Heritage Craft Week
24 to 28 May 2026

West Dean Heritage Craft Week celebrates the enduring relevance of heritage making at a moment when craft is being revalued nationally — from major moments in the calendar, such as London Craft Week, to a growing appetite for skills-led, materially grounded learning. This week honours traditions that have been passed hand-to-hand for generations, while placing focused studio practice at the centre: not nostalgia, but living knowledge.

Across three- and four-day workshops, students immerse themselves in time-honoured processes in West Dean’s specialist spaces — forging and finishing jewellery in silver, refining thrown forms through carving and faceting, learning tapestry weaving techniques, working with plant fibres from flax and nettles, and exploring Arts & Crafts style flat-back case binding and slipcase making. The emphasis is on depth, process, and the confidence that comes from sustained making.

The week is led by highly regarded tutors: Mark Cockram is a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders and a regular Booker Prize binder, teaching internationally through Studio 5 Book Arts; Philip Sanderson is a master weaver and Studio Leader of the West Dean Tapestry Studio and a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art; Emily Myers is a Fellow of the Craft Potters Association with work represented in the Pallant House collection; and Allan Brown is known for ‘The Nettle Dress’ and his focus on sustainable, traditional fibre skills.

Students leave with finished work, reference samples, and a deeper understanding of why heritage skills still matter — culturally, creatively, and practically — alongside the momentum to continue independently.