The 2012 Heritage Crafts Association conference at the V&A had the theme ‘Evolving Craft Communities’
His Royal Highness wrote:
“As President of the Heritage Crafts Association, I believe most strongly that it is vital to support and encourage such remarkable craftsmen and women to ensure the survival of such unique and special skills. … I am delighted that your conference will celebrate and promote the best of British craftsmanship, while demonstrating that maintaining those skills and traditions is not simply hanging on to the past, but ensuring that they continue to bring genuine economic and cultural benefits to our communities today – and for generations to come.”
We are live in exciting times as we can exchange and source information freely across the web. How does this change our craft practice and how does it compare to past practices of passing skills? Is it possible to feel connected to other folk we have never met who live in other continents and what sort of meaning does that bring to our lives? How do we make the best use of changes that are happening and new opportunities available to us?
Speakers at the conference included Professor Richard Sennett, talking about “Making and thinking”. Richard is author of the well-received book The Craftsman, and professor of sociology at New York University and LSE. He popularised the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to master a craft skill, he also talks from personal experience of hand skills having put those hours in training as a cellist.
Lida Kindersley runs the highly successful Cardozo Kindersley Workshop in Cambridge. Lida was trained by David Kindersley who was himself trained by Eric Gill. She wrote a nice book on apprenticeship Her workshop practices solidly ‘old school’ with apprentices learning letter-cutting alongside the team of experienced craftspeople.
Ele Carpenter is a curator, artist and researcher working within the field of visual arts and new media. She talked about the open source embroidered digital commons
Stuart Mitchell’s apprenticeship in the Sheffield cutlery industry was very traditional. He started at the bottom and worked all hours until eventually even his father took pride in the knives that he built. His workshop, and indeed work ethic, is still steeped in the traditions of Sheffield of old, but things have changed.
And then HCA Chair Robin Wood talked about how he feels to be part of a global online woodworking community but how he still values physical get-togethers and particularly working on craft projects together alongside other people whether sharing his knowledge through courses or learning from others.
The first Marsh Christian Trust Awards for Heritage Crafts were presented by Alex Langlands (archaeologist and TV presenter on BBC series, Victorian Farm and Edwardian Farm) and representatives from the Trust. Wayne Parrott was the winner in Trainer category, and James Portus, a Volunteer at Fishstock Brixham, and both received their cheques for £500 each and calligraphed certificates.
On Wednesday 11 May 2011 leaders of the UK craft world came together to discuss issues or craft skills training and how to address them, it was an inspiring and positive day. We had over 100 delegates mostly chairs of the various craft organisations from the weavers spinners and dyers, basketmakers and craft potters to blacksmiths and the Royal College of Needlework.
Read address by John Hayes MP, Skills Minister
We discussed first sharing good practice, many of these organisations have been working for years often in difficult circumstances trying to ensure that the skills of their craft are passed on. We wanted to hear about what was working and why it worked. There were some great ideas which could be shared from one craft to another.
The second question we again discussed in our round table groups was “What are the issues facing transfer of craft skills?” We wanted to know difficulties folk had faced, what were the problems that needed addressing.
The last and most important session was to discuss what needed to be done to address those issues. After 30 minutes free ranging discussion each table had 10 minutes to pick out 5 key points and write them on flip chart paper. Then each delegate had 6 dots which they could go round the room and put on things they felt most passionately about. We have a lot of number crunching to do but this will eventually give a report which shows clearly a range of issues people felt were important but also a hierarchy so we can get on with addressing the most important first.
HCA over the last few years have been involved in a lot of consultations and often we leave wondering if anything will ever come out of the time we have given. We were very keen for this not to be a talking shop. The tremendous turn out of leaders of all the associations and the strength of feeling mean that the report will genuinely be the voice of the sector. Who will listen? Well there may be some things HCA can take action on ourselves but we also have a key ally in John Hayes the skills minister who is very keen to hear what the priorities of the sector are and to address them. He was meant to be with us on the day but was called away last minute. He was able to record the speech he had prepared and we showed that on the day, the transcript is here. Equally important the lead official in BIS tasked with carrying out the ministers requests, Jonathan Yewdall, is also passionate about traditional crafts and was with us all day. He not only joined int he conversations to get a real hands on view of the issues under discussion but also took questions after the ministers speech.
We have had a deluge of correspondence following the day and have a lot of work now to get that report out, in the meantime I have a presentation to write for the
ITES conference at Lincoln on Thursday and it would be nice to get one day in the workshop this week.
“It was just astounding that so many people came and gave their time, felt so passionately, and contributed so much to the day. I went away feeling that your organisation is full of life and positivity.”
“It was a great day and really informative”
“A fascinating series of discussions and a really interesting day!”
At the end of the day we were treated to a tasting of the Balvenie single malt scotch whisky with a very entertaing presentation about the skills and crafts which go into it’s production. We started on 12 yr olds and worked our way up the table to my personal favourite a 21 year old sherry cask. It was a lovely informal way to end the day and we were deeply grateful to the Balvenie for sponsoring the whole event.
Another report on the Craft and Design blog here
Thanks to Joel Virgo our volunteer photographer on the day for images, Jan Lasnon of craft and design magazine for two of her images, Beth Tilston for filming (youtube to follow) Patricia and Sally for superb event organisation and the Balvenie for making it all possible.
Key points selected by delegates
The most important aspects of craft skills as chosen by delegates are as follows:
Sector-lead skills development
- Craftspeople or crafts organisations to take the lead in organising apprenticeships and their funding.
- Simplify the support structures, routes to public funding and access to information to ensure that small organisations can deal with them.
- Strengthen the HCA in its role as the advocacy voice for the sector and encourage it to work with like-minded bodies in the Heritage and Crafts sectors.
Workplace focused apprenticeship and informal adult learning
- Funding for adult returners/post 20 career changers to learn specific craft.
- Support informal learning including non-accredited and post-19.
- Craft training for all ages (not just 16-19 year olds).
- An introduction of serious, properly funded 3–5 year apprenticeships for young people to aspire to.
Primary and secondary education
- Making craft a part of education at all levels – particularly primary and secondary.
- Craft to be embedded in education from an early age – from primary onwards.
- National Curriculum needed to ensure that crafts are included and valued.
Change perception of crafts
- Government to change perception of crafts so that schools and parents see it as a worthwhile career.
- To improve the perception of crafts and technical skills by inclusion in the education of young people.
- Increase exposure and publicity for the crafts through local and national initiatives.
- Celebrating craft excellence from school to national masters of craft.
Key recommendations
- Crafts organisations should play a lead role in organising skills training and support and funding should be simplified to enable this.
- Crafts should be reintroduced to schools at all levels and shown as a viable career path.
- Facilitate entry paths for post-19 year olds with funded training.
- Change the perception of crafts. To be successful in craft requires years of dedication, training and intelligence, this should be recognised.
The Heritage Crafts Association’s first forum for traditional craftspeople took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on Tuesday 23 March 2010.
The over-subscribed forum was the first chance for those involved with heritage crafts – practitioners and associations alike – to be able to come together and consider the current situation, share problems, and suggest solutions and ways forward.
Craftspeople as diverse as blacksmiths, hand engravers, straw workers, watch and clock makers, stained glass artists, calligraphers, thatchers, wood turners and many more heard first why it is crucial to stand up and be counted for heritage crafts.
Chair of HCA, Robin Wood, explained that heritage artifacts are usually preserved well for people to see in museums and galleries. Innovative and contemporary crafts are looked after and promoted by the Crafts Council. And the heritage building crafts are supported by English Heritage and the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment. But the crafts that go into the buildings, the skills required to make those craft items, which include furniture making, upholstery, picture framing, basket making, bowl turning, book binding – and so many more – have no overall organisation to support, promote and speak up for them.
Professor Ewan Clayton gave the keynote speech. His wide-ranging and inspirational talk gave delegates much food for thought, and with his interest and connections with Japan, he was able to explain how in some ways things are far better there for craft, but in other ways, mechanisation has caused craft skills to be lost. Click here to read a transcript of Professor Clayton’s talk.
The group discussions all agreed that heritage crafts were not only important but crucial to our understanding of who we are and where we came from. As Patricia Lovett, HCA Vice-Chair, quoted in her welcome during the afternoon launch session: “Crafts make us feel rooted, they give us a sense of belonging, and they connect us to our history” (Phyllis George).
The recent HCA survey showed that a majority of those working in the heritage crafts sector were concerned that their craft was in decline, and that there were fewer coming in to learn the skills and techniques to produce craftworks.
The suggestions of what could be done to remedy this were, like the craftspeople themselves, many, varied and innovative (the full report can be viewed here).
Press launch event
There were demonstrations of crafts at the beginning of the afternoon HCA Launch. Owen Jones showed his swill basket making, Samantha Marsden was hand engraving a beautiful silver bowl, Cliff Denton and Eric Stones brought their work bench and equipment from Sheffield and showed how hand-made scissors were put together, Janet Mehigan demonstrated her marvellous calligraphy, and Andrea and Phebe Virgo were quilt making (linking up with the Quilts exhibition at the V&A), showing in a clear way how craft skills are passed down through the generations, and they also had on display the St George’s quilt, made by the children themselves at a school in a deprived area of Peckham.
The HCA was delighted by an attendance of over fifty, including a number of peers, MPs, heads of various organisations and institutions such as the Crafts Council, NADFAS, CCS, SPAB, English Heritage, craft guilds and societies, as well as journalists from the press and from different craft and design magazines.
Robin explained to them how crucial it is to act now. Owen Jones, one of our demonstrators, is the last swill basket maker, Trevor Ablett is one of the few remaining folding knife makers. When they retire, their skills will be lost forever.
For most of our history, making things by hand was the norm, and the skills were passed from one generation to the next. In this digital age, when so many spend their days in front of a computer screen, the thrill and sense of satisfaction in taking time to make something yourself is that much more important.
Yet there are crafts that form part of our cultural heritage which are in real danger of dying out. The skills and techniques required are known by only a few, in some cases only one, as craftspeople become older and retire from their work, and there is no-one coming into the craft to take their place.
Recent research for BIS shows that over 169,000 people work in Heritage Craft businesses, using traditional hand skills to provide products and services in response to growing public demand. The sector is set to grow in the future; the research anticipates a 12% growth in employment in the period leading up to 2022.
For the first time, the research also highlights the significant economic impact of Heritage Craft, with the sector as a whole contributing £4.4 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy. This is striking for a set of skills and jobs which are often considered hobbyist occupations or lifestyle choices.
The current threats to our craft skills
In 2014 we were commissioned by the Headley Trust to write an update to the publication Crafts in the English Countryside: Towards a Future by E. J. T. Collins. Our report can be downloaded here. We have also prepared a summary of the key issues here.
The Heritage Crafts Association firmly believes in the importance of these crafts as a fundamental part of our living heritage.
For alternative formats please contact info@heritagecrafts.org.uk.
The wonderful Radcliffe Trust are celebrating their tercentenary this year and have decided to mark this by creating the Balfour of Burleigh Prizes for Exceptional Achievement in Crafts. The HCA is delighted that Gail McGarva BEM, boat builder, who spoke at the first HCA Annual Conference, and was nominated by the association is the recipient of one of these prestigious prizes.
There are only six awards at this highest level and it recognises the exceptional work that Gail does not only in building traditional boats, but also in passing on those skills and involving communities in her work. This is an exceptional prize and the HCA is thrilled to be associated with it and will be represented at the awards dinner with Gail this month (November 2015).
The photograph of Gail restoring a wooden boat was taken by Rebecca Collis, finalist in the National Historic Ships Photography Competition 2015, in which she won a Highly Commended for a portrait of Gail.
