Following the huge success of its inaugural event last year, Heal’s Modern Craft Market will return again next month. Showcasing the work of the best contemporary craft makers in the UK today, the event will take place at Heal’s flagship Tottenham Court Road store and run from 2 to 15 February 2015.
Celebrating the best in contemporary crafts, the Heal’s Modern Craft Market will, they say:
Showcase eclectic collectibles and host live workshops using new materials and processes … the market is an opportunity to discover and collect unique pieces by the craft names of the future.
There’s certainly a packed schedule of live demonstrations and workshops, covering a whole range of craft disciplines. And you won’t even have to go into the store to get a slice of the action. For a week, from 3 February, the windows onto Tottenham Court Road will be given over to a group of 6 contemporary furniture designers taking part in the Great Heal’s Bodging Race. Bodging is a hands-on craft that utilises unseasoned wood and traditional Windsor chair making techniques to create unique, one-off designs. Over the week, the bodgers will race to create several pieces and one of them (chosen by press and customers) will go into production exclusively for sale at Heal’s.
Flying in from Japan to take part in the Great Bodging Race will be Koji Katsuragi, designer of the Heal’s Koji range (shown above) which had its origins in a previous bodging project. It promises to be a fascinating spectacle and a unique opportunity to see these talented craftspeople at work.
A list of workshops that you can take part in can be found on the Heal’s website here, but below are a few images of the ones that especially caught my eye:
There’s everything from weaving to paper cuts, embroidery to leather moulding, weaving to lino-printing, and lots more. Or how about a spot of stone carving (above) or learning how to use a knitting machine and turn your own designs into custom knitting patterns? (below). Regular readers might recognise this last one as the colourful, cosy work of Gabrielle Vary, who we previously wrote about here.
Many of the workshops are fairly short and scheduled around lunchtime, but there are some longer evening and weekend sessions too. The charitable social enterprise Out of the Dark, will be there, creating some of their amazing furniture and also running an evening workshop about the traditional craft of chair caning. They’ll explain the history and demonstrate the different styles of caning, and you’ll get to create your own piece on a small frame to take home.
For those of you not familiar with Out of the Dark’s extraordinary work, they train, educate and employ young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, teaching them furniture restoring, upholstery and business skills. The pieces they create are unique, creative and beautifully crafted, and all the proceeds from this workshop will go towards supporting their valuable and inspirational work.
For more information about the Heals Modern Craft Market, visit www.heals.co.uk. If you’re interested in the workshops, don’t leave it too late, places are limited and some of them are sold out already. So much to look forward to, see and learn … hope to see you there.
Images: Heals
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