5 traditional crafts we love

Traditional crafts such as pottery, bookbinding and embroidery are really making a comeback as many of us are now searching for more sustainable, handmade alternatives to the mass-produced goods we see on the shelves.

These crafts are part of our shared cultural history and remind us of the importance of preserving our connection to the past while inspiring new generations of artists and makers.

Traditional, tactile crafts can also teach us something about the art of slowing down, inviting us to find calm in the act of creating.

Learning from the past

Preserving traditional crafts is something that museum curator and UAL Short Courses tutor Dayna Tohidi knows all about. Dayna runs our Inside the CSM Museum and Study Collection Short Course, which offers access to the extensive museum and study collection at Central Saint Martins. The collection is home to over 35,000 objects, including historical items such as Medieval manuscripts and Japanese woodblock prints.

"As a curator, I get to see the value of preserving and learning from traditional crafts every day when we run workshops and research visits for our students and public visitors," says Dayna. "We inherited a vast collection of teaching examples and student work across traditional courses ran by the Central School of Arts and Crafts, from jewellery and costume to bookbinding and pottery among other disciplines."

"These objects have become powerful sources of inspiration for students on contemporary iterations of these courses, as well as industry professionals looking to gather primary research to influence their artistic practice. In an era when technology has drastically changed the way we engage with art and design, it is even more important to encourage in-person exploration of tactile, three-dimensional and handmade objects."