Craftworks Conversations: Talks Programme

A future-facing discussion in which we’ll hear from Britain’s biggest craft companies, including Cox London, Timorous Beasties, Soane Britain and SCP, and discover the biggest challenges and most exciting opportunities for maker-focused businesses today.

 Jo Sealy, photographer, explores why the Black Artisans photography project was created.  Hear about its purpose, challenges and opportunities and how this growing network is navigating its way alongside the mainstream. Our panel of artisans will share their personal experiences and insights as part of the project, including Donald Baugh, Designer Maker, Dionne Ible, Mosaic Artist, Judith Annakie-Eriksen, Ceramic Artist, and Godfrey Morris, Master Saddler.

Through an initiative internally coined ‘Fortnum & Makers’ the renowned retailer is redefining the balance between heritage and modernity by celebrating the work of makers and craftspeople in-store. Through a collaborative approach, artisans are gaining the opportunity to expose their work to a wider audience through the Fortnum’s platform celebrating the aesthetical beauty and passionate narratives behind their work. This conversation offers an insight into the company’s mission and how important it is to bridge the gap between larger organisations and independent craftspeople to help sustain a bright future for the sector.

How are today’s craftspeople connecting with nature through their creative practices? Some makers have become custodians of nature, growing and harvesting their own materials, others are reviving old techniques, or capturing the flow of nature in their work. This discussion will explore the panel’s own personal journeys and is chaired by Joanne Haywood, Head of Programmes and Advocacy for The Association for Contemporary Jewellery.

The idea of categorising UK craft skills by the likelihood they will survive is less than ten years old, but has gained widespread attention following the publication of Heritage Crafts’ Red List of Endangered Crafts in 2017. This discussion will focus on the need for awareness raising for craft skills for which there might be a diminishing skills base, the pros and cons of the Red List approach, the role of the media, and the potential of these skills to provide a valuable resource for the next generation of makers along with new commercial opportunities as yet untapped.

This conversation, centred around glassmaking techniques, explores the idea of ‘luxury’ in craft – what does it really mean? Is it a useful term? And what makes a craft piece ‘high end’?. We’ll discuss the techniques and processes behind crafting with glass – the challenges and opportunities of the medium, and how our panel are pushing boundaries with the form. You’ll hear how our makers began their journey into craft as well as their inspirations, particularly around the work being showcased at Craftworks.

Being creative can be an act of dissent, a form of peaceful protest through making. On this galvanising panel, Jade Ilke, Director of Designing Futures, will interview the founder members of three socially-conscious craft movements which are all part of the Craft Really Works showcase here at Craftworks. We’ll hear from Katy Emck, Founding Director of Fine Cell Work, a charity which makes beautiful handmade products in British prisons, Vanessa Marr, Founder of Domestic Dusters, a project giving women a voice by inviting them to hand-stitch their domestic experiences onto dusters, and Sarah P Corbett, Founder of the global Craftivist Collective which practices a unique ‘Gentle Protest’ approach to craft and activism. Be prepared to be inspired to make change!