London Craft Week
London Craft Week
Celebrating outstanding creativity and exceptional craftsmanship, London Craft Week returns to the capital for its fifth edition with over 240 established and emerging makers, designers, brands & galleries from around the world. We kindly invite you to explore a few of our favourites:
Join woodworker Bobby Mills, who we had the pleasure of having a part of Volume 4°, as he brings his workshop to the New Road Residence. His handcrafted vessels and furniture are on show alongside a live demonstration of how he creates his pieces on a traditional woodturning lathe. Each piece Mills creates begins with a piece of wood that has been locally and sustainably sourced from conservation projects or windfall from one of the UK’s ancient woodlands. He works intuitively and seeks to engage with the natural lines and structures within the wood, whether it be in creating a vessel, stool or chair.
For over 130 years, G . F Smith has been obsessed with the simple beauty and limitless possibility of paper. Today, they act as custodians of their founders remarkable legacy by making and curating the world’s finest paper collection. For London Craft Week, G . F Smith are partnering with MaterialDriven - a design agency and Material Library, to host an exciting and immersive exhibition in their emblematic London Show Space.
An exhibition and talk showcasing six artists and craftsmen who use wood to handcraft contemporary pieces that traverse function, art and design. Exhibiting artists and craftsmen include: Ted Jefferis, Wycliffe Stutchbury, Luke Hope, Max Bainbridge, Abigail Booth and Jane Crisp. Through looking at the wider nature of practice in wood, the works on display examine the maker’s relationship to material and landscape – in particular that of the British tree and the way the forest and woodlands continue to influence artists and craftsmen working in the UK today.
Curated by Sarah Myerscough, Scorched is an exhibition of scorched wood pieces by leading contemporary artists and designers. The traditional process of shou-sugi-ban, otherwise known as yakisugi, is a technique originating in Japan in the 18th century which involves the slight charring of the surface of wood. Although it carries a strong cultural significance, this exhibition comes from a clear Western perspective. Invited artists were asked to consider the process of scorching in their practice and how in turn that reflects upon the material.
An exhibition focusing on natural dyeing techniques and the age-old art of kasane, the creation of Japanese colour combinations. The exhibition shines a spotlight on the guardians of this tradition, the Yoshioka Dyeing Workshop, a 200-year-old family-run company based in Japan's ancient capital Kyoto. Enter a forest of colour and discover how poetry and literature are woven into this story, and continue to resonate with people in Japan to this day.
Featuring bold, architectural forms, this new collection showcases Charlotte’s pioneering lichen patina finish inspired by organic fungi, in which layers of chemicals and pigments are applied to heated bronze to create a rich and expressive surface. The new capsule collection includes a high console table, low coffee table and wall mirrors presented alongside other makers’ works co-curated by Charlotte, creating a world of furniture, artworks and decorative accessories which are in dialogue with Charlotte’s unique centrepieces.
Curated by Sujata Keshavan, The Varana store will host a series of events, including a new exhibition of objects and furniture, to further express her vision for the integrity for Indian craft traditions, craft-based production and the handmade. The in-store exhibition is a show of six cutting edge design studios working in India and will include exquisitely made objects and furniture by Case Goods, Rooshad Shroff, Sandeep Sangaru, Neeru Kumar, Tiipoi and Material Immaterial.
67 York Street and the Aviary are honoured to be hosting the first major exhibition of work from Keqin Yan ever to be held in the UK. This collection is a unique look at an extraordinary treasure trove of work from a contemporary pioneer of the traditional medium of ink painting and calligraphy, studied and perfected over a career spanning five decades.
Lucille Lewin is joined in her studio by Victoria Gaiger and Tom Loxley, editors of rakesprogress magazine, to discuss her life and work. Known for her organic sculptures, Lucille’s work is in demand all over the world, but much of her inspiration derives from her reverence for the natural world she finds on her doorstep.
Located in Tokushima Prefecture, an area of Japan known for producing Awa indigo, BUAISOU does everything from indigo cultivation and creating dye to designing and making products. Alongside the installation of handmade and hand dyed flags, commissioned by Coal Drops Yard, the BUAISOU team is onsite hosting a series of dyeing workshops in KIOSK N1C.
Stack: Paul Smith and 1882 Ltd.
Paul Smith partners with design-driven ceramics brand 1882 Ltd. to present unique objects made of fine bone china, which highlight the industrial heritage craft skills of Stoke-on-Trent and subvert the norm.
Warp Threads of Wispy Paper
Commissioned by Aesop, local artist Isobel Napier created a newsprint-based installation for their newest London space in Coal Drops Yard. Applying the emergent craft of computer-controlled laser-cutting to the ancient medium of printed paper, Isobel creates fragile works of extreme delicacy, evocative of frayed fabric and just short of losing all structural integrity. For this project, she fed her cutting machine old editions of Aesop’s literary publication, The Fabulist, irreversibly transforming the solid pages into something far less stable.
Battersea Power Station hosts a large-scale immersive installation by Monica Cass of par-avion co. & Claire Potter of Claire Potter Design. The two designers combine their eco-conscious design ethos to transform construction waste from the neighbouring site into an intricately woven structure, reminiscent of the handwoven seats from par-avion co.’s sustainable furniture range. The resulting piece acts as a commentary on the inevitable contribution of construction waste to landfills and highlights sustainable efforts of Mace Group to reduce this impact with their ‘100% diversion from landfill’ commitment.
FRONT London presents award-winning rug maker Lila Valadan and a unique collection of rugs alongside the women’s handmade tools to create an experience – a small journey into a world where time passes gradually, where soft yellow colours are derived from the peel of pomegranate and deep browns from walnut shells. Lila believes in skilled crafts and trades. Her artisans are never pressured for time, because creativity and passion require room and freedom. The rituals that are applied today are the same as 100 years ago – a unique handcraft that has transcended generations.
Learn the art of candle making with Earl of East London at their flagship store, bonds. Kings Cross. Their travel-inspired scented candles have already transported us to the remote hills of Greece (‘Greenhouse’), late summers in mellow Lisbon (‘Viagem’), and an afternoon at the Palace of Versaille (‘Jardin de la Lune’). Now, to celebrate their latest Japanese bathing-inspired line, Earl of East London hosts a week of immersive hands-on workshops, as well as an exhibition with Japanese ceramic curators, Gallery Eclectic.
London's first ‘sleep bar’ offering bespoke sleep oils based on personal sleep challenges, led by master aromacologist Anastasia Brozler. Visitors are first guided through the ‘anatomē Sleep Map’, allowing the individual to react emotionally and subliminally through different presentations of form, colour, sound and texture. Then, during a ‘Sleep Consultation’, a choice of Somalian frankincense, Japanese seaweed or Roman chamomile is added to the base sleep signature oil, dispensed in store and personalised to requirements.
Kōgei is the Japanese culture of craftsmanship, which treasures the beauty of utilitarian objects made with natural materials. Watch artisans demonstrating these traditional skills, including futon making, knife making, dyeing, bamboo carving, urushi lacquering and metalworking, and learn how these ancient techniques have evolved.
