Crafts and making
Weaving, pottery, carving and other handed-down skills.
Crafts and making are the skills of hand and eye that are handed down in families and workshops: weaving, pottery, carving, metalwork, embroidery, dyeing, basketry, paper, leather and wood. A craft tradition is also a tradition of knowledge, about plants, clays, tools and patterns, and of values such as patience and care. Here they are listed by country, with notes on where the craft is practised and how makers keep it alive.
Skill passed on
Most crafts are learnt by watching a parent or master for years. A weaver in Bonwire, a potter in Oaxaca, a lacquer worker in Kyoto and a carpenter in Norway all learn by doing. Some crafts are kept within a family or a caste, others are open to anyone willing to learn. The tools are often simple and the techniques ancient, though the best makers experiment within the tradition.
Craft in a changing world
Mass production and cheap imports have put many crafts under pressure, but there is also a revival, with designers, schools, cooperatives and fair trade shops supporting makers. UNESCO and national bodies list living treasures and protect skills. Buyers can help by choosing handmade pieces and asking who made them. A craft survives when someone still wants the object and someone still wants to learn to make it.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Crafts and making (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇧🇬 Chiprovtsi, Bulgaria and 1 moreChiprovtsi kilimЧипровски килим
Handmade flatwoven rugs with identical sides, crafted in a Bulgarian town since the 17th century.Craft
🇭🇷 Marija Bistrica, CroatiaWooden toys of Hrvatsko ZagorjeDrvene igračke Hrvatskog zagorja
Hand-carved wooden toys from the Zagorje hills of Croatia, painted bright by the families who make themCraft
🇲🇰 Skopje, North MacedoniaMacedonian embroidery
A hand-stitched village craft of vests, shirts and head covers in North MacedoniaCraft
🇬🇧 United KingdomGuernsey
A traditional seamless wool sweater crafted for seafarers across the British IslesDress
🇬🇷 Sparta, GreeceChitonχιτών
A draped tunic of wool or linen worn across ancient Greece and RomeDress
🇷🇺 Vladimir, RussiaRozhokрожок
A traditional Russian wooden trumpet played solo and in pastoral horn ensemblesPerformance
🇱🇹 LithuaniaLithuanian cross craftingLietuvos kryždirbystė
A Lithuanian folk art of carving wooden crosses that blend Christian faith with ancient Baltic symbols.Craft
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chiprovtsi kilim: Edal Anton Lefterov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wooden toys of Hrvatsko Zagorje: Roberta., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Macedonian embroidery: Antonio Brsjacki, Public domain, source
- Guernsey: LeGroweur, Public domain, source
- Chiton: Berlin Painter, CC BY 2.5, source
- Rozhok: Obakeneko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lithuanian cross crafting: Vilensija, CC BY-SA 3.0, source