Crafts

Crafts is the world's leading magazine devoted to making. Published by the Crafts Council UK, Crafts offers the latest news, reviews and opinion, alongside a selection of in-depth features, challenging essays and critical debate from the best writers in the business. Crafts champions high-quality contemporary craft practice nationally and internationally, as well as its impact on social, economic and cultural life.

 

The complete digital archive includes every issue of Crafts since 1973, providing readers with an unparalleled history of making; an essential resource for students, academics, researchers or anyone with an interest in craft.

In the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of Crafts, we find out why Cape Town artist Igshaan Adams is drawn to the beautiful things in life, hear from Chila Burman on how her dad’s iconic ice-cream van shaped her idiosyncratic process, and open a season of programming that will probe the ties between English craft and the state of the nation.  

A crop of thatching pioneers tells us why the ancient building craft is enjoying a timely revival, Jacqueline Poncelet talks candidly about her creative path, while Yinka Shonibare wraps a new body of work in his beloved batik. Friends Bijoy Jain and Chiaki Maki unite around their philosophies on the handmade, and things get weird at Emma Witter’s home where we photograph her among the objects she makes with bones, shells, and other unusual matter.  

Makers from the Middle East show solidarity across the turbulent region, Jonathan Baldock talks us through the hands-on techniques that inform his art, we look at craftspeople wild enough to work with the weather, while Sámi artist Outi Pieski explains the power of materials as a form of soft protest.  

Elsewhere, the Barbican gets tangled up in its show of political textiles, we get a new read on an influential Japanese craft movement, and makers add another dimension to the world of gaming through felt, paper and clay.  

Finally, we throw a spotlight on food, indulging ourselves with the many ways cooking and craft can enrich each other.