While they are both makers – Freddie has worked as a gilder and framer in Florence since graduating from Edinburgh University, while Joe works in the lighting department at Jamb – it was the adventure of trekking across the country in 2025, rather than their previous experience, that intensified their sense of urgency about legacy skills. ‘I think we were both very interested in why protecting heritage skills is important, what is at stake when generations of knowledge are lost,’ says Freddie. ‘Like our stories, music and imagination, crafts join this set of rituals that are threatened by what is valued today.’
During their walk, he and Joe spent two days with crab pot maker Tony Pinto Cornish village Goran Haven – a place where crafts are inseparable from the rhythm of local life. On the boat with Tony and his winchman Tom, they were able to see traditional lobster and crab pots woven from willow in action and understand how, as direct products of the local fishing industry, they stand out. A symbol of place identityWhich would be a shame to lose.’
This sensitivity to place, temporal rhythms and interconnectedness were some of the major takeaways from his journey and inform his continued dedication to championing craft. ‘Craft Works inside A natural ecosystem, not against it,’ says Freddie. He suggests that the loss of these practices will mean more than the disappearance of objects or technologies. ‘If we lose that ability and don’t pay attention to our heritage craft, we lose that history, and our sense that we are part of an ecosystem, is not indifferent to it.’
This is the ethos behind the exhibition, which coincides with London Craft Week and is supported by QEST (Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust) and Heritage CraftThe two non-profit organizations are integral to the survival of the endangered craft, and for which Freddie and Jo’s move raised funds. Co-curated by Freddie and Jo, the showcase brings together the work of makers from around the UK including the Marchmont Workshop, rush-seat chair makers in the Scottish Borders who they encountered on their travels such as QEST with traditional hide tanner Jessica Watson Brown and alumni of Heritage Crafts, including wood turner Hennisf. With workshops on skills like tanning, turning, weaving, printing, carving and stitching, kilt-making, the show celebrates both diversity and vitality. Contemporary Heritage Crafts.
