Crafted: Makers of the Exceptional

Offering a decidedly luxurious antidote to all this gloom is next week’s Crafted: Makers of the Exceptional show at London’s Somerset House.

Run by Walpole British Luxury, an organisation that helps promote the British luxury industry, and prestige Swiss watch manufacturer Vacheron Constantin, the event looks to celebrate British craftsmanship.

Spanning disciplines including knitwear, furniture and jewellery design; lapidary; glass blowing and the jolly British pursuit tweed making, the three-day show will feature work from 20 British artisans, who will also be giving daily live demonstrations of their practice.

Exhibitors include Breanish Tweed, Carréducker, Cumbria Crystal, Shawstephens, Fair Isle Knitwear, Gaskell Quartz, Jessica Poole, Natasha Daintry, Rothschild & Bickers and Sophie Coryndon.

Each practitioner exhibiting has been supported by Walpole British Luxury through the Crafted mentorship programme.

Julia Carrick, chief executive of Walpole British Luxury, says, ‘Luxury without exceptionally talented makers or outstanding materials is an empty promise, hence our commitment to the preservation and development to the craftsmanship skills’.

The show is organised into four themes – ‘A craft perfected’, ‘A tradition preserved’, ‘A life devoted’ and ‘A business nurtured’.

While much of the work, perhaps unsurprisingly, ers towards the very traditional end of the craft spectrum, there are some more unusual pieces to be seen.

Carréducker LLP, for instance, has made these rather bold Soho boots. Not a choice for the sartorial wallflower:

One of our favourite pieces is this camel ring by Sabine Roemer, a strange but rather beautiful creature resplendent in his bejeweled headwear:

Crafted: Makers of the Exceptional runs from 4 – 6 April at Somerset House West Wing, Strand, London WC2R