London Craft Week 2026: Made With Love and Time
When was the last time you truly noticed the touch of the hand behind an object? From 11 to 17 May 2026, London Craft Week once again transformed the city into a celebration of craftsmanship, material and making. Across galleries, studios and hidden creative spaces, artisans, designers and artists invited visitors into a world shaped by texture, gesture and time. For one week, the city seemed to slow down, offering a quieter reflection on the value of handmade creation in an increasingly fast and digital culture. A series of events at London Craft Week revealed a deeper movement in design and new trends: a return to gesture, material and slower forms of making. Find out more here in ‘London Craft Week 2026: Made with Love and Time‘. Image on left, Speronella Marsh at London Craft Week, and featured Image, The 2026 House & Garden Craft Prize Showcase.
London Craft Week
In a world dominated by speed, digital culture and industrial production, craft reintroduces a form of attention. It reminds us that every object carries a trace of a hand, a rhythm, a moment of creation. Across London, galleries, studios and workshops opened their doors to makers from around the world, transforming the city into a landscape of experimentation, craftsmanship and exchange. Blending design, fashion, heritage and contemporary art, London Craft Week continues to position craft not as nostalgia, but as a living and evolving form of culture.
JW Anderson
Among the figures highlighted during this year’s edition was Jonathan Anderson. Through his work at JW Anderson, as former creative director of Loewe and current creative director at Dior, he has played a key role in reintroducing craftsmanship to contemporary fashion, where artisanal techniques meet experimental design. As part of London Craft Week, he also hosted a collaborative event on 13 May, further reflecting his ongoing commitment to contemporary craftsmanship.
Ceramics Art
Ceramics exists somewhere between sculpture and memory. More than functional objects, ceramic pieces become emotional forms. Clay carries something deeply passionate within it: the visible trace of pressure, movement and imperfection left by the maker’s hand. Throughout the festival, ceramics are explored as symbols of protection, beauty and belief. In an increasingly polished and digital world, the rawness of ceramic craftsmanship feels deeply human, allowing material to remain expressive, unstable and alive.
Craftsmanship Symbolism
This year’s programme approached ceramics through both contemporary design and traditional craftsmanship. ‘Avant Craft’ by Amalia Di Lanno and Valeria Zerbo explored the relationship between material experimentation and artisanal techniques, presenting ceramic works that blur the line between object and sculpture. Alongside, Berry Bros. & Rudd hosted experiences where craftsmanship, ritual and materiality intersected, reinforcing the growing dialogue between ceramics, hospitality and sensory culture.
Human Body
The week opened on Monday at County Hall Pottery, where artists including Fernanda Cortes, Claire Curneen, Jessica Harrison and John Rainey approached clay through distortion, delicacy and precision, transforming ceramics into a form of visual storytelling. ‘Refigured’ stood out for its exploration of the body as both symbol and structure. Through sculptural ceramic forms inspired by human silhouettes and fragmented anatomy, the studio examined ideas of protection, identity and transformation. The pieces felt almost ritualistic, turning clay into something emotionally charged and deeply connected to the human presence behind its creation. If ceramics explored memory through material, jewellery approached it through intimacy and adornment.
Jewellery
At London Craft Week, jewellery was presented not simply as luxury, but as a language of symbolism and memory. In a city constantly in motion, the act of crafting jewellery by hand feels almost unyielding and intimate, standing in contrast to mass-produced jewellery. Protective motifs, fragments of mythology and traces of architecture transformed adornment into something deeply personal. Objects shaped not only to be worn, but to be preserved, inherited and emotionally connected to the body itself.
Throughout the week, jewellery emerged as a dialogue between heritage and contemporary identity. ‘Unbound By Beads: Migration, Memory & Material’ by MOI, explored the emotional significance of beadwork through artisan traditions from western India, while ‘Friday Sari Project’ highlighted contemporary Indian and Sri Lankan designers blending jewellery, textiles and sustainable craft practices. The ‘Friday Sari Project’ focused on celebrating heritage, innovation and sustainability, making art more accessible for everyone.
Alongside them, Azza Fahmy brought a vision of jewellery deeply rooted in cultural storytelling. The Egyptian jewellery house is celebrated for intertwining craftsmanship with cultural storytelling. Founded by designer Azza Fahmy, the brand is recognised for its intricate silver and gold pieces inspired by Arabic poetry, Islamic architecture and Egyptian history. For London Craft Week 2026, the brand transformed its Burlington Arcade boutique into an immersive exhibition exploring the journey behind each piece, from sketchbooks and artisanal techniques to the finished object. More than presenting jewellery, the event reflected the brand’s philosophy: preserving heritage while allowing it to evolve through modern craftsmanship.
Sculpture
Within the context of London Craft Week, sculpture moved beyond the traditional notion of volume or monumentality. It became a language of gesture, transformation and inhabited material. Between design, craftsmanship and experimentation, sculpture now exists as much within everyday life as within artistic spaces.
With Campion and Daughters, sculpture became part of an approach where design turned into narrative. Presented as part of ‘Albion Nord Hosts: The Britannic Explorer’, the project explored how craft can interact with contemporary interiors and the world of travel. The objects and sculptural forms seemed to carry the memory of artisanal gesture, and making itself became almost narrative. Sculpture is no longer limited to a final form, but has become a process, a construction that preserves the trace of handmade work and time.
Campion & Daughters – Albion Nord Hosts: The Britannic Explorer – using craft in contemporary design
With ‘Wild Forms: Translating Nature into Pattern’, Collier Webb drew directly from organic structures and the natural world. The forms appeared to emerge from nature rather than being imposed onto material. The work played with textures, rhythms and repetition, transforming natural motifs into contemporary sculptural objects. Here, sculpture became a translation of the living world, an interpretation rather than an imitation.
With the event ‘Future Icons Selects’ on May 14 2026, sculpture took on a more experimental and contemporary dimension. The exhibition brought together artists and designers who explored the boundaries between furniture, object and installation. Among them were Lorna McCurdy, who restored and decorated books as sculptural objects, Clare Pentlow, a paper artist, Hannah Heys known for her handcrafted ceramics, and many more artists who explored texture and form, representing this new generation of makers.
Alongside these explorations of material and symbolism, Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery presented ‘Phoebe Collings-James: a rose, a bridge, a house’, an exhibition where sculpture, installation and storytelling merged into an intimate reflection on memory, identity and belonging. Known for her multidisciplinary practice, Phoebe Collings-James explored the relationship between domestic space, emotional inheritance and the body through ceramic forms, sound and symbolic objects. Set within the historic interiors of Pitzhanger Manor, the exhibition created a dialogue between contemporary artistic expression and the layered history of the house itself. More than a presentation of sculptural works, the project transformed the space into an emotionally charged environment where craft became a language of ritual, connection and personal mythology.
Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery – Phoebe Collings-James: a rose, a bridge, a house
Multidisciplinary Art
At London Craft Week, craft was no longer confined to a single discipline. Across galleries, collectives and exhibitions, the boundaries between art, design, craftsmanship and installation became increasingly fluid, revealing a more contemporary and collaborative vision of making.
For example, through Contemporary Applied Art’s Exhibition ‘Colours in Conversation’, craftsmanship was presented within a kaleidoscopic and contemporary project, highlighting ceramics, textiles, glass and jewellery techniques. Thanks to their work, the exhibition immersed visitors in a silent yet colourful language. Here, craft became a prose capable of connecting different artistic identities across borders. While at Charles Burnand Gallery, craftsmanship entered the world of collectable design. The gallery brought together artists and makers whose works exist between sculpture, furniture and contemporary art. Textures, materials and hand-finished surfaces transformed functional objects into singular artistic pieces, blurring the distinction between utility and aesthetic expression.
Charles Burnand Gallery – The Ground of Things: Dawn Bendick x FJ Hakimian
Cockpit highlighted another essential aspect of contemporary craft: community. Known for supporting emerging and independent makers, Cockpit emphasised the importance of shared spaces where artisans can experiment, collaborate and develop their practices. In this context, craft became not only an object, but also a network of transmission, mentorship and creative dialogue.
The exhibition ‘Seven Crafted Stories’ brought together a multidisciplinary selection of artists and designers, including Davey Powell, Aimee Betts, Emma Louise Payne, Richard Goldsworthy, OTIZ and Jochen Holz. Spread across several floors, the exhibition explored how craft can function as storytelling. Through sculptural forms, raw materials and hybrid objects, each space proposed a different relationship between object, narrative and audience.
The collaboration between Craft Scotland and Jorum Studio explored craftsmanship through the language of scent, glass and sensory experience. Presented at Jorum’s Marylebone showroom, ‘The Shape of Scent: Glass Reimagined with Juli Bolaños-Durman’ brought together sculptural glass works by Costa Rican artist Juli Bolaños-Durman, inspired by Jorum’s Progressive Botany Vol. I, perfume collection. Through hand-cut details, layered textures and reconfigured discarded glass, the installation transformed fragrance into something visual and tactile, exploring the relationship between memory, nature and material transformation. More than a showcase of objects, the project reflected a shared philosophy between perfumery and craftsmanship: preserving artisanal techniques while continuously pushing them towards new contemporary and sensory forms.
Jorum x Craft Scotland – The Shape of Scent: Glass Reimagined with Juli Bolaños-Durman
Beyond its galleries and London-based makers, London Craft Week was not only presenting artists and their work, but was also a space for cultural dialogue. Through the international pavilion, traditional craftsmanship was reinterpreted from a more contemporary point of view. Four countries were highlighted in this year’s programming, moving through Europe with Italy’s emotional craftsmanship and Asia with Singapore, South Korea and Thailand’s materials, transforming traditional practices into a more sensory and introspective experience.
Italy
Presented during London Craft Week, ‘Benfatto: Excellence in Craftsmanship between Art, Material and Time’ showed Italian craftsmanship not simply as production, but as a living dialogue between material, gesture and cultural identity. Created by the Embassy of Italy in the United Kingdom alongside ICE Agenzia and CONFARTIGIANATO, the exhibition brought together contemporary Italian artisans whose works balanced tradition with innovation, sustainability and artistic experimentation. Through wood, stone, leather, metal and fabric, the exhibition became deeply sensory, filled with textures, sounds and traces of human touch, reflecting London Craft Week’s wider celebration of craftsmanship as something emotional, immersive and profoundly connected to time itself.
Italian Trade Agency – Benfatto. Excellence in Craftsmanship between Art, Material and Time
Singapore
The National Heritage Board Singapore’s inaugural showcase explored craft as something that is always changing in a multicultural and rapidly expanding city. Blending heritage techniques with contemporary experimentation, the show demonstrated how traditional practices continue to adapt through new materials, forms and perspectives shaped by migration, trade and community. Throughout the week, guests were invited beyond the finished objects themselves through talks, demonstrations and workshops revealing the processes behind the making. Rather than presenting craft as something fixed in the past, the showcase portrayed Singaporean craftsmanship as dynamic, fluid and deeply connected to questions of identity, sustainability and cultural transformation today.
National Heritage Board Singapore – Future Craft
Korea
At London Craft Week, South Korean craftsmanship was explored through ‘Origin of Materials’, an exhibition presented by Soluna Art Group and its craft label Soluna Fine Craft. Bringing together artists working with glass, metal, ceramics and horsehair, the exhibition reflected a contemporary vision of Korean craft where materiality was shaped as much by thought, time and sensibility as by the materials themselves. The showcase explored how personal environments, cultural memory and artistic gestures transformed clay, glass or metal into something emotionally resonant. Alongside collaborations with fashion and design, the exhibition reinforced one of London Craft Week’s central ideas: craftsmanship is never static, but continuously evolving through experimentation, identity and contemporary culture.
Soluna Fine Craft – Collectable Korean Fine Craft Exhibition: Origin of Materials
Thailand
Thailand was the final stop in the international pavilion, and ‘Woven Shade’ used weaving, light and material memory to explore Thai folk craftsmanship. Inspired by the artisanal traditions of Lamphun in Northern Thailand, the showcase transformed woven techniques traditionally used to create agricultural hats into contemporary sculptural forms. Created by textile and cultural design specialist Namfon Laistrooglai and her team, the project turned natural fibres into layered surfaces that filter light and cast moving shadows, creating a delicate and immersive atmosphere. Moving between Thai and British cultural references, the exhibition considered craft as a universal language shaped through gesture, rhythm and human connection, where each woven fibre became a quiet symbol of dialogue, identity and shared tradition.
National Research Council of Thailand – Woven Shade
As the week came to a close, London Craft Week revealed itself as more than just a programme of exhibitions, but as a reflection on what it means to make and to look, in a world shaped by speed, mass production and digital distance. Across ceramics, jewellery, sculpture and multidisciplinary practices, a shared thread emerged: the persistence of the human gesture, enriched by perspectives from London to Italy, Singapore, Korea and Thailand. Rather than preserving tradition as something fixed, the week positioned it as something in motion, shaped through contemporary practice and international exchange. Ultimately, it suggested that craft is not only about objects, but about attention itself, the act of slowing down and recognising the presence of the hand behind what we see.
Here was an overview of London Craft Week, to learn more you can visit their website: ‘London Craft Week 2026‘
If you enjoyed reading the article ‘London Craft Week 2026: Made With Love and Time’, then why not read ‘The Fantastic Value of What Takes Time‘
.Cent Magazine, London. Luxury Mindset
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