County Down weaver wins Northern Ireland Maker of the Year 2025

Linen damask weaver Deborah White has won this the second annual Northern Ireland Maker of the Year Award, supported by the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Wentworth Woodhouse on Monday 17 November 2025.

The award celebrates a heritage craftsperson in Northern Ireland who has made an outstanding contribution to their craft within the previous year. It recognises a contribution that is far beyond the ordinary, either in pushing their craft to new levels, contributing to its promotion or continuation in an exceptional way.

Deborah White has a 30-year career that includes weaving for royalty and world leaders. Her five-year project to restore a rare linen damask broad loom was the focus of the BBC documentary ‘The Warp, the Weft and the Weaver’. She is currently completing doctoral research to deepen the craft’s intangible knowledge base, while lecturing at Ulster University, where she was named ‘Educator of the Year’.

The two other finalists for the award were Bernard Cunningham, a heritage buildings conservator who over a 25 years has worked on a range of vernacular buildings and mansion houses throughout Ireland, and Karen Hamilton, a weaver whose practice stands out for its unique blend of craft and science, stemming from a collaboration with Queen’s University to translate the principle of light through woven cloth.

The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation supports innovative people working in field-based science, art and craft, teaching and protection of the natural world.

Photo: Deborah White, winner of the 2025 Northern Ireland Maker of the Year Award, and Emma Jhita, Heritage Crafts Trustee. Photo by Robert Wade.