The Traditional Crafts Blog

The Heritage Crafts Association has set up a new blog, written by Robin Wood, HCA Chair. The blog has been pre-loaded with over 70 previous items written by Robin and will be updated regularly with the latest opinions and observations about the traditional crafts sector and the work of the HCA.

To view the blog, go to http://traditionalcraftsblog.blogspot.com or if you use an RSS reader you can access the feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/traditionalcraftsblog.

The HCA is now also on microblogging site Twitter. To follow its tweets, go to http://twitter.com/heritage_crafts.

Heritage Crafts Association achieves charitable status

Less than a year after being formed, the Heritage Crafts Association is now a UK charity.

Charitable status will help underpin the HCA's work in supporting and promoting traditional heritage crafts for the benefit of everyone.

The Heritage Crafts Association is registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales - charity number 1133646.

The Heritage Crafts Association seeks input from craftspeople

Deadline: 28 February 2010

Dear supporter,

The Heritage Crafts Association’s aim is to support and promote heritage crafts as a fundamental part of our living heritage. Since the HCA website went live earlier this year, we have attracted hundreds of supporters all keen to help ensure a sustainable future for traditional heritage crafts.

Going into 2010, we are looking to consolidate this support, building upon our advocacy work with politicians and representatives of key agencies. In order to achieve this, we would like to complement the huge amount of anecdotal evidence we have gathered to date with a statistical analysis of our supporters’ opinions and experiences. To that effect we are asking as many traditional craftspeople as possible in the UK to fill in a simple survey.

The survey consists of ten questions and should take no longer than fifteen minutes to complete. To do so, please go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/6FNQF6L.

We would also be very grateful if you could forward this notice to as many of your craftspeople friends and colleagues as possible, and, if you work for a crafts organisation, to post it in your newsletters and email circulars.

Many thanks in advance for your continuing support.

Best wishes,
Robin Wood, HCA Chair

Traditional crafts matter to the HCA

Craft Matters is a Crafts Council initiative to highlight the importance of crafts in people's lives. It believes that craft matters and it wants to show that it matters to thousands of people across the UK. The Heritage Crafts Association supports this initiative in the field of heritage crafts.

In the next few months, the Crafts Council will be posting the names of all its signatories on its website so that it can demonstrate the real support for craft. It wants to launch the new webpage with over 1,000 signatures, so please ask your friends and colleagues to show that craft matters to them too.

To sign up to the statement 'I'm signing up to Make Craft Count because Craft Matters to me', visit www.craftscouncil.org.uk/craftmatters.

Craft Club – a national campaign for craft in schools (England)

Craft Club is a national campaign for craft in schools. It aims to unite skilled and enthusiastic craftspeople with children and young people through after-school clubs. Working together they can engage learners beyond the curriculum and enthuse them about making.

Crafts Club believes that the future of craft lies in nurturing talent – children and young people must be able to learn about craft at school and have access to excellent teaching throughout their education. It offers advice, resources and support to inspire teachers, pupils and volunteers to set up clubs during lunchtimes or after-hours in their school or venue.

Register an interest at www.craftclub.org.uk.

Traditional Crafts on Radio 4 Farming Today

Rural crafts are being featured on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today program this week. For those who are not up at 6am to listen you can listen online using BBC iplayer (just click the link then drag the slider to 9.25 when the feature starts).

We hear quite a lot of press on good stories in the traditional crafts at the moment, though most are in conservation or building crafts. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has put nearly £10 million into these crafts over the last five years through its bursary scheme.

HLF is a reactive rather than proactive funder and, in part, it has been a result of the smaller traditional crafts themselves not having an organised voice to campaign for support that has led to them being left out. We look forward seeing support and promotion for the basketmakers, potters, weavers and urban crafts such as Sheffield cutlery in the future.

Thanks to HCA supporter Julian for pointing this one out.

Monty Don's Mastercrafts on the BBC

Back in February the Heritage Crafts Association was contacted about a new BBC TV series on traditional crafts. Mastercrafts, fronted by Monty Don, is now on its way - details on the BBC website.



Each week on Mastercrafts, three hopefuls get the chance to study under some of the country's leading master craftsmen and women. They will be trained to a high standard in the craft of their choice, including metal work, wood craft, stone masonry, glass-making, thatching and weaving. The aim is to equip them with the practical knowledge and skills to give them a head start in their chosen craft.

Monty will be charting the students' progress during their training and exploring the fascinating and often forgotten history of each craft. The aim is to put traditional crafts firmly back on the map in modern Britain.