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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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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Calling all aspiring riggers, fender makers, rope makers and net makers! ⚓
Are you looking to master your craft, refine your skills, or undertake specialist training, yet can’t afford to get the skills training you need? We want to hear from you.
Applications for our 2026 training bursaries supported by the International Guild of Knot Tyers are closing on Friday 30 March.
Applications can include rope and twine crafts related to either the sea and inland waterways.
Don’t miss the chance to take your craftsmanship to the next level. Funding is limited, so prepare your application early!
Linktr.ee in bio to apply or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-stories/announcements/maritime-rope-and-twine-bursary/
Over three posts we are profiling three additional recipients of our recent round of training bursaries.
Megan Lovell @megshomework, from the West Midlands, has been working in natural building and decorating since 2022, but has found it difficult to access opportunities to build her skills and portfolio whilst sustaining herself financially. Her bursary will fund training in lime and tadelakt plastering on a live project with Zachary Small from the Alliance of Green Builders.
Megan’s bursary is supported by @heritagefunduk and made possible by players of the National Lottery.
Megan said: “I’m over the moon to receive funding to hone my craft, learn to experiment with materials and explore the interplay between sculptural craft and decorative finish.”
Based in Northern Ireland and want to get into building crafts? We want to hear from you!
Applications for our 2026 training bursaries supported by @citbni1 are closing on Friday 30 March. These bursaries are targeted at new entrants and early-career craftspeople who are unable to afford to develop the craft skills they need to launch a successful career.
Building crafts in this context are crafts that relate to the built environment (including interiors). Visit our website for a non-exclusive list of examples. There is a broad range of eligible crafts, so do check out our website for the full list of examples.
Please note that the training for this bursary must be completed by 31 August 2026.
Don’t miss the chance to take your craft skills to the next level.
Linktr.ee in bio to apply or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/bursaries/construction-bursaries-northern-ireland/.
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Footwear Production Apprenticeship
Location: Wellingborough
Deadline: 30 April 2026
Dr. Martens are recruiting a footwear production apprentice to learn about their unique manufacturing process. As a Dr. Martens apprentice, you will be working alongside the production team at their Made in England Factory, Wollaston, Northamptonshire, where their iconic 1460 boot was born. Surrounded by their footwear production experts, you will learn in a supportive and collaborative fast-paced environment, integrating traditional hands-on skills with innovative manufacturing technology. You will learn the footwear production process from start to finish.
Activities include:
-Clicking: operating cutting presses to specified quality standards, minimising wastage of skins and using innovative leather scanning and digital cutting technology.
-Closing: creating Dr. Martens uppers using a variety of sewing machines and other specialist machinery.
-Lasting: shaping the shoe around a last and attaching the sole to our famous yellow stitched welt.
-Shoe room: adding the final touches-lacing, cleaning, and boxing ready for dispatch.
For graduate apprentices, there is potential for a permanent position in the factory, where you will develop and hone your craft while continuing to learn new skills alongside former apprentices.
Find out 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.
This week’s #craftfocus is graining and marbling.
Graining is a decorative paint effect that imitates an exotic wood grain on a non-wood surface, or an inexpensive wood surface. Marbling is a similar decorative paint effect that imitates marble or stone.
A range of specialised tools are used in graining and marbling. A thick brush or ‘mottler’, fan brushes, floggers, softening brushes and texture combs are used to create various effects.
Painting is carried out in thin multiple layers of transparency, with the first layer being a base. A second layer of tempera or thinned paint is applied over the dry base, using a sponge or large brush.
A skilled grainer would be able to recreate all joints (mitres, bolection mouldings, gunstock tenons etc.). Grainers must also study the types of grain exhibited by different species of wood; grain patterns change depending on how the wood is sawn.
A skilled marbler would understand how different marbles are formed in nature and how the real material would be applied. Imitation of stone work must follow all the joints that a master mason would use (keystones, quoins, voussoirs, mason’s mitres etc.). Trompe l’oeil techniques are used for shading mouldings and carvings.
Graining and marbling is classified as endangered on our Craft Inventory. There are a lack of training opportunities in the craft, such as no formal courses or apprenticeships in graining and marbling. The workforce is also ageing, with many craftspeople now in their 80s. Standards in graining and marbling have fallen due to a lack of continuous training.
Images: Simon Nobs @sthcoaststudio & Greg Hassall
https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/maker/simonnobs/
#heritagecrafts #craftfocus #graining #marbling
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Carpentry apprentice
Location: Stroud, Gloucestershire
Deadline: 1st March 2026
Statham Custom Cabins @stathamcustomcabinsltd are seeking a carpentry apprentice to join their close-knit team. This is a unique opportunity to learn the art of bespoke timber construction, working alongside experienced craftspeople to create custom cabins and garden buildings that are as individual as our clients.
As an apprentice, you will receive hands-on training in all aspects of carpentry and joinery, from the initial build through to the finishing touches.
You will also have the chance to develop your skills in sustainable building practices and innovative design, all while contributing to projects that make a real difference in people’s lives.
Duties will include:
-Assist with the construction and installation of bespoke timber cabins and garden rooms, both on-site and in our workshop.
-Accurately measure, mark, cut, and prepare timber components according to project specifications.
-Support the fitting and assembly of structural frames, panels, doors, windows, and interior features.
-Help with finishing work, including sanding, treating, and ensuring high-quality finishes on all timber surfaces.
-Participate in the repair and refurbishment of existing structures as needed.
-Prepare and maintain tidy, safe work areas, ensuring all tools and materials are stored correctly.
-Follow all health and safety guidelines to maintain a safe working environment for yourself and your team.
Statham Custom Cabins Ltd is a husband and wife team based in Stroud. They build high quality, bespoke wooden cabins and garden rooms for private clients in and around the Gloucestershire area.
Find out 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.
Craft and book lover? Why not combine both?
Become a Heritage Crafts member in time for our first online member book club meeting on this coming Monday evening (23 February). Become a member here https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/join-us/ or via the link in our bio, to meet more craft curious people and enjoy quarterly book club meet-ups to chat about craft themed books, along with a range of other member benefits.
📚First book of 2026 is Craft Land by James Fox. Once you’re a member, you can check out our reading questions and get the Zoom link for the meeting in the Heritage Crafts member portal https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/members/.
#craftcurious #heritagecraftsmember #craftbookclub
This week’s #mondaymaker is Steph Rubbo @stephrubbosaddlery – a saddler.
Following a career change in 2012, Steph trained as a saddler at Capel Manor College for two years, then at the Saddlery Training Centre in Sailsbury before becoming accredited as a qualified saddler by the Society of Master Saddlers. Steph is dedicated to traditional leatherwork, creating bespoke, premium high-quality pieces with a timeless look and feel, accepting one-off commissions and also completing repairs to most leather items.
View Steph’s full profile on our maker’s directory: https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/maker/stephstephrubbosaddlery-co-uk/
#heritagecrafts #mondaymaker #saddlery #leatherworking
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