London marionette maker wins Heritage Crafts Trainee of the Year Award 2025

Ash Appadu has won the 2025 Heritage Crafts Trainee of the Year Award, supported by the Marsh Charitable Trust, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Wentworth Woodhouse on Monday 17 November 2025.

The award celebrates an outstanding student of heritage crafts, whether that’s through a formal apprenticeship scheme, a less formal traineeship, an institution-based course with a high degree of practical training, or even pursuing ‘portfolio-style’ training comprising of short-courses and workshops.

After completing a Fine Art degree, Ash Appadu pursued their passion for the endangered craft of marionette carving through a year-long Puppetry Design Traineeship at Little Angel Theatre and the prestigious Homo Faber Fellowship. Ash is already an accomplished puppet maker, with their co-created marionettes being exhibited internationally and scheduled for display at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Library.

The other two finalists for this year’s award were Toby Britton-Watts, the first apprentice on the new Stained Glass Craftsperson Apprenticeship, whose on-the-job training in conservation and creation at Holy Well Glass is supported by specialist tuition at Swansea College of Art, and Bradley Stuart Wills, an artist blacksmith whose exceptional skill in forged steel and surface finishes earned him ‘One to Watch’ awards from both the Goldsmiths’ Centre and the Guild of Enamellers.

The Marsh Charitable Trust runs a portfolio of awards with a number of nationally and internationally recognised partners to celebrate the outstanding contributions of people who are committed to social, cultural and environmental causes.

Photo: Ash Appadu, winner of the 2025 Trainee of the Year Award, and Michael Osbaldeston, Heritage Crafts Trustee. Photo by Robert Wade.