug Chapman at the @royalacademyofmusic, alongside a technician masterclass at the @bechstein.official Technicians’ Academy in Germany.
Vitalija’s bursary is supported by the Dulverton Trust.
Vitalija said: “I am incredibly honoured to receive this grant. As I establish and grow my piano restoration business in Manchester, it gives me the opportunity to invest in specialist training that would otherwise have been difficult to access. Learning directly from highly experienced technicians will deepen my skills, refine my craft and help me take the quality of my restoration and servicing work to the next level. I’m incredibly grateful for the support and for the confidence being placed in me at such an important stage in my career.”
