Craft; Is it The New, Luxurious and Beautiful Wave?

That moment your hand hovers over your regular chocolate bar, only to place it on the organic fair-trade cherry chocolate instead; that extra moment of opulence. Your break time is precious, and so you want to spend it well. Luxury used to mean expensive and exclusive; we thought of luxury as products, but now it encompasses so much more. So what is the new version of this once unique club? As the world around us changes drastically, in post-Brexit, post-COVID-19, could luxury be time, emotion, as well as other things; this new form of luxury? And if so, what comes with it? Would we say, for example, that craft could be part of this new world process? How come? Find out more in Craft: Is it The New, Luxurious, and Beautiful Wave? Image on Left: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Nicole Cherubini Photography by Pierre Le Hors

Luxury in 2026

A beautifully handmade fuchsia handbag would have stopped us in the street, taken our breath away, it called to us, I must have this, I must have this piece of absolute individual luxury. We used to visualise high-quality, expensive items that are rare, individual, and stunning as the optimum of exquisite. Luxury used to be, to some extent, reserved for the elite.  The concept of luxury was emphasised in the belief that it took time and knowledge to create something exquisite, often by hand.

Consciousness Raising

Well, now people are more conscious of their choices about what they buy and consume, and most of all, spend their hard-earned cash on; they want to know more about where their money goes. They have become very aware of the importance and the understanding of the methods used in the manufacturing of pieces, where materials come from, and how ethically items are created. This is where the power of craft has reimagined itself.

What is Craft in 2026?

Craft can now be seen as an art form that has been rising from the ashes since a renewed interest during the last decade. Why, you may ask? Well, maybe because of the materials used or the limited nature of an item. Craft can be an object made with ancestral wisdom that has been brought forward through traditions, handed down from generation to generation within a community, which builds its singularity and defines it as a fine art form. It can also be this little piece of pottery that someone spent an entire afternoon crafting, which makes you feel like you have just made your own treasure.

“Tiangong Kaiwu: Crafting Works of Nature”, China National Pavilion for London Craft Week 2025

Skills Set

Never forget, crafts formerly were everywhere. From crockery to clothing, including furniture, everything was handmade and required specialist skills, as well as a great deal of time.

Handcrafted

To handcraft something allows one to convey its unique print to the world, giving each item a slightly different style and story, revealing its singular individuality through a sole perfection or even imperfection, and therefore a unique beauty celebrated in every piece. This human touch is like giving a soul to every item. Because when you see an artisan working, you begin to sense how skills and even patience have become a form of beauty and richness.

The Industrial Revolution

But then we moved into the fast lane. Try to think about the last time you waited for something to be done from scratch for you. With industrialisation, people had lost their habit of waiting for something to be custom-built. But crafts are being revisited, made from the best that nature has to offer. Think of candles made by plant-based waxes, or porcelain, traditionally made with a combination of rocks and minerals. Even items of food like craft beer or artisan breads are massive in our society. It is this natural richness, shaped by exceptional time learning and craftsmanship, that defines craft and makes it even more precious. In this respect, knowledge is definitely a luxury and a privilege, not only because of the time it takes to gather it, but also because of its rarity.

Knowledge Base

So yes, it’s fair to say craft is one of the new luxuries. Owing to its uniqueness, its often fairer, cleaner way of working, it has redefined the conception of beauty, as well as brought originality back into fashion. We are revisiting our values, looking for emotion and beauty deeper than the surface, and now craft fulfils that need.

Artists Take Over Crafts

Who better than artists to participate in a crafting rebirth?  Indeed, following the re-establishment of handcrafted goods, new artists have started to emerge. In the creative fields, across architecture or food are just a few of these fields where artists give us a sneak peek of what we could do if we decided to use our hands instead, or at least enjoy theirs.

Nicole Cherubini

Nicole Cherubini is an artist based in New York who’s widely known for her clay sculptures. She explores many issues, such as feminist theories, and is inspired by great women such as writer Mary Shelley, who famously wrote Frankenstein, and Elena Ferrante, an Italian author known for the “My Brilliant Friend” saga, among other significant female figures.

Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Nicole Cherubini, Photography by Pierre Le Hors

Recently, with her new exhibition “Hotel Roma”, she was inspired by the surrealist artist Leonora Carrington’s autobiographical text entitled “Down Below”(1942). The exhibition Hotel Roma is a colourful and textured collection of her latest works.

“They use words in the same way I hope to use clay”.

Nicole Cherubini

She mastered her own method and turned it into beautiful art pieces that capture the subtlety of craftsmanship combined with powerful messages, which give us a glimpse into her world and allow us to feel her voice through her artwork.

4160 Tuesdays

Looking for a one-of-a-kind fragrance that will make people look back in wonder, what you are wearing as your sillage wafts past?

4160 Tuesdays is a British independent perfume brand, created by Sarah McCartney, a passionate and bold perfumer, who wanted to create perfumes that are meaningful to each person.

All of the fragrances are handmade and bottled in their Hammersmith studio. The brand is pursuing an ethical chart that makes their products cruelty-free, carbon-neutral, and mostly vegan. 

Another Kiss By The Fireside, Eau de Parfum by 4160 Tuesdays London

4160 Tuesdays is reinventing the art of perfumery by creating audacious scents that are unique, yet obsessively good and original. Not only are her scents fantastic, but they are also fantastical, with names such as Ginger Snap, Both Sides of the Cloud or even Court of Ravens. This is perfumery out of the box. She offers workshops for those wanting to engage more with this crafted artform.

White Lake Cheese

And then there is cheese. Yes, the UK has an amazing tradition of artisan foods, including cheeses that will make your mouth water. 

White Lake Cheese is a British artisan cheese producer brand, located on a farm in Somerset, and was created in 2004 by Roger, a passionate and imaginative third-generation farmer who, most importantly, uses traditional and innovative processes to make high-quality cheeses. 

Driven by a sustainable and creative production, the brand is expanding and constantly changing, due to its small size, permitting Roger and his team to experiment with new flavours and processes in a refreshing renewal. 

White Lake Cheese will allow you to taste some British traditionally made cheeses, yet tasty, that are different from what you usually consume. 

Crafting Events

Furthermore, multiple events such as The London Craft Week, usually taking place every May, which is a city-wide festival celebrating contemporary and traditional craft across London; from jewellery and ceramics to calligraphy, or The SoLo Craft Fair Shops & Events in South London, which are regularly occurring, and where artisan markets and fairs are popping up around London, giving a sense of community within a borough.

These kinds of events shed a light on new or hidden talents, little shops that design unique pieces, and honour creativity within craftsmanship across every artistic field, and offer us a real deep-dive into craft thinking and craft-makers’ universe. Most of all, they give us oppotunitirs ot buy and support far more unique works.

Nicole Cherubini’s exhibition opened on January 16, 2026, at FriedmanBenda.com Gallery in New York, and will last until February 21, 2026.

For more information on 4160 Tuesdays.com please visit here

Find out more about White Lake Cheese.co.uk here

To know more about The London Craft Week.com please click here

Find some informations about the SoLo Craft Fair.com here

.Cent Magazine, London. Luxury Mindset