Ever heard of nålbinding?
146 heritage crafts are expected to die out within a generation. Meet some of the people keeping them alive
I’m taking a couple of days off this week to spend with my kids, but rather than leave you without a long read, I’m sharing a piece I wrote for The Lead on the people keeping heritage crafts going in Blackpool.
National charity Heritage Crafts has put together a Red List of 146 endangered traditional skills - those which are likely to die out within a generation. These crafts are not only a part of our heritage, but can offer solutions for our future. And at a time when we are looking for ways to slow down, to be more environmentally sustainable, and to make human connections, they are to be treasured.
You can read my piece here.
On the bookshelf
Forge & Carve: Heritage Crafts The Search for Well-being and Sustainability in the Modern World
Seeking solace from the pressures of our fast-paced, modern lives, many people are turning to traditional skills to help calm them and create something with their own hands. In this book, meet 20 crafters - from a basket weaver to a blacksmith - who share how and why the make their items.
Telling the Bees and Other Customs: The Folklore of Rural Crafts by Mark Norman
Mark Norman explores the folklore woven into rural crafts - the customs, superstitions and stories linked with blacksmithing, brewing, beekeeping, baking, milling, spinning, knitting and weaving. If you like this idea of this, it’s also worth checking out his Folklore podcast.
All book links are affiliates connected to Stored Honey’s bookshop.org page. Should you decide to buy from them, I will receive a small commission.
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Have a great weekend,
Laura
