Following on the success of the previous two years, the 2017 programme for London Craft Week brought together over 230 events from all corners of the globe fusing making, design, fashion, art, luxury, food, and culture. 

This annual event showcases the very best international and British creativity and craftsmanship through a ‘beyond luxury’ journey-of-discovery. From the V&A to The Shard and RADA to The House of Lords, hidden studios to Mayfair stores and bustling workshops to Michelin starred restaurants, London Craft Week has spread across the capital’s iconic buildings, influential institutions and off-the-beaten track side streets, many of which are not normally open to the public.
London Craft Week works with both emerging and established makers and artists such as Tom Raffield, Bill Amberg, Felicity Aylieff, Julian Stair and Grayson Perry who have featured alongside luxury brands, including founding partner Vacheron Constantin, Princess Yachts, Rolls Royce, Mulberry and Georg Jensen.

Museums and galleries including the V&A, Geffrye Museum, British Museum and Wallace Collection have hosted events as well as fashion designers including Vivienne Westwood, Mary Katrantzou and Hussein Chalayan. At the launch event at the V&A on May 2nd, Julien Marchenoir, Director of Strategy & Heritage at Vacheron Constantin said in his speech: “London Craft Week has become the reference event for international craftsmanship, having created a platform to promote Crafts from all over the world. An impressive 40% of international content is now in the programme and so as London Craft Week continues to expand, enlighten and excite, we must remember why we are here this evening. It is our responsibility to continue to protect the skills that this week will highlight. And it is our responsibility to guarantee their longevity”.

This year’s programme included wood carvers from Japan, artisans from Korea, wood block printers from China, designer-makers from Hong Kong, ceramists from Taiwan, umbrella and cufflink makers from France, porcelain painters from Germany, glass artists from Sweden, furniture makers from Denmark and a guitar maker from Spain. Alongside makers from the UK’s regions and devolved nations including upholsters from Norfolk, knitwear from Derbyshire, steam bending from Cornwall and a special focus on Scotland’s creativity, with Scottish tailoring, weaving and woodworking demonstrations.

“London Craft Week is a response to a renaissance in the appreciation of creativity and craft; to the role of hand, head, unique skills and true talent. It is another example of what, at its best, the world’s creative capital does so well – mixing glamour with cutting edge; heritage and contemporary and the commercial with the cultural.” Guy Salter, OBE MVO, Chairman of London Craft Week
Founded on the ethos of making, LONDON CRAFT WEEK aims to introduce the talent, people and techniques behind beautifully made things to a wider audience. An accessible and immersive cultural experience, London Craft Week gives the public the opportunity to eat, drink and view performances, meet artists, designers, makers and engineers, get a glimpse behind-the-scenes of famous brands and landmark buildings, see familiar products deconstructed, learn how things are made and even have a go yourselves.