Oxfordshire milliner wins Trainer of the Year Award 2025

Sarah Cant has won the 2025 Heritage Crafts Trainer 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 those who have gone above-and-beyond in the last twelve months to pass their craft skills on to a new generation of makers.

Having previously headed the acclaimed HNC Millinery at Morley College, Sarah Cant is now a lead tutor on the prestigious CHANEL and The King’s Foundation Métiers d’Art Millinery Fellowship. Her teaching is distinguished by its incredibly high standards, tireless mentorship and fiercely student-focused approach. Sarah’s influence is widespread, having trained over 125 milliners, many of whom now run their own companies or lead costume departments, ensuring professional millinery skills continue to thrive.

The other two finalists for this year’s award were Ben Kerslake from CarringtonLIME, the largest lime plastering training provider in the UK, and the only provider offering a full lime plastering career path, from beginner to NVQ Level 3 qualified, and Gareth Rees, a traditional upholsterer with 30 years’ practice, who co-wrote the UK’s only advanced traditional upholstery diploma and has trained thousands globally through in-person courses and free online lectures.

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: Sarah Cant, winner of the 2025 Trainer of the Year Award Award, and Dr Catherine Lillie, Heritage Crafts Trustee.