Today we're playing a fun game called "guess which blog post Laura thought she'd published months ago but actually was gathering virtual dust in her drafts folder this whole time". Yup, that's right, this one! Oops. Better late than never though, right? :)
So, a long long time ago (May of last year) I spent two amazing days zipping round London exploring the awesomeness of the first ever
London Craft Week.
On the first day I met so many interesting people, chatted to loads of different makers about their work, oohed over some incredible craftsmanship and got to peek behind the scenes of some fascinating spaces, it was
wonderful. (You can read all about what I got up to on the day one
here and
here).
After that busy day I made the
not entirely sensible decision to stay up late watching the election coverage... then had trouble a) getting out of bed the following morning and b) tearing myself away from the news of the (dramatic!) results. I'm glad I did though, because day two of London Craft Week was jam-packed with great stuff.
Once I'd finally got up and on a train and into London, my first stop was
Trunk Clothiers, where the founder of
(ki:ts) was demonstrating the art of hand stitching leather and showcasing his (then) current belt collection. It was so interesting to see the work in progress.
Next door, jewellers
Cox + Power were running an open house, so after admiring
their collections in the shop visitors could see the workshop where all that loveliness gets made.
Something that came up again and again during London Craft Week was
how today's fine craftsmen and women are creating inventive, modern
pieces but drawing on traditions, skills and techniques that stretch
back hundreds of years.
At Cox + Power it was fascinating to hear how little a jeweller's workspace and tools have changed over the centuries, and we had a great chat about makers and making and the things that connect us all (whether we're making fine jewellery or
cute stuff from felt!).
Next I headed to
Savoir Beds - whose tailormade beds were first created for The Savoy Hotel in 1905 - where a skilled (and hugely entertaining) craftsman was demonstrating
the craft of mattress making. I was especially fascinated by the large half-moon shaped needles used for slip stitching.
My next stop was the
Contemporary Ceramics Centre which includes an exhibition space and a shop filled with gorgeous ceramics. The Centre is just
opposite the British Museum, but I had no idea it was there as I always approach the Museum from the other direction. I will definitely be taking a slight detour and popping in here again in future!
After oohing over the beautiful ceramics, I headed down the road to a shop that I'd walked past many times on my way to the British Museum but never visited before:
Cornelisson & Son. This is a truly wonderful little shop! There are so many art supplies
squeezed into the space, everywhere you look is a riot of colour and
creative possibility.
They sell some very specialist supplies here, but lots of more accessible ones too. Even if you have no interest in art it's worth a visit, just to see the shop's original drawers and storage jars filled with a rainbow of pigment. If you are a creative type though (and if you're reading my blog, the chances are that you probably are) what a pleasure it would be to shop for even something as small as
a new pencil sharpener in a place like this!
For London Craft Week, Cornelissen were running a series of free talks. I turned up just in time for the one on colour charts, which you might think wouldn't be that interesting but you'd be wrong. It was wonderful to be able to peek behind the scenes at the shop, hear about its history and the specialist colour charts they produce for their customers... and we were treated to lots of great anecdotes along the way.
After filling my brain and eyes with all things colour-related, I walked up the Tottenham Court Road to
Heals where textile designer
Gemma Kay Wagget was spending the afternoon demonstrating screen-printing and giving tips to people who wanted to try printing for themselves.
Sadly I missed the demonstration itself as Gemma was taking a well-earned break, but I picked up a lovely notebook she'd screenprinted and a copy of
Hole & Corner - a beautiful magazine "celebrating craft, beauty, passion and skill".
On to my next stop: the British Library, where weavers from
Dovecot Tapestry Studios were working on a hand loom and discussing their work. We didn't get a chance to talk about much though, as a very loud fire alarm went off and the building had to be evacuated! You can see a short video about one of their projects
here and see more of their work
here.
As the Library emptied out and the fire engines arrived (to what I'm guessing was a false alarm as they left again pretty soon afterwards!) I headed down the road to
The Crypt Gallery, a unique and highly atmospheric exhibition space under St Pancras Church.
This was the venue for the MAKE / CREATE exhibition, a collaborative exhibition between fine artists and makers that explored the intersection between traditional craft and contemporary art. I'm not the world's biggest contemporary art fan but this was a really rewarding (and slightly spooky) exhibition to visit.
Then there was just time for one last stop before I headed homewards: the
Art Workers' Guild where some of the members were chatting about their work and giving tours of their meeting hall.
After all that, you might not be entirely surprised to hear that I decided to stay home and rest instead of attending some of the weekend's events!
This year London Craft Week will be taking place from 3rd-7th May.
Visit the London Craft Week website for more info and to check out
this year's programme of tours, talks, workshops, demonstrations and other event.
P.S. You can read more about the places, events and makers I visited during London Craft Week in
part one and
part two.
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