Deptford, 18-22 Creekside, London, SE8 3DZ (14 – 16 June)

Opening times: Fri 6pm-9pm, Sat – Sun 11am – 6pm

Admission Free

Hailed by Vogue as “fostering some of London’s most exciting creative talent”, Cockpit Arts Studios open their doors for members of the public twice a year to meet and support the independent designer makers in residence, and purchase covetable craft items you won’t find on the high street.  This summer Cockpit Arts Studios are blooming with original work by 165 independent designer-makers, and will provide visitors with a range of workshops and special showcases, with a Hand Made Food pop-up café on site offering seasonal and free-range treats.

Visitors to Deptford can peek behind the scenes to see the working studios of The New Craftsmen’s Billy Lloyd, potter; Catarina Riccabona, hand-weaver; and Ndidi Ekubia, silversmith. For those unable to visit Deptford, you can view, buy and commission work by all three, in addition to over 30 other celebrated British craft makers at the The New Craftsmen’s Mayfair residence during the summer months.

Billy Lloyd, Ndidi Ekubia, and Catarina Riccabona at work in Deptford

In the wake of the proposed government plans to drop Craft from the creative industries, we certainly hope to encourage a resurgence of interest and support for British Craftsmanship and manufacturing, through the work of our growing stable of makers.

From 7^th June, we will be transforming The Garage into a multi-sensory evocation of craft and its roots, where guests can buy, commission and experience new products.  The Garage is eye-catching inside and out – a unique space to shelter work by 25 different makers hailing from all over Britain, and a programme of interactive workshops, residencies, demonstrations and story-telling will engage guests with maker, material and process.

Our focus will be on provenance and narrative; taking wood as an example, we will explore the role of the Woodsman, the Turner, the Bodger and the Manufacturer, all of whom share a distinct but different passion for the forms of the forest.

From Wood, to Clay, Cloth and Hide – a taste of what’s to come…

Wooden plates by traditional wood worker, turner and carver Robin Wood, and hand thrown ceramic cups by Nicola Tassie

Pottery by the renowned slipware potter Clive Bowen

Ceramic tableware by Stuart Carey, to buy or commission in colours exclusive to The New Craftsmen

Eye-catching and quirky illustrated tableware by Laura Carlin

Embroidery by couture seamstress and QEST scholarship awarded embroiderer Anja von Kalinowski

From Flockhart, a collection of fabric designs from the 1940s and 50s being revived by Lucy Mackenzie, granddaughter of the original artist Eileen Guthrie. Cushions, aprons, and laundry bags will all be on offer, as well as fabric by the metre

Traditional english leatherwork by Tanner Bates

Part 1 – Edale, Derbyshire

The appropriately named Robin Wood, an internationally respected woodworker hailing from Edale in the Peak District, will be one of the first makers to be championed in our new space, as we celebrate and examine the work of different makers in wood and their connection towards the forms of the forest.

Robin specializes in the use of local timbers and traditional techniques, but with a distinctively modern twist. Using a foot-powered lathe, Robin turns stylish but functional bowls and plates, and his extensive research into the history of the craft led to the publication of the definitive book on the history of the wooden bowl.

Following in the footsteps of George Lailey – the last person in England to make a living out of turning wooden bowls on a pole lathe and who died in 1958 – Robin became fascinated by this 2000 year old skill of traditional turning, and set about reviving the technique. Like the old turners, Robin uses no sandpaper, relying entirely on the sharpness of his tools to get a good finish, creating a distinct character through the marks of the tools.

Visitors can enjoy 3 different sessions:

1. The Balvenie Bar

There will be a bar available all afternoon where you can meet The Balvenie team led by Dr Andrew Forrester and Malt Master David Stewart.

2. Meet the Maker talks

In addition to samplings, Balvenie will be presenting a series of Meet The Maker talks from The Balvenie Masters of Craft judges Natalie Melton and Mark Henderson, co-founders of The New Craftsmen, and Giles Ellis of the Schofield Watch Company.   Meet the Maker tickets will be available for £15 and will be on sale from Balvenie soon.

2. Warehouse 24 Private Tasting
For Warehouse 24 members there will be free daily private tastings with Dr Andrew Forrester and Malt Master David Stewart, with the chance to try something special pulled from the cask with their dipping dog.  Runs from 6 – 7:30pm Thurs & Fri and 4:30pm on Saturday

For large artworks prices range from £500 to £800. SHOP HERE.

Mr Smith’s ‘Typographic Ornament’ series is made exclusively for The New Craftsmen. New prints will be launched at the ‘Crafted: Makers of the Exceptional’ show at Somerset House from the 4th to 6th April 2013.

The ‘Typographic Ornament’ prints are constructed from a unique  collection of metal type borders and ornaments. Mr Smith is in no way fancy — and as an antidote to the decorative nature of the material — the borders are formally hand-set on a simple grid system to reinforce the beauty of the original cuts and the grace of the formal arrangement. They are made in limited editions and are printed on 100% cotton printmaking papers.

Mr Smith is a Polymath — a craftsman, designer, typographer, printmaker, wordsmith and maker — he is of strong temperament and is chiefly concerned with attention to detail, good practice and quality workmanship — he creates exquisitely crafted contemporary typographic printed matter using traditional wood and metal type in his Letterpress workshop.

‘Smith’s Rules’ is the Imprint under which Mr Smith publishes work. They take many numerous forms but are always ‘Designed, Set & Printed’ by Mr Smith in his Kennington workshop. The philosophical approach of Smith’s Rules sets out to explores visual ideas in response to graphic design dogma, typographic prescription and letterpress process & material restrictions.

Mr Smith can be commissioned to produce a range of exquisite letterpress printed matter — from eye-catching corporate identities, stationery, cards and invitations to stunning artworks, posters and prints for the home or business space.

From 4th to 6th April Somerset House (West Wing) will be showcasing the first ‘CRAFTED: MAKERS OF THE EXCEPTIONAL’ exhibition in association with Walpole British Luxury and Vacheron Constantin.  This non-commercial exhibition will bring together those who have been supported by Walpole British Luxury through the Crafted mentorship programme to give a glimpse into the inner workings of Britain’s finest craft businesses.  Visitors will recognize makers championed by The New Craftsmen, including Kelvyn Laurence Smith of Mr Smith’s Letterpress Workshop, Ndidi Ekubia, Ptolemy Mann, Billy Lloyd and Wayne Meeten, whose products are all available to commission via The New Craftsmen.

The Balvenie Master of Craft Awards launches a new website today and counts The New Craftsmen co-founder Natalie Melton among its line of judges for the 3^rd year of this awards programme, which champions British craftsmanship and those who devote their working lives to it.  The other judges include Balvenie’s Malt Master David Stewart, Giles Ellis – founder of the Schofield Watch Company, Max Fraser of the London Design Festival, and The Culture Show’s Tom Dyckhoff.

Visitors to the new site can read about the previous winners who hail from many different regions of the British Isles, but are said to “share a wholehearted commitment and passion for their craft”, and include two of The New Craftsmen makers, silversmith Wayne Meeten and bespoke shoemaker Deborah Carre.

There are 5 categories in this year’s awards, with a wide ranging remit which recognizes the growing importance of craftsmanship across a variety of disciplines. New this year is a category for sport and leisure, whilst the interiors and objects category will see a wide range of materials and processes competing to gain recognition from the expert judges. The chocolatier, smoker, curer, micro-brewer and cheesemaker are all counted within the Food and Drink category.  Enter now!

‘It’s a real thrill to have been asked to judge these awards for the first time’ says Natalie.  ’Balvenie have a fantastic appreciation and passion for craftsmanship, and wants to shine a light on Britains’s hidden makers and celebrate their endeavour.  I am looking forward to working my way through the nominations and hopefully unearthing some extraordinary skill and talent.’

One of our favourite wool products by British Craft makers, and showcased recently at our winter pop-up include the hand knitted Gansey sweater by Scottish knitwear cooperative Highland Loop. The antithesis of fast, throwaway fashion, these Ganseys – designed to protect fishermen from the wilds of sea – are crafted with generations of expertise and a distinct expression of function and purpose. Customers can commission this iconic fisherman’s jumper from The New Craftsmen in 3 different patterns, customised to individual measurements using 100% British 5-ply wool.

We’re also huge fans of Charlotte Linton’s gorgeous wool scarves, inspired by Scottish fauna and flora, such as the rare Eriskay Ponies, which were once used to transport peat and kelp in hand woven wicker creels. The simple illustration style takes inspiration from the ponies carved on Pictish stone.

Examples of vintage Gansey sweaters, framing a sketch by Highland Loop. Email info@thenewcraftsmen.com to discuss a commission or for further information.

Local Whitby fishermen wearing the ‘Gansey Sweater’, taken by pioneering Yorkshire photographer Frank Sutcliffe Meadows, (1853-1941)

Eriskay Ponies’s wool scarf by Charlotte Linton, £195. Click here to purchase
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A contemporary Orkney Chair by Gareth Neal & Kevin Gauld

 Kevin Gauld has been refining the centuries old technique of Orkney chair making since an apprenticeship at the age of 16, even growing his own oats to create the chair’s straw back. The Orkney chair is the epitome of resourcefulness, and of design following function, and to mark the launch of our Christmas preview, The New Craftsmen commissioned Kevin to team up with Gareth Neal, to reimagine the Orkney Chair for a modern lifestyle. The resulting piece is the ‘Brodgar’ straw back chair; a contemporary Orkney chair combining a Windsor chair vernacular made from oak, with the traditional Orkney chair straw back and featuring a pull-out draw below the seat.  (Available to commission).

Contemporary Orkney Chair, by Gareth Neal and Kevin Gauld

A rare North Ronaldsay sheepskin, from Isle of Auskerry 

Isle of Auskerry produces an exceptional range of hand-cured sheepskins.  The company consists of Simon Brogan and his wife Teresa, who moved to the remote island in Orkney almost 40 years ago, to pursue making a living from the local ‘wild’ sheep – the only industry possible on the isolated island terrain. The family are now dedicated to the survival of their rare North Ronaldsay sheep, of which there are only 3 flocks left in Orkney. Each sheepskin is unique in its colour and markings, and is hand-cured on the island, using rainwater to soften it.

North Ronaldsay sheepskins, hand cured by ‘Isle of Auskerry’

Cover up with an Eriskay pony – silk and wool scarfs by Charlotte Linton

Charlotte Linton has illustrated a range of silk and wool scarfs for The New Craftsmen, each one depicting the local culture, craft, flora and fauna found in the Outer Hebrides, in a range of eye-catching illustrations.

The Gansey Sweater – a functional take on luxury by Highland loop 

Highland Loop – a knitwear cooperative in northern Scotland, can be commissioned to produce their iconic ‘Gansey’ Sweater, traditionally worn by fishermen and designed to keep the wind and sea at bay! Highland Loop has developed 3 patterns for commission, crafted with generations of expertise and a distinct expression of function and purpose.