Awards

On Tuesday we braved the snow to run an event at the Museum of Making for young people, in partnership with @derbymuseums as part of #DiscoverCreativeCareers Week.

Students from local schools took part in willow weaving with @maryeluned_craft, hat making with @hojohattery, ethical textiles with @threadoflife, blacksmithing with @jacksampsonblacksmith… and lots more.

Discover Creative Careers Week is an industry-led programme working to ensure there is a larger and more diverse intake of talent into the creative industries.

This week’s #craftfocus is weaving.

Weaving is the making of a textile by interlacing warps and wefts at right angles on a loom.

The great majority of cloth used in our lives is ‘plain weave’, where the pattern of interlacement in both directions is a simple ‘over one, under one’ – though great richness of pattern can be achieved in plain weave through the use of coloured or textured yarns.

For loom weaving, a set of warp threads are held taut on the loom, each one passing through the eye of a heddle. Groups of heddles are supported on a number of shafts which can be raised or lowered by hand levers or foot pedals.

In this way, particular warp threads will be either raised or lowered according to how the loom is threaded, and how combinations of shafts are raised or lowered creating a space between them called the shed.

To produce a fabric, a shuttle carrying a weft thread passes through the shed. The raising/lowering sequence of warp threads gives rise to many possible weave structures from the simplest plain weave, through twills and satins to even more complex interlacings.

While weaving is listed as currently viable on our crafts list, threats to its viability include faster and cheaper methods of mass industrial production, alongside manual skills not being passed down among family members. For individual practitioners, access to weaving materials can often be expensive or difficult to outsource.

Images: Lucy Rowan @lucyrowanweaving & Cally Brooker

#heritagecrafts #craftfocus #weaving

This week’s #mondaymaker is Bethan Wyn Williams @bethanwynwilliamsstudio – an artist and surface pattern designer based in Bristol.

Bethan specialises in hand-crafting intricately detailed repeating patterns for luxury textiles, wallpaper and home accessories. Taking inspiration from the landscape of rural North Wales, where she grew up, and embellishments of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Bethan seeks to incorporate the natural world into her work. Bethan loves the initial process of researching design ideas, collating images, scribbling down notes and sketching – given the unlimited opportunities ahead.

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

#heritagecrafts #mondaymaker #surfacepatterndesign

This week’s #craftfocus is folding knife making.

A folding knife consists of a blade, spring, two linings, two bolsters, two ‘scales’ for the handles, and wire for riveting the knife together.

The blade blanks and springs are cut from sheet steel. They are then marked, drilled, nicked and straightened before being hardened and tempered. The blades are then ground and cleaned, before the knife is assembled.

The assembled knife is then ‘knocked up’ using a hammer and an anvil. The knives are then ground and shaped to the required finish, before being given a final polish and sharpening.

Folding knife making is listed as endangered on our crafts list.

Issues affecting the craft’s viability include legislation – there are a number of laws concerning knives (though pocket knives are usually exempt) and recruitment issues – it is difficult to find people who wish to work in this type of manufacturing.

Images: Michael May @michaelmayknives

#heritagecrafts #craftfocus #foldingknifemaking

This week’s #mondaymaker is Nina Perrot @clearsandsstainedglass – a master stained glass maker.

Nina has been creating stained glass for around two decades. Trained by master craftsman Keith Knickels twenty years ago, Nina is a member of the Guild of Master Craftsmen. Nina loves being able to continue the centuries old heritage skill of stained glass making while combining it with a contemporary style. Working from her off grid smallholding, Nina is inspired by nature and natural designs, taking influence from the surrounding world.

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

#heritagecrafts #mondaymaker #stainedglass #glasswork