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We are delighted to announce our expert judging panel for this year’s Emerging Building Craftsperson of the Year Award 2026, supported by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings @spab1877. 🔨🪜🪚🧱

• Nicola Duncan-Finn @duncanfinnnicola – with over 25 years championing traditional skills and sustainable approaches to heritage management, Nicola’s strategic leadership has helped conserve significant historic sites across England, including castles, ecclesiastical ruins, windmills and vernacular buildings. She has led national partnerships that culminated in the publication of the first Historic Environment Skills and Careers Action Plan for England in 2024.

• Claire Vidler – specialising in traditional timber framing and vernacular architecture, Claire’s practice integrates hands-on craft with academic research, having worked on landmark sites such as Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Palace. She serves on the SPAB Education and Training Committee and Carpenters Fellowship Board, edits Mortice and Tenon magazine, and lectures for the Weald & Downland Living Museum.

This award is for the rising stars in stonemasonry or gauged brickwork, timber framing or carpentry, heritage tiling or plastering … or any other craft focused on the construction, conservation or repair of buildings or structures.

There is a £1,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November.

📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)

➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/emerging-building-craftsperson-of-the-year/

📷 2024 finalist William Blackmore

We are delighted to announce our expert judging panel for this year’s Woodworker of the Year Award, which closes for applications next Friday! 🪵🪓🪑🪚

• Clunie Fretton @cluniefretton – master woodcarver, sculptor and gilder, Clunie was trained in historic woodcarving and gilding at the City & Guilds of London Art School. She is a member of the Master Carvers Association and a tutor at West Dean College, specialising in high-end architectural carving, conservation and bespoke sculptural commissions, blending traditional hand-tool techniques with rigorous classical draughtsmanship.

• Helen Welch @the_london_furniture_school – master woodworker, furniture maker and founder of the London School of Furniture Making, Helen originally trained at London Metropolitan University. She spent years running a successful bespoke furniture workshop before establishing her school to offer accessible, rigorous instruction in traditional hand-tool woodworking. She is also known as a judge on Channel 4’s ‘Handmade: Britain’s Best Woodworker’.

The award is open to practitioners of any craft that uses wood as its primary material, who demonstrates the highest level of craft skill and is held in high regard amongst their peers. Examples include (but are not limited to) carpentry, furniture making and wood carving, as well as such crafts as wheelwrighting, boatbuilding, timber framing, marquetry, guitar making, etc.

There is a £2,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November. We also have an Emerging Green Woodworker of the Year Award supported by @woodsmith_uk offering a £1,000 prize.

📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)

➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/woodworker-of-the-year/

📷 2023 winner Tom Ball

Over seven posts we are profiling the recipients of our recent Endangered Crafts Fund round.

Elena Fleury-Rojo @redflowerglass, from Essex, has been funded to purchase a dedicated scientific glassblowing torch setup and associated equipment, to build on her training bursary and preserve the endangered craft of scientific glassblowing.

Elena’s training bursary helped her mastered core techniques such as working with borosilicate tubing and constructing complex laboratory apparatus. However, to truly consolidate these highly specialised skills and make them commercially viable, continuous practice is vital.

Having the correct tools in-house will enable Elena to manufacture and repair scientific glassware for laboratories and schools, keeping this critical heritage skill alive. Alongside her making, Elena is actively raising awareness for the sector, having recently organised an exhibition at the Stourbridge Glass Museum highlighting endangered glassmaking crafts.

This round’s grants are funded by the Julia Rausing Trust and a private donor.

Elena said: “Receiving this funding means so much to me. It gives me the opportunity to build on my Heritage Crafts training bursary, continue developing my scientific glassblowing skills and play my part in safeguarding this endangered craft for future generations.”

We are delighted to announce our expert judging panel for this year’s Precious Metalworker of the Year Award, supported by the @royalmintuk. 💍🪙🍴👑

• Stephen M Goldsmith @goldpolisher – internationally renowned master polisher, author and Precious Metalworker of the Year Award winner 2025, Stephen has over fifty years of experience polishing some of the world’s most iconic treasures. A Fellow of the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths, he is a passionate educator who delivers masterclasses, mentors apprentices and advocates for endangered skills.

• Leighton John – Director of Operations at The Royal Mint, Leighton oversees the manufacturing processes that produce Britain’s official coinage, commemorative medals and bullion. Joining the organisation in 2011, Leighton has played a pivotal role in modernising minting operations while upholding centuries of precious metal traditions.

• Dan Thomas – holding the historic appointment of King’s Assay Master, Dan continues a continuous lineage of quality assurance dating back to the twelfth century. A highly skilled metallurgist, Dan is responsible for verifying the purity and composition of all precious metals used in UK coinage and trial collections through rigorous chemical analysis and traditional assay methods.

Whether a silversmith, jewellery maker, gilder, hand engraver, medal maker, concert flute maker, we want to celebrate their dedication to excellence. From silver spinning and polishing to engine turning and concert flute making… if the work is exceptional, it belongs in the spotlight. Help us honour the makers who keep these incredible traditions alive.

There is a £2,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November.

📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)

➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/precious-metalworker-of-the-year/

📷 2025 finalist Angela Cork

We are delighted to announce our expert judging panel for this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award supported by @marshawards. 🧶✂️🪚

• Dr Tanya Harrod MBE – one of the UK’s premier craft historians, art critics and authors, Tanya was educated at Oxford and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her groundbreaking 1999 book ‘The Crafts in Britain in the 20th Century’ established the definitive academic framework for modern British studio craft. Tanya has spent four decades documenting craft history and curating major exhibitions.

• Jim McCormack @jims_shoeworkshop – a master bespoke shoemaker with over forty years of experience in high-end shoemaking, Jim has worked with prestigious West End houses like Lobb and Foster & Son before operating as an independent master craftsman, creating fully hand-stitched, bespoke footwear. Winner of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, Jim is deeply committed to passing on hisskills, having trained numerous apprentices and delivered international masterclasses.

• Marsh Charitable Trust – founded in 1981 by its current Chairman Brian Marsh OBE, the Trust supports over 500 charities every year through its grants and awards programmes, celebrating the outstanding contributions of people committed to social, cultural and environmental causes.

Do you know a master craftsperson whose dedication has stood the test of time? This award recognises a heritage craftsperson who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to their specific craft over 25 years or more. It celebrates a lifetime’s dedication to a particular traditional skill, resulting in a practitioner operating at the highest level, having made a significant impact on the continued high-esteem in which their craft is held.

There is a £1,000 prize for the winner to be presented at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November.

📅 Deadline: Friday 21 August 2026 (at 5pm)

➡️ Nominate someone (or yourself) today via the linktr.ee in our bio or directly at https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-awards/lifetime-achievement-award/

📷 2024 finalist Kevin Gauld by Euan Myles