This year, the launch of our New Makers programme coincided with London Craft Week, a city-wide celebration of British and international creativity. We hosted a panel discussion to reflect on the role of craft in modern society: why it matters, its expression through different makers, and how it is perceived today.
We held the event at Old Sessions House, a Grade II-listed Georgian building on Clerkenwell Green in London. Vast in scale and layered with historic detail, the space is defined by patinated walls and high vaulted ceilings – a richly characterful setting for an exploration of making, aesthetic value, and craftsmanship.
The panel was led by lifestyle journalist Jes Salter, whose thoughtful musings on design have appeared in major publications, including the Telegraph and the Times. Ceramicist and New Makers guest judge Florian Gadsby and Natalie Melton, Executive Director of Crafts Council UK, joined the panel, alongside TOAST Head of Home Judith Harris and one of our 2026 New Makers, Jacob Marks.
Guests and members of our community, including artist Liaquat Rasul, writer Aida Amoako, and woodworker Sophie Sellu, mingled before taking their seats. Our 2026 New Makers collection was on display, featuring Jacob Marks’s pine resin objects, jewellery by Egle Silko, and ceramics by Yuichi Romita, Hannah Watts, and Linnan Ye. Demonstrating varied yet complementary approaches to craft, the collection provided a tangible reference point as the conversation unfolded.
Jes introduced the talk by sharing her perspective on London Craft Week – “a moment to pause and think not only about what we're making, but why and for whom” – before positing questions to our panel.
One of the event’s central themes was the meaning of craft and the many ways it is interpreted by those who make, use, and cherish handmade objects. Asked to identify a unifying quality, Jacob Marks recalled a conversation with a friend and fellow maker. “She said craft was about care, and that really resonated.” Jacob’s own relationship with craft has evolved through many iterations, beginning with furniture design and leading to a distinctive practice centred around pine resin. The patience required to understand and experiment with this unconventional material reveals, in itself, a deep care for the act of making.
Judith Harris, our Head of Home, articulated the unique experience of interacting with a handcrafted item: “I think it's about the way it makes you feel. I like to surround myself with pieces that have real meaning,” she explains. “With craft, you always have a connection back to the maker.”
Florian Gadsby is conscious of this connection as he throws, fires, and glazes his ceramic forms. “I try to make it really apparent that it's a human behind the object, that it takes time. I want it to feel personal, because that's ultimately what craft is.” In addition to his maker’s mark, his pieces feature hand-pulled stems, crackle finishes that vary from one vessel to the next, and specks of iron and copper – all reminders that each has been individually shaped and finished.
This sense of human touch is intrinsic to craft, yet it is also what often carries a higher cost. The work of a dedicated craftsperson, rather than a machine-run operation, gives a piece value that reflects the time, skill, and labour behind it, helping to ensure the maker receives a fair wage. Natalie alluded to this tension: “I’m concerned with how people can exist in a space where their craft – whatever that means to them – comes with some degree of stability, security, and opportunity.”
As Executive Director of the UK’s national charity for craft, Natalie has witnessed a shift in society’s attitude toward craft over the past two decades. Once associated primarily with luxury and exclusivity, craft now holds a broader and more intimate meaning for people. “Some of our most treasured objects aren’t the ones with the highest price tags. They’re the things our children have made, or the pieces passed down through generations. Craft is all of these things, and that’s the beauty of it.”
The future of craft necessitates an embrace of what’s come before. Addressing the perception that craft is outdated, Natalie said, “Heritage doesn’t have to mean historic. Traditional craft can be used radically in contemporary craft, and I think that's where it becomes really interesting and exciting.”
This marriage of past and present is evident across our 2026 New Makers cohort. Yuichi Romita draws on a centuries-old ceramic tradition, while Jacob Marks applies practised methods to an unfamiliar material. Linnan Ye is influenced by the ceramics of her childhood, and Hannah Watts translates the colours of African textiles onto geometric platters. Egle Silko, meanwhile, intentionally pushes her material to its limits, reframing imperfections as valuable traces of the making process.
Discover our 2026 New Makers collection.
Photography by Safia Shakarchi.
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