Cardiff maille maker wins Wales Maker of the Year Award 2024
30th November 2024 | ANNOUNCEMENTS | OUR STORIES
Maille maker Phil Parkes has won this year’s inaugural Wales Maker of the Year Award, supported by Silverlining, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.
The award, supported by Silverlining, celebrates a heritage craftsperson in Wales 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.
Phil Parkes is an accredited conservator with over 30 years’ experience. Since 2018 he has been studying maille (sometimes known as ‘chain mail’) and working to disseminate understanding of this endangered craft. In this relatively short time, he has become recognised for his incredible skill, and recently completed a piece of 15th century style maille for a researcher in Australia to study the effects of different types of arrowheads against maille armour.
The two other finalists for the award were Ian Dennis, an antler worker whose work with Guerrilla Archaeology to reinvigorate this lost craft has seen him recreate complex antler items recovered from historic sites in Scotland, and Mari Thomas, a jewellery maker who has received commissions from leading cultural institutions such as the Welsh Assembly Government, National Eisteddfod of Wales and the National Library of Wales.
Founded in 1985, Silverlining has built a reputation for innovation and excellence at its base in Wrexham, blending traditional hand skills with cutting-edge techniques to make one-of-a-kind furniture that is known for creativity and performance.
Photo: Phil Parkes, winner of the 2024 Wales Maker of the Year Award, and Mark Boddington, Founder of Silverlining. Photo by Robert Wade.