Heritage Crafts is a registered United Kingdom charity (registered as The Heritage Crafts Association) set up to support and promote traditional crafts. It has been operating under the name Heritage Crafts since October 2021.
The charity was launched at the Victoria & Albert Museum in March 2010, with a membership programme for supporters. Its founders included Robin Wood MBE (professional wood turner and co-founder of Spoonfest with Barn the Spoon), Patricia Lovett MBE (professional scribe, calligrapher and illuminator) and current executive director Daniel Carpenter.
Heritage Crafts initiated a 30-minute adjournment debate on the state of traditional crafts in the House of Commons in June 2009.
In May 2017, in association with The Radcliffe Trust, the Association published the Red List of Endangered Crafts, which was repeated again in 2019, 2021 and 2023, when it was funded by The Pilgrim Trust. This publication was also covered on Woman's Hour.
In 2020, the charity's patron, King Charles III (then Prince of Wales), launched The President's Award for Endangered Crafts, which was won in 2020 by Ernest Wright scissor makers, in 2021 by watchmaker Dr Rebecca Struthers and in 2022 by pargeter Johanna Welsh.
Patron and ambassadors
The patron of Heritage Crafts is King Charles III, confirmed by the patronages review that followed the royal succession, in a continuation of the presidency role he had fulfilled as Prince of Wales since 2013.
Ambassadors include:
- Will Kirk – furniture restorer and television presenter
- Kaffe Fassett – textile designer
- Alex Langlands – archaeologist and star of Victorian Farm and Tales from the Green Valley
- Rose Sinclair MBE – lecturer in Design at Goldsmiths, University of London
See also
References
- "The Heritage Crafts Association, registered charity no. 1159208". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- "Heritage Crafts".
- "Heritage crafts at risk". TheGuardian.com. 22 March 2010.
- "The Heritage Crafts Association Friends' Scheme launch". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
- "Who we are". The Heritage Crafts Association. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- "Traditional Crafts".
- "Hansard". Hansard. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- "The Red List of Endangered Crafts". Heritage Crafts Association.
- "Endangered Crafts". Woman's Hour. 4 May 2017. BBC Radio 4.
- "Sheffield scissor firm is top of the chops at craft awards". The Star. 12 October 2020.
- "The husband-and-wife team taking on Swiss watch giants from their Staffordshire workshop". The Telegraph. 22 March 2023.
- "Suffolk pargeter wins Royal approval for centuries-old craft". East Anglian Daily Times. 5 February 2023.
- "His Majesty The King to retain patronage of Heritage Crafts". Heritage Crafts. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.