London Craft Week 2024 returns for its 10th edition, taking over the UK capital with over 500 events dedicated to showcasing the creativity and skill of designers, artists and makers. Exhibitions animate galleries, historic spaces and shops, and workshops and talks aim to champion and share the craft of talent. While the week celebrates London as a thriving centre of craftspeople and creative activity, it also showcases the global diversity of making. Here are some highlights of the week.
London Craft Week takes place 13–19 May across London. For the full programme visit londoncraftweek.com
London Craft Week 2024: explore the highlights
Trace at Mint
In Marylebone, design gallery Mint hosts the exhibition Trace, bringing together established and emerging designers whose work explores material and process in often unexpected ways – including Max Lipsey, IAMMI, Simone Post, Christophe Delcourt and Ralf Gloudemans. Gloudemans’ ceramic vessels in the Transcending: Mesh to Matter series result from 3D mesh structures generated using virtual reality, blending traditional craftsmanship with innovative technology. IAMMI’s Frankenstein collection uses industrial foam scraps to create furniture pieces in the form of abstract shapes. Max Lipsey’s minimalist Temper Pendant light, meanwhile, is made from tempered steel – in which the metal is heated at very high temperatures to create an iridescent finish.
3 - 5 Duke Street, W1U 3ED
mintgallery.co.uk
Beyond the Loom
The enduring influence of Sadu traditional weaving from Kuwait is celebrated at this showcase within the Embassy of Kuwait. Presented by AlSadu Society, Beyond the Loom: Contemporary Expressions of Sadu sees the craft – an embroidery defined by hand-woven geometric shapes which emerged from Bedouin desert communities across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – translated into applications across contemporary design, including furniture, fashion and decorative objects. Sadu, which has long harnessed natural fibres found in the local natural environment of the weavers, is inscribed on the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage list; initiatives such as these hope to keep the regional craft alive into the future.
Kuwait Embassy in London, 2 Albert Gate, SW1X 7JU
alsadu.org.kw
Future Icons Selects
Following its debut in 2023, the Future Icons Selects fair is back for a second year, filling Oxo Tower Wharf’s Bargehouse with over 50 designers, artists and craftspeople who display the impressive breadth of form that contemporary craft can take. Work on show spans homeware, textiles, jewellery, lighting, furniture, ceramics and more. Exhibitors include Daniel Hayden, who makes pleasingly chunky wooden furniture in organic shapes, and Meseme, a lighting studio led by Riya Panchal that produces emotionally informed pieces blending industrial and modernist references.
Meanwhile, the furniture of B C Joshua sparks delight and intrigue as weighty-looking blocks – in fact made from recycled paper mixed with salvaged plasterboard – combine with playful seating and lighting elements.
Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House St, SE1 9PH
futureicons.co.uk
Maker, Material and Method at Pophams
Pophams Home, the homeware arm of the popular London bakery Pophams, presents the work of seven local makers – including Rebecca Morris and Grace McCarthy – who embrace hand-made and slow design approaches. The one-off pieces on show in Islington emerge from a range of methods and mediums, including ceramics, woodworking and textile art. On Thursday 16 May, the makers will offer demonstrations of their craft.
Pophams Home & Pantry, 19 Prebend Street, N1 8PF
pophamshome.com
Toast Presents New Makers
Fashion brand Toast, which runs an annual programme supporting international emerging makers, hosts an exhibition of unique pieces from this year’s cohort, alongside a series of demonstrations and workshops. Work on show includes white oak baskets woven by Amy Krone, experimental ceramic tableware from Polly Liu, hand-blown glass vessels by Rosie Stonham, minimal wooden furniture designed by Will Nock, and decorative stoneware by Kate Semple.
Toast Mayfair, 25–26 Dering Street, W1S 1AT
toa.st
