Info, news & debate
Blacksmithing & farriery
Craft in a crisis: helping heritage crafts come back from the brink
With a host of already endangered heritage crafts at even greater risk as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, what does the future hold and how can we play a part in helping heritage crafts survive and even thrive? Sophie Paterson explores.
The Bowl Gathering: preserving and reviving an endangered craft
Sharif Adams, traditional bowl turner and spoon carver tells the story of the Bowl Gathering, from humble beginnings to a thriving gathering of craft revival.
Farm Hack is coming to Wales! Join in 6-7 October at the CSA Gathering
You’re invited to participate in skill shares and farm hacks from 6-7 October 2018 at Tyddyn Teg Co-operative near Caernarfon. A joint event between Farm Hack and the Community Supported Agriculture network in Wales, Frank White tells us more.
Join our new online community Living Low Impact
We’re excited to introduce our new Facebook group Living Low Impact – and you’re invited!
How to make a pair of bellows: a step by step guide with Kormak the Carter
In this post we learn from Cormac Stanton how to construct a pair of working bellows, be they for the fireplace or the forge. A member of the Manaraefan Herred Dark Age and Early Medieval re-enactment group, as Kormak the Carter he works alongside blacksmith Mo Swinhosson. Both are described as highly competent early medieval …
What we’re losing: the joy and satisfaction of crafting things by hand
The video below shows various stages of the production and finish of a 1-metre tall puppet by Jan Zalud. Jan makes all sorts of things – crafted by hand from wood.
The future will be handmade? The prospects for craft skills in ‘developing’ countries
The Future will be handmade? In the information age, the question has an absurd ring. But I ask after listening to Ashoke Chatterjee at the Artisans House in Mumbai. As a long time President of the Crafts Council of India, Chatterjee tells us that ‘The Future will be handmade’. The question mark is mine.
Visit to the Gransfors Burks forge in Sweden – makers of the world’s best axes
Standing outside Huddiksval train station, it’s pouring with rain and I am beginning to wonder what the hell I am doing here. Having been travelling for 12 hours I’m tired and hungry, there is no one here to collect me, a taxi is more expensive than my flight from the UK and not a bus …
What low-impacters are up to around the country: Meadow Forge
Nestled in, part way down the side of a beautiful valley in Devon, is probably the most interesting, bonkers, chaotic and inspiring workshop I’ve ever been in. Housed inside what was once an open cow shed, this is where long-standing network member, Dean Aggett,
Opportunity for low-impact person in the Loire valley
We’ve been approached by a very nice man called Rod Harper, who has never used a computer in his life, and so asked us for help in finding someone to rent his property in the Loire Valley.
Craft skills are too important to lose
How many people do you know these days whose work involves traditional craft skills? For every craftsperson in the UK, there must be a couple of thousand working in telesales.