Getting up close and personal with craft is always a delight, and with its focus on craft, LCW has become a must-attend fixture on the international creative calendar. It is a week when ateliers, workshops, and places normally closed to the public open their doors to reveal the mastery of hand skills, techniques, and imagination that go into creating breathtakingly beautiful, crafted objects.

This LCW was noticeably bigger than previous editions, spreading out to include more of London beyond the usual Central/SW focus. The event gave locals and visitors greater access to craft displays in their locality through an engaging programme of established and emerging names in the world of craft. There was something for everyone thanks to a diverse range of participants from luxury houses to art colleges to religious buildings offering displays, tours, talks and demonstrations.

As widespread as the event was, it was impossible to see everything, even if you chose to do the full 7-day calendar of events, including the evening ones. Selecting what to see required some planning. For the exhibitions and showcases I visited, LCW was an opportunity for me to meet in person artisans I have interviewed for my various writing commissions including the Homo Faber Guide, an initiative of the Michelangelo Foundation, which was the LCW headline sponsor.

My journey across the city on one of the days took me from Cockpit studios exhibition of leading and next-generation makers to No. 9 Cork Street, where I met furniture designer and artisan, Brodie Neill, then onto The Pimlico Road, popping in and out of the design and interior showrooms and workshops. There, I met ceramicist Isatu Hyde at Jamb, and at Soane Britain viewed a demonstration of paper making using old cotton shirts by The Paper Foundation, one of the last handmade paper makers in Britain.

Woodstrokes Table, Brodie Neill, No. 9 Cork Street, London Craft Week 2025

I am always fascinated by ways in which cultures choose to revitalise their craft heritages as a way of preserving them. So, another day brought visits to the international pavilions, which served as a window into how they are doing this. The Royal Thai Embassy presented an elegant and beautiful display of the Royal family’s efforts to preserve and modernise traditional Thai textile heritage through a range of initiatives, including the Queen and Princess, adapting these textiles into contemporary outfits for Royal engagements.

An installation of indigo in the Chinese Pavilion in Cromwell House led to an introduction and in-depth conversation with shibori textile specialist Yoshiko Wada Morphopoulos. While ‘yAwArAkAi kArA – The Reflecting Skin’, an exhibition by Maud and Mabel gallery, introduced me to the serene and evocative works of Japanese ceramicists Akiko Hirai and Kenta Anza. Tucked away in a back room of the building was the Saudi Pavilion, one of my favourite presentations. With its quiet, atmospheric presence and understated elegance communicated through deep, rich tones of purple and dark green, the installation presented a collection of vibrant, woven objects that together told a beautiful story of weaving and artistry.

The Suadi Pavilion, Cromwell House, London Craft Week 2025

It’s nice to see a celebration of craftsmanship excellence with dedicated events like LCW, giving the talented makers and their exceptional objects a moment in the spotlight, enabling people to see and appreciate the meaning, value and beauty that handmade brings into our lives.

– Tapiwa Matsinde

[Image credits: The images shown belong to Tapiwa Matsinde. If downloaded and used elsewhere, please credit accordingly.] Main image is a ceramic vessel by Kenta Anza, curated by Maude and Mabel Gallery.

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I am honoured to be taking part in this event as the curator of The Artisan: a crafted tea room. It is one of 15 immersive exhibitions curated by 22 curators and designers, 350 master artisans, rising stars and designers, with a special focus on Japanese National Living Treasures.

In what has been my most challenging curatorial role, the brief of transforming this empty space by turning away from the typical look-but-don’t-touch exhibition format to embrace an interactive presentation that invites and expects visitors to get up close and personal with the objects on display. 

The result is an intimate setting that has been described as ‘feeling like home’, and having ‘a wonderful vibe’. I couldn’t ask for much more than that. Thank you, Homo Faber for the opportunity. And a huge thank you to all the artisans, designers, and manufacturers for loaning their objects to make it all possible.

– Tapiwa Matsinde

Image credits: Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Simone Padovani©Michelangelo Foundation, Nicolò Zanatta©Michelangelo Foundation, Tapiwa Matsinde

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As a curator of one of the exhibitions, The Artisan: a crafted tea room, I am proud to be taking part in this exceptional event.

For more visit: https://www.homofaber.com 

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After decades dominated by mass production, we want the objects we use on a daily basis to have personality and soul. Every handmade piece bears someone’s fingerprints.

Tapiwa Matsinde, Author, Curator, Mentor

Image credit: Laila Pozzo for Homo Faber

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My mission is to transform the Padiglione delle CapriateRoom / Truss Pavilion into a functioning tea room that is filled with exceptional furniture and objects crafted by artisans and manufacturers from around the world. The challenge is that not only will visitors be able to view the objects in the room they will also be able to interact with and use them during their time touring the event’s other exhibitions. This means sitting on chairs, having a cup of tea, or having a bite to eat on dining and Bistrot tables. Reclining on armchairs and sinking into plush sofas as they take time out to refresh and recharge.

And to do all this in just over 3 months, yikes!

An initiative of the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity & Craftsmanship, Homo Faber 2022 features 15 exhibitions, 22 curators and designers, 12 Japanese Living Treasures, and over 400 works crafted by over 350 artisans, and designers, and manufacturers representing over 30 countries.

Image credit of Padiglione delle Capriate belongs to The Giorgio Cini Foundation

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Presenting existing and never-before-seen collectible artworks made especially for the exhibition Art & Exception brings together 45 exceptional pieces from 25 artists representing 15 African countries. The objects are by emerging and established names working across a range of disciplines from woodwork to embroidery, among them the South African ceramist Zizipho Poswa, the intricate lighting of Meftah House crafted in their Moroccan workshops, the entirely hand-embroidered paintings by Rwandan Christine Rwagatare, the watercolours of Bartholomew Toguo on a series of ceramic plates, and the textile universe of Ghizlane Sahli.

Art & Exception is on show in person at the French auction house, Artcurial, or view the live experience online.

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