Info, news & debate
Crafts
How to make a new axe handle
First, wood selection. The perfect wood is nice straight grain ash fairly fast grown, if it gets more than 6-8 rings per inch it is much more brittle, 4-6 rings per inch is perfect.
How to fit a new axe handle
This blog post shows how to fit a new axe handle, it could be a new store bought handle or one you made yourself – more on this soon.
Here’s why it’s a good idea to plant more willow (just not close to drains)
Willow is a native UK plant, which grows well in our temperate climate and is very easy to grow from cuttings. There are hundreds of different varieties of willow. Each variety differs in terms of growth rate, colour of stem and leaf shape.
Starting your own business: how to sell hand-made soaps
Want to start selling your home-made soap? Katrina McKenzie of Small World Soaps explains how to sell hand-made soaps in the UK and turn your hobby into a business.
The price of the average wedding is now over £20k; how to do it for much less and give the finger to ‘Brides’ magazine
Flanked by an advert for the Ocean Club honeymoon resort in the Bahamas, with young bride and groom toasting a glass of champagne, Brides – “the UK’s number 1 bridal magazine” announces to its readers that “Planning your wedding starts here”
Low-impact & the city 1: introduction – how possible is it to live in a sustainable, non-corporate way in a city?
I lived at Redfield Community for 13 years – it’s where Lowimpact.org was born – but now I live in London, and so I’m assessing my options for living as low-impact a life as I can.
Support the art of blockprinting fabrics – watch this fantastic video of how it’s done and we’re sure you’ll want to
This hand block printed bed and table linen is made from organically grown cotton, certified by IMO, sourced by Hilary in India and printed at a small workshop in Rajasthan
Invitation to join us at Breaking the Frame gathering in Derbyshire in July
NB: Dave from Lowimpact.org will be giving a talk about the Ujamaa2 idea on the Saturday afternoon, and the whole event will bring together people from various parts of the ‘alternative technology’ field
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 …
Our partner Janet’s upcoming knitting, spinning, sewing & craft tour of Scotland by folding bicycle
Knit 1 Bike 1 – a journey, a book and an exhibition: Janet Renouf-Miller of Create With Fibre sets off on 29th June 2015, on a Brompton folding bicycle to cycle 850 miles round Scotland, giving free talks and workshops in exchange for accommodation.
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.
Why some soap-makers refuse to use palm oil and how you can help them
Lowimpact.org: Hi Katrina – you make and sell soaps that don’t contain any palm oil. We wanted to talk to you about why you came to that decision, and what you use instead. To start, what is palm oil used for in soap making?
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.
Craftivism: new year’s revolution!
New Year Revolutions! Revolution = A turning, change (dictionary definition). It’s the start of a new year again, many of us will have made resolutions, usually to give something up – like smoking.