The Balvenie Masters of Craft Awards

The Balvenie has launched The Balvenie Masters of Craft awards, celebrating handcrafted goods from across the country.

The awards scheme aims to shine a light on the talent in the field of handcrafts - working with metal, leather, wood, stone, food and drink, glass and ceramics and textiles. It is not a history project - youthful exuberance is helping to drive these skills on and making them relevant in the 21st century and commercially viable.

Joining HCA Chair Robin Wood on the judging panel is Kevin McCloud, the presenter of Channel 4’s Grand Designs. Kevin has employed craftsmen in his design business, and witnessed their skill on the set of Grand Designs. It is, he says, “an enormous privilege” to watch a craftsman at work. But he is concerned for the future. “We have lost touch with the value of things,” he says. “We don’t understand the skills required to make things anymore.”

Kevin feels it is time to honour our craftsmen. “When we talk about value these days we talk about money don’t we? Rather than time and gifts, love and commitment. So I think the idea of being able to champion craftsmanship, to thank craftsmen, promote them, to show off whatever disciplines there are – leather, metal, wood – is hugely important.”

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THE COMPETITION

Nominations
Nominations are sought for craftspeople who uphold elements of traditional artisanship and recognise the importance of working to innovate and develop sustainable markets for their products in today’s world.

Awards categories
Nine awards will be given in total. One for each of the seven craft categories (Stone, Wood, Metal, Glass and Ceramics, Textiles, Leather, Food and Drink), one for The Balvenie Young Master of Craft 2011 (those 30 years of age and under, who symbolise the successful passing on of skills to a new generation) and one for the overall Master of Craft 2011. Craftspeople can nominate themselves.
The judges
The distinguished judging panel includes television presenter Kevin McCloud, Robin Wood, chairman of the Heritage Crafts Association, Nick Hand, professional crafts photographer, and David Stewart, The Balvenie’s malt master.

Requirements
The judges require no more than 500 words about the individual craftsperson and their work, their vision and their business. Include a brief history of the business, how the individual trained in their specialist skills and developed their work and what they do. Where possible, give information of sales performance, markets and materials. Any customer or other testimonials would be helpful to any entry.

Up to 10 captioned photographs of their work will be accepted. Any other promotional materials such as fliers, brochures and advertising will be accepted as part of the entry, but craftwork itself will not be accepted. Personal information about the craftsperson’s beliefs and approach to their work and its development, survival and future would also be helpful.

Send nominations to...
Please submit any nomination via the application form available at www.thebalveniemastersofcraft.com. Entries can be sent by post to: The Balvenie Masters of Craft Awards, c/o Seventy Seven PR, 77 Kingsway, London WC2B 6SR. Electronic entries welcomed: email entries@thebalveniemastersofcraft.com.

Images sent do not have to be originals; scanned copies will be accepted. Photographs and any attachments should be in jpeg or PDF form. Electronic entries should not exceed 10MB. For further information, visit www.thebalveniemastersofcraft.com.

Closing date
The Balvenie Masters of Craft competition will be open from Sunday January 23. All entries must be in by Thursday April 21 2011.

Winners
Each winner will receive a specially handcrafted trophy and a bottle of The Balvenie single malt. Winners will be invited to attend an awards ceremony in London in May.

For full terms and conditions go to www.thebalveniemastersofcraft.com.

Bookings are now open for the HCA Spring Conference 2011

When: Saturday 19 March 2011, 10am to 4.30pm
Where: Sackler Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London

This is the first day conference organised specifically for those working in heritage crafts and others who are interested and/or concerned about their future. A number of heritage crafts may be in danger of decline, but this is a day to celebrate the ways in which craft workers contribute to the rich tapestry of British heritage, and are a significant part of tourism and the economy.

After a short guest speech, Professor Tanya Harrod, well-known authority on crafts, journalist and author of The Crafts in Britain in the 20th Century, will talk on Craft Matters. This will be followed by a presentation of life and crafts on the Victorian and Edwardian Farm by Alex Langlands, one of the three people involved in living the life on the BBC programmes The Victorian Farm and The Edwardian Farm.

We have scheduled a long lunch hour which is a chance for you to bring in a piece of your craft for an Instant Gallery. You can either put a notice about how it was made beside it, or stay with your artefact and explain to others at the Conference how it was made, and the tools and materials you used to make it.

Then in the afternoon we have three short presentations from craftspeople, telling us their approach and how they run their businesses, and we finish with positive heritage craft news.

Programme for the day:

• 10·00am - Arrival, register and coffee/tea available
• 10·30am - Welcome, Patricia Lovett, Vice-Chair of HCA
• 10·40am - A brief history of the Heritage Crafts Association, Robin Wood, Chair of HCA
• 10·50am - Guest speaker (to be announced)
• 11·10am - Keynote speech ‘Craft Matters’, Professor Tanya Harrod
• 12·00pm - Break
• 12.15pm - ‘Life and craft on a Victorian and Edwardian Farm’, Alex Langlands
• 1·00pm - Lunch available (please pre-order)
  Instant Gallery of Craft
• 2·30pm - Sophie Hussain – stained glass
• 2·50pm - Stewart Linford – chair maker
• 3·20pm - Break
• 3·35pm - Gail McGarva – boat builder
• 4·00pm - Good news! Recent successes of the Heritage Crafts Association
• 4.30pm - Conference ends

Cost:

• HCA Friends - £25 (click here for details of our Friends Scheme)
• Non-HCA Friends - £30

To book:

For more information and to book, visit www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/events.html.

Skills Minister calls for a new Arts and Craft Movement

Skills minister John Hayes has signalled a new vision for craft and vocational skills as he spoke of the re-emergence of the Guilds and announced an ambition to create a new and prestigious award for Craft.

The minister was at the RSA to deliver a speech on how practical and skills have evolved through history and the role they must now play in contributing to both the growth of the economy and an individual’s employability prospects and wellbeing.

John Hayes, said:

“For decades, people have been calling for greater parity of esteem between academic and vocational qualifications. But those calls have invariably fallen on deaf ears. Instead, we’ve seen the demotion of practical learning.

“The Arts and Crafts movement recognised the unbreakable link between satisfaction in work and quality of life – between craft and beauty.

“It’s been clear since even before guilds and livery companies existed that different sectors require specific skills, and that it therefore makes sense for sectoral bodies to be closely involved in designing training and qualifications and in setting standards.

“I know that the sector skills councils, trade organisations, livery companies and others are keen to build on the good work they already do. That’s why the Government will work to establish a circle of Guilds to be at the heart of the re-evaluation of the power of practical learning”

In his speech to an audience of RSA fellows, employers and members of the FE and skills sector, the minister called for a “revaluation” of the way that skills are seen and the value they add to individual employment prospects, life experience, national economic prospects and the character of a civil society and to the economy in order to stimulate and maintain growth.

The four ways in which the minister says the system can grow are:

• Continuing and intensifying efforts to re-establish the apprenticeship as the primary form of practical training;
• Re-evaluating and redefining what sector led skills system with a place for Guilds might look like;
• Continue to support and protect adult community learning and the role it plays in enriching the lives of individuals and contribute to local communities; and
• Break down the barriers to progression so the route for any individual from basic skills to higher learning is accessible and effective.

The government is now working to support a new award for excellence in the crafts, John Hayes added. He said:

“I think it is right that excellence should be rewarded and the Government will work over the next few months with those working to support the crafts, including the various charities under the Patronage of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, to encourage and reward excellence in this area.”

View the full speech at www.bis.gov.uk/news/speeches/john-hayes-skills-and-their-place.

HCA seeks a part time Administrator

Hours: 2.5 days per week
Salary: £18,000 pro rata (£9,000)
Location: home-based, with occasional travel to London (or London/Sheffield depending on the location of the successful applicant) and other locations as required.
Contract: two year initial contract, with the possibility of extending the contract should further funding be made available.
Deadline: Tuesday 9 November 2010, 5pm

The HCA is now seeking a paid part-time Administrator to work from home. This post will provide administration assistance to the Association’s dynamic board of trustees in helping to achieve the charitable aims of the organisation. The Administrator should be genuinely interested in the work of the Association, have a high standard of general administrative skills, experience of setting up effective administrative systems and good IT literacy.

To apply, please download an application pack (.doc, 125kb).

Please return your completed application form to the email or postal address provided by 5pm on Tuesday 9 November 2010. Shortlisting will be based on the application form alone – CVs will not be accepted.

If you have any queries about the post or the application process please contact HCA Chair Robin Wood (robin@robin-wood.co.uk, 01433 670321 or 0753 174 2617).

Interviews will be held in London on Friday 19 November 2010.

The Heritage Crafts Association is registered with the Charity Commission as charity number 1133646. It is an equal opportunities organisation and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds.

David Canter Memorial Fund 2010 Craft Awards – call for applications

The David Canter Memorial Fund offers awards to give financial assistance to those working in the crafts. The fund is open to those who have finished their formal training and are working full-time or part-time in the UK but need money for specific projects, e.g. setting up a workshop, buying equipment, educational work or for research and travel.

Awards, which usually range between £500 and £1,000, are made every other year, each time focusing on specific craft disciplines. For 2010 these will be Paper, Calligraphy and
Lettercutting and the submission deadline is 17 September 2010.

To request further information and an application form, please send a SAE to the address below or email rachel.mackie@crafts.org.uk.

Rachel Mackie
The David Canter Memorial Fund
c/o The Devon Guild of Craftsmen
Riverside Mill
Bovey Tracey
Devon
TQ13 9AF
01626 832223

Headley Trust support for HCA

The Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) is delighted that the Headley Trust has agreed to support it with a grant of £30,000 to pay a part-time administrator for two years.

The HCA trustees hope that, amongst other tasks, an administrator will help the Association expand its map of traditional craftspeople, to create a searchable database which will help folk find craftspeople more easily and link directly to their websites. The new administrator will also help the HCA work towards commissioning some more detailed quantitative research into the state of traditional crafts in the UK.

It will take the trustees a little while to draw up a job description, person specfication and advertise the post, but they hope to attract a talented and committed person who can help them move HCA on to the next stage of its development and continue to make real differences to working craftspeople.

Read more from HCA Chair Robin Wood on the Traditional Crafts blog.

Crisis in craft skills training

The college that trained many of the country’s top craftspeople, including three of the mentors from Monty Don’s BBC Mastercrafts series, will soon close its doors to heritage crafts trainees in spite of the Heritage Lottery Fund just having announced £17m in Lottery funding for skills training.

Closure of the New Entrants Training Scheme (NETS) at Hereford College, with its excellent record of getting students straight into full time employment, has prompted an outcry from crafts organisations. It highlights a national crisis in training provision - there are jobs available, master craftspeople willing to pass the skills on and people wishing to learn - but the support and infrastructure for craft training is inconsistent.

Ian Peake principle at Hereford College said, “It is with great regret that the college faces the closure of these courses due to changed national funding priorities and cuts in adult learning funding.” The courses in forgework, thatching, woodwork, wheelwrighting and upholstery have been running for over 30 years and are widely recognised by the industries concerned. However, because they do not offer a low-level NVQ level 2 qualification, they are not priority funding for the Skills Funding Agency, and so are being axed.

There is a similar problem in other trades. There is only one master cooper left in England. Following press coverage last year, Alastair Simms at Wadworth Brewery had a thousand letters from people wanting to learn the trade and he is happy to pass his skills on, but there is no government funded training scheme to cover the costs. An apprentice could get funding to take a low-level NVQ in woodwork on day release, but not for one-to-one tuition under a master craftsman.

Mike Turnock is the country’s last sievemaker, weaving wire garden riddles onto steam-bent wooden rims. He will retire this September aged 65 and local man, Damian Bramhall, would like to take the trade on and stop it from dying out. However, again there is no funding for Mike to pass his skills on. Such craftspeople are not interested in NVQs, quangos, priority provision or the endless paperwork which may be appropriate to large scale training in industry. They care about their skills and want help to pass them on to the next generation.

Robin Wood, of the Heritage Crafts Association, said, “The problem stems from traditional crafts falling outside the remit of all government agencies. Recognised by neither arts nor heritage organisations, there is nobody to protect traditional skills in the way that English Heritage protects buildings.” The problem is compounded because the crafts cross many boundaries - skills training is the responsibility of Sector Skills Councils, but the crafts fall within the remit of of Creative and Cultural Skills, Construction Skills and LANTRA.

Tuesday’s HLF press release announced £17m “for training in Heritage skills” and said “Trainees will learn traditional skills like dry-stonewalling and boat-building.” However, as with previous schemes, the majority of the funding is for building and conservation crafts. Robin Wood said, “When we see the annual budgets of quangos like the SFA (£4bn) and Sector Skills Councils it is very frustrating to see a centuries old crafts skill such as sievemaking in danger of dying out for the sake of £5,000, which is all it would cost for Mike Turnock to train his successor.”

Meanwhile, at a very human level, the decision to cut NETS is a sudden blow for many people, particularly those part way through the two-year course, who will not be able to complete their studies when funding is cut abruptly in July.

Notes:

NETS students are trained for 12 weeks over a two-year period. There are currently 72 trainees.

• Heritage Crafts Association (Chair: Robin Wood, 01433 670321 or mobile 0753 1742617)
• British Artist Blacksmiths Association (Chair: Terrence Clark)
• Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths (Chris Jeal, hammerandhand@supernet.com)
• Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights
  
• Guild of Traditional Upholsterers
  
• Hereford College (Principal: Ian Peake, 01432 365300)
• Mike Turnock, sievemaker, 01663 732607

Tuesday's HLF announcement of 808 heritage training placements is great news for 'The Heritage Industry' but sadly most crafts fall outside that industry's remit.

Of those placements 241 are in countryside conservation, 148 in heritage building skills, 142 in museum and archive skills, 46 in horticulture, 39 in education and information management, 18 in new media, 27 in archaeology, 12 in oral history, 21 increasing ethnic diversity and here are the crafts at the bottom, 16 in heritage ironwork, 12 in boatbuilding and 4 in bookbinding.