Many traditional crafts are in danger of disappearing, says Claire Saul. Can you pass on a skill to the next generation?
WORDS: CLAIRE SAUL
Many of our heritage crafts, practised across generations and requiring manual dexterity and knowledge of traditional materials, designs and techniques, are under threat.
There is still an important place for skilled craftsmanship today, as we know from popular television shows such as The Repair Shop, as well as the many community repair and restoration hubs springing up across the nation.
There’s a real drive to reuse and repurpose items for environmental and financial reasons.
The Heritage Craft Association (HCA) produces a biannual Red List of Endangered Crafts, detailing the status of traditional UK craft skills.
The most recent survey of 259 crafts found that five had become extinct in the past generation and that 62 were “critically endangered”, at serious risk of no longer being practised in the UK, due to factors such as a shrinking base of craftspeople and limited training opportunities.
Eighty-four crafts were classed as endangered. These crafts, including clock making, glove making and wheelwrighting, currently have enough craftspeople to pass on skills to the next generation, yet have a diminishing rate of practitioners.
A total of 112 crafts, including crochet, calligraphy and gilding, are considered to be currently viable, meaning they are in a healthy state and are well-populated.
heritagecrafts.org.uk/skills/redlist
A Stitch In Time
Anne Butcher’s love of stitching began at a young age when she was bought a Mrs Tiggy-Winkle Beatrix Potter embroidery kit one Christmas.
Anne began an apprenticeship at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) at the age of 16 and is now head of embroidery studio and standards there.
“When I decided I wanted to embroider as a career, I was really fortunate that my parents were supportive of me wanting to work in the creative world. A lot of people who come to the RSN say that their parents insisted on a different career path for them,” Anne explains.
“The studio team work on bespoke embroidery services and also on restoration and conservation commissions, so we use a whole variety of techniques.
“We work for everyone from private customers through to businesses, royalty, churches
