HCA and Mastercrafts' Sophie Hussain at Museum of English Rural Life

Yesterday Sophie the glass artist from BBC mastercrafts joined HCA to demonstrate her craft at the Museum of English Rural Life at Reading.

The HCA stand was manned by committee members including Daniel Carpenter who runs the HCA website, facebook group and initiated the bring back mastercrafts campaign. Helping get the message out were Brian Crossley chair caner and Chris Rowley our retired TV exec who set up the Hand Engravers Association and seems to know everyone of importance that we need to speak to.

 I was turning bowls on my lathe. For me it was a bit of a homecoming as I was inspired to take up the craft of bowlturning after seeing George Lailey's  bowlturning lathe at the museum 20 years ago.

It was particularly nice to meet George Lailey's grand niece who still lives in the house George built at Bucklebury.

 The main purpose of the day was to show off a range of traditional crafts, talk about the issues facing their survival and encourage people to help us to keep these crafts thriving in the next generation.

We also had a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed the make your own smoothie machine, at £1 a go it was a bargain. Roy Brigden keeper of the museum and HCA patron looks like a vet about to deliver a calf but in fact is holding the lid on the liquidizer.

Highlight of the day though must have been for the folk that were able to help Sophie with her glass work and cut some pieces for a design she was working on. One lady was clearly very moved when her glass broke exactly where she had scribed it and said how she had always wanted to do that.  As working craftspeople we often forget how lucky we are to make a living by using our hands and what a moving experience it can be for people just to get the chance to make something.

Next week HCA will be at Glastonbury in the greencrafts field so come and say hello if you are there and the week after is The Royal Norfolk show.