Craftmasters teamed up with Connolly England at their Clifford Street shop for the London Craft Week to showcase the best of British silversmithing with an in-store display and live demonstrations by three of their award-winning artisans. These artisans combine centuries-old techniques to produce elegant, functional, and contemporary household products that will become future treasures.
Craftmasters is a social enterprise which focuses its efforts on investing back into heritage skills training. They invest 100% of their revenues in the technical training program, which provides high-quality, hands-on skills training with master silversmiths to early career makers. They contribute to the preservation of these culturally significant talents for future generations.
Chasing with Cornish silversmith Alex O'Connor, hand engraving with Annabel Hood, and Japanese dot inlay (hira zougan) with expert silversmith Wayne Meeten are among the demonstrations. We were free to join them in-store at the bench to witness these rare talents in work, chat with the creators, and view a variety of handcrafted products from the gallery's 30 award-winning British silversmiths.
In addition, on display was a diverse range of modern silverware, both utilitarian and sculptural, from manufacturers throughout the United Kingdom.
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Connolly, on the other hand, is a unique 140-year-old British brand that began as a modest family company of saddlers and shoemakers in 1878. Connolly expanded with the automobile sector, becoming a worldwide famous provider of finely polished leather for the automotive industry.
It was indeed great to see the intricately crafted work of the Craftmasters silversmiths up close. I was able to see the various techniques used, such as chasing, carving, engraving, and inlay. It was a unique experience that proved very informative and fun.
