National Maker Directory

Liz Padgham-Major specialises in the art of modern hand embroidery creating wearable hand stitched art and colourful wall décor. Based near Hastings in East Sussex, she works in the sunniest room in her home where she designs and stitches one off pieces combining hand stitching with beadwork.

With a background in teaching creative workshops, Liz has worked with The National Trust Education programme, The V & A in London, school residencies across the country and freelance workshops at museums and schools.

Her work is highly colourful and textured and includes many types of beads and threads. Each piece is often hand stitched using single strands creating highly detailed work.

With a focus on elemental materials and natural forces, The Copper Collection assembles objects for the home and desk that invite interaction and contemplation.

Marrying traditional techniques and modern technologies, each item is designed and handcrafted in England from materials of exquisite purity and quality. The result is a unique, contemporary collection of items that will only become more beautiful with age.

Emma Verner-Webb makes beautiful, characterful birds, handmade to order from a range of colourful cotton fabrics.

Each one is filled with pure wool and little details are hand painted, bringing them to life.

We specialize in bespoke, handmade jewellery. Glenn Chapman did his apprenticeship with Cartier as a small worker specialising in handmade watch cases before moving onto learning mounting skills. Having the opportunity of being trained by some of the best craftsmen in the business has given him the passion to improve upon each last piece made.

Our aim is to produce original thought provoking pieces that stand out. We sit down with our customers to create a design that is unique to their personal tastes. With over 40 years experience in the trade Glenn can turn his head to most projects and thrives on the challenge. Latest interesting projects have included a phoenix pendant, a 3d acorn pendant contain precious stones, an enamelled poppy pendant brooch, a dual bichon bracelet and various others.

Alongside Glenn is his son and apprentice Bodhi who is bringing his own designs to the trade with a series of forest fairies. We work in all precious metals with the mindset of ‘no challenge is too great’.

The Jewellery Boutique was established by Goldsmith Laura Durrant in January 2013. The Jewellery Boutique crafts handmade jewellery in our workshop based in Norwich, Norfolk. All of our pieces are designed and handmade in Norwich. We use the London Assay Office to hallmark all of our Jewellery. It is our vision to create simple, timeless and modern pieces using solid precious metals that will suit all ages and occasions. When it comes to our designs, we believe less is more.

Little Toy Dogs are hand made collectable toys, designed and stitched by Alice Wood in her south London studio. Using traditional toy-making processes Alice creates unique characterful toy dogs from beautiful mohair fur fabrics, which have been used to make the best Teddy Bears and toys for over 100 years.

Alice is a member of the British Toymakers Guild. She trained in pattern cutting before studying BA Illustration at Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts and MA Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art.

Prices from £25 for brooches and pocket toys, £165 for main collection toy dogs and custom work/commissions from £195.

The award winning Stitch Society is an established British brand, designing and making premium artisan workwear aprons from our studio based in Salts Mill.

The Stitch Society launched in 2015, having designed an apron for ourselves as a uniform, after many requests, we started making them for other makers to enjoy wearing.

The Stitch Society’s ethos is that all of its garments are designed and made in Yorkshire from the highest quality, most luxurious and hardwearing ethically sourced fabrics. We are so proud of our aprons that all our aprons carry our 10 year guarantee covering all our workmanship and any small repairs.

I work from my studio in the Borrowdale Valley in the Lake District. The starting point to my hand stitched paperwork is a concept that I have always held to be true – “In stories of old are stories to be told”. Each piece is inspired by the way we use language to communicate.

Using vintage storybooks from the early 20th Century, I seek through stitch to uncover the power of simple language to deliver uncomplicated and transparent messages. The original narrative is often in complete juxtaposition to the final piece. I handsew longstitch across the ageing pages, creating lines of thread to obscure the text, revealing a ‘found’ aphorism or solitary word. The thread becomes the means by which the original story is disrupted through being hatched out, thus receding. This allows the ‘found’ text I intended to preserve and liberate to be brought into sharp relief, thereby creating a story within a story. The essence of the reworked page is simply to say less and mean more.

The name, ‘The Thread of Everything’, represents the common thread that unites us: language in all its forms.

I produce single fired, earthenware pottery. My work is wheel thrown and handmade using a loose slab making technique.

My work is loosely made and decorated, and imperfections, for me, are to be celebrated. I concentrate on individual pieces but make sets of plates cups, beakers which are similar. Pots are slip and sgraffito decorated.

My work is to be used, made for food and drink and I hope it will be fun and unusual.

As Thread Squirrel I make unique items featuring embroidered maps. I create the outlines using embroidery software and can customise them with love hearts to mark a favourite location. I make high quality cushions, notice boards and bags using beautiful fabrics; a perfect reminder of a special holiday, honeymoon or loved ones overseas.

I have sewn for over 35 years and even made my wedding and bridesmaid dresses in 1981.

I’m an artist, illustrator and printmaker living in East London.

I’m influenced by my Scandinavian heritage and I find inspiration in early twentieth century Russian illustration and contemporary fashion illustration.

I like to use pencil, ink and paint before scanning my work and using a mac to enhance these images; focusing on bold colours, interesting textures and simple lines.

I work from my studio in Dorset, specialising in creating wheel thrown detailed, unique ceramic pieces decorated with my own coloured clay slips, carving and sgraffito.

The slips and techniques I use have developed over the years, supported by a love of ceramics that was kindled at art college and matured while working at a pottery.

My work has evolved to create a very distinctive style, inspired by the natural world as well as The Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau and several different artists.

Tim’s interest lies in the refractive, reflective and structural properties of glass; how it can be manipulated and decorated to affect the passage of light through it.  The work is formed using a variety of techniques, processes & materials, to produce work which is both sculptural and functional, with an emphasis on design, decoration, geometry and construction. Tim graduated from Chelsea College of Art and Design in 1992, where he studied Public Art. He specialised in Architectural Glass and Stained Glass and also gained experience in a variety of other disciplines such as mural painting, mosaic, ceramics and textiles.

After graduating Tim furthered his skills and experience by working in wood, steel fabrication and engineering workshops. He gained a PGCE in Art & Design Education in 1997 and has run evening & weekend courses in stained & decorative glass. Tim has continued to work with glass and other materials such as steel, stainless steel, non-ferrous metals, wood, acrylic and slate. Tim designs, manufactures & restores traditional and contemporary stained glass and leaded-light windows and also designs and produces a range of decorative and functional glass wall-pieces, mirrors, lighting and sculptures – for private, public and corporate; homes, buildings & gardens.

Master Craftsman Timothy Hawkins became a professional furniture designer maker in 1980. He uses various species of wood & the pieces which he designs and creates may be unadorned, or might include inlaying; parquetry; carving or turning – other materials such as glass or metal are sometimes incorporated, too.

Tim & his craftsman use time-honoured methods to make bespoke domestic, corporate and ecclesiastical furniture to meet diverse requirements and budgets. He creates both contemporary & traditional furniture as well as extraordinary pieces (either for clients or for exhibition) that he feels happily stand their ground in the context of Art, whilst serving a practical purpose.

Pieces may offer a viewpoint on various aspects of life, inspired by our world, by Tim’s own experiences and those of others. Such pieces sometimes take many hours of thinking and drawing before crystallizing into a workable design, others may develop very swiftly!

I make contemporary bespoke furniture using primarily native hard woods, sourced as wind fallen trees and converted into boards for construction. I also incorporate other materials (glass, stainless steel, leather) wherever required/requested.

My formal training was carried out though an apprenticeship working under a time served professional, here I also gained a city and guilds level 3 qualification in furniture making and fitting.

My inspiration derives from the flowing form, colouring and simplicity of the trees themselves. During the design process I use various techniques to explore design concepts: 3D computer modelling, mock-ups and sketches are all possibilities here. I use traditional methods of construction such as dovetails and mortice/tenon, these methods ensure my work is beautiful yet durable.

Whilst studying for my degree in Norway my main Ceramics tutor told us not to attempt using the potter’s wheel during our studies as he insisted the course did not allow us enough hours practice to master the craft. Being a typical student, I felt extremely provoked by this statement. Determined to prove him wrong […]

I design and craft wooden geared pendulum clocks to commission. I use various species of timber including walnut, oak, sycamore among others. My designs are a contemporary take on the traditional weight driven clock and showcase the movement of all of the clock parts. I like to incorporate various themes in to the head of the pendulum. For example my nautical clock highlights an intarsia square rigger ship and my most recent clock design incorporates a relief family coat of arms to produce a unique family heirloom. Creating something that is finely crafted, durable and unique is important to me as a maker.
My training is in both visual arts and engineering. I use traditional woodworking techniques plus woodturning, wood carving and intarsia as part of my craft.

Townhill Studio –  textiles created by Annabel Wilson. Initially Annabel studied interior design and the first expressions of her creativity were through a career as an interior designer in London but always inspired and excited by the textiles she specified. Her fabric dyeing is all underpinned by an innate sense of design. The main output […]

After graduating in 2013 with a first class BA(Hons) Jewellery and Silversmithing from Plymouth College of Art, Tracey set up her studio near Fowey in Cornwall and since then has exhibited and supplied galleries throughout the UK. Her work explores the concepts of adornment and its value in terms of reinvention by reclaiming scrap silver. […]

TreeFall Design was created by British designer, Manda McGrory. Following an unusual career path that includes running away with the circus, training as a carpenter and working as a bank manager, Manda discovered her true passion for all things textile whilst expecting her first daughter in 2004. An interest in traditional quilting led to a passion for […]