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Find out some of the ways in which you can support Heritage Crafts and meet your Corporate Social Responsibility objectives at the same time, such as supporting a trainee in an endangered craft for part or all of their training or sponsoring an annual award as part of the Heritage Crafts Awards. Our corporate sponsors are pivotal to the future of heritage crafts.
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🏴 Just over two weeks left to apply for one of three training bursaries of up to £4,000 for heritage crafts trainees in Wales who require financial support to gain the hand skills they need to set themselves on a path to success, supported by the Ashley Family Foundation.
Bursaries are also currently open for applicants across the UK.
➡️ Apply now via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/opportunities/training-bursaries/
📅 Deadline: 5pm, Friday 12 June.
📷 2024 recipient Lily Thomas
Less than three weeks left to apply for one of three heritage crafts training bursaries of up to £4,000 for former British military personnel whose talent might otherwise be lost to the sector due to the high costs of training and other barriers.
The bursaries are supported by the Royal British Legion, recognising the need for gainful employment utilising a range of practical skills gained through military service, along with the mental wellbeing benefits of such employment.
Applicants are invited to propose training that is tailored to their needs, whether institution-based courses or one-to-one workplace-based training, accredited or non-accredited.
Other bursaries are also currently open for application.
➡️ Apply now via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/opportunities/training-bursaries/
📅 Deadline: 5pm, Friday 12 June.
📷 2025 recipient Harry Walkeden
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Craft Apprenticeships (x2)
Deadline: 30 June 2026
Location: Tottenham Hale, London
@coxlondon is an art-forward studio crafting furniture, lighting and objects driven by a shared reverence for beauty and nature. By nurturing creativity, fostering curiosity and cultivating empathy, they seek to inspire a future where artistry enriches lives, always pushing the confines of what’s perceived to be possible further and further.
These two apprenticeships are three-year, full-time placements where you earn as you learn. In your foundation year, you will get a 360-degree view of Cox London and Guild Bespoke Metalworks, with hands-on training from warehouse and production to commercial sales and finance, alongside learning ancient crafts. You will also benefit from a Level 3 Diploma in Craft Skills for Creative Industries, awarded by City & Guilds.
At the end of the first year, you will choose one area to specialise in during years two and three. Combining on-the-job, hands-on training with studying, you will engage with mentors, managers, and a close-knit community daily, who will support your journey and provide the guidance and insight you need to thrive.
Find out more including 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.
📷 @mollybrennanart
Less than three weeks left to apply for one of ten training bursaries of up to £4,000 for Black and ethnically diverse trainees in fashion, accessory and jewellery crafts – for those whose talent might otherwise be lost to the fashion sector due to the high costs of training and other barriers.
The bursaries are offered in partnership with the Capri Holdings Foundation for the Advancement of Diversity in Fashion, and highlight a growing imbalance in the fashion sector, where design-focused roles often overshadow the more foundational hand skills (such as pattern cutting, sewing and garment construction) that underpin luxury craftsmanship.
Applicants are invited to propose training that is tailored to their needs, whether institution-based courses or one-to-one workplace-based training, accredited or non-accredited. Successful candidates will receive funding to cover training costs, mentorship opportunities and access to industry networks.
Other bursaries are also currently open for application.
➡️ Apply now via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/opportunities/training-bursaries/
📅 Deadline: 5pm, Friday 12 June.
📷 2025 recipient Aminat Seriki @s.i.l.e.nt.t by Aisha Seriki
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Trainee Curtain and Blind Maker
Location: Berkeley, Gloucestershire
The Boys Who Sew provide premium soft furnishing services to some of Britain’s best interior designers. They offer an end-to-end experience, which includes measuring, making, and installing, and including curtains, blinds, cushions, tracks and poles and upholstery. They sew for some of the finest public and private properties throughout the land.
The Boys Who Sew are seeking a Trainee Curtain & Blind Maker to join their growing team of soft furnishers at their workroom set in the beautiful Granary in Berkeley Castle Estate in Gloucestershire. The successful candidate will be assisting Curtain Makers with hand-sewing high-end soft furnishings.
Training will be provided. You should have good hand-eye coordination, a solid work ethic, an ability to maintain consistent standards, high levels of attention to detail and a pride in making things.
Find out more including 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.
“Beyond the Algorithm” a provoking panel hosted by @theforgespace for @londoncraftweek. @heritagecrafts Head of Craft Sustainability, Mary Lewis (@maryeluned_craft), spoke alongside, chair @rachaeltaylorgram (Journalist & author), tf_chan (Director of @collectartfair), @karinpaynter (craft strategist and advocate) and @rajeshgognasilver (silversmith and design academic, De Montfort University).
What happens to the value of handmade work, when more and more can be generated, rendered and simulated? As AI and digital culture continues to reshape how we see, make, buy and value things, this is a question every designer, maker, craft-led business, enthusiast and buyer should be thinking about.
The panellists explored why real space, real skill and real presence may matter more, not less, in this moment.
Thank you so much to @theforgespace for hosting us we had a wonderful time contributing to this discussion.
#londoncraftweek #algorithm #craft #heritagecrafts
#matchMAKER opportunity!
Heritage Trainee – Traditional Building Skills
Location: Stratford-upon-Avon
Deadline: 7 June 2026
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is looking for a Heritage Trainee (Traditional Building Skills) to join its Conservation Building team. The role is project-funded through support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and the Michael Bishop Foundation.
As Heritage Trainee you will develop practical skills and foundational knowledge in the conservation, repair and maintenance of historic buildings under supervision from the Conservation Building team.
To be successful in this role, you will be interested in heritage, traditional building crafts, or construction, and willing to learn new skills and follow instruction. You will be able to work safely and use tools responsibly, and be confident working in public-facing environments and outdoors.
Find out more including 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.
At our Living Legacies reception last week, the Heritage Minister Baroness Twycross said:
“These crafts are vital to the identity, pride and cohesion of communities, and recognising them is only the first step. Next year, we’ll be launching a full public consultation to set our safeguarding priorities. Please do get involved. Share your insights so we can best safeguard heritage craft for the next generation.
“I’d like to pay particular thanks to our hosts here today. Heritage Crafts was so integral to the UK formally ratifying the 2003 UNESCO Convention. It’s only through collaboration between the private sector, government, the third sector and interested organisations, that we can truly ensure a sustainable future for heritage crafts.”
Following UK ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Baroness Twycross’s department have created a new Living Heritage in the UK Inventory and commissioned Heritage Crafts as one of eleven Community Support Hubs to help members of the public list their living heritage practices.
@dcmsgovuk @londoncraftweek @theleathersellers @saddlerscompany.saddlershall