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The Stonemason: 'Working on a cathedral is the pinnacle of architectural stone-masonry'
A team of stonemasons is hard at work restoring Canterbury's magnificent cathedral, employing techniques that have been used since the dawn of civilisation. They spoke to Tessa Waugh.
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The Maltster: How an art that's thousands of years old is once again gaining recognition
There are only a handful of people left in Britain who still extract malt from Barley using the 'floor-made' method – and today, people are beginning to value their efforts more than ever. Tessa Waugh explains.
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The Ship’s Figurehead Carver: ‘It used to be a profession and every port would have had one, but now it’s a dying art’
Andy Peters is probably the only person in Britain who could describe himself as a full-time ship’s carver. He spoke to Tessa Waugh.
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The Pigeon Fancier: 'I set up a deckchair in the garden and wait for them to come back. That’s the most exciting part.'
This week’s Living National Treasure is Colin Hill, a pigeon fancier whose birds regularly race from the tip of Scotland to the Mediterranean.
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The Florist: 'What I do is like good cooking – if you have beautiful ingredients, you can’t go wrong'
This week's Living National Treasure is royal florist Shane Connolly – and while he might be based in Britain, he's in demand around the world. He spoke to Tessa Waugh; portraits by Richard Cannon.
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The traditional Brick-Maker who supplies Hampton Court: 'It’s like kneading dough'
There is only one company left in Britain still producing hand-made bricks – and their customers include the likes of Hampton Court. Tessa Waugh spoke to the gentlemen of H. G. Matthews.
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The mole-catcher: 'A molehill, it isn’t just a pile of earth – it’s a key to a strange little world’
Mole-catcher Jeff Nicholls speaks to Tessa Waugh about catching the ‘mysterious’ and ‘tenacious’ little mole.
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The swill basket maker: 'Even after 30 years, it’s still a challenge; every tree is different and each batch of baskets has its own journey’
Kathryn Bradley-Hole meets Owen Jones, the only full-time oak swill basket maker in Britain.
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The Glassblower: 'When something goes wrong you can't fix it – you just sling in into the bosh bucket and start again'
Ian Shearman's team of glassblowers are still making glass using a technique that's 2,000 years old. Mary Miers found out how it's done.
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Orthopaedic shoe-making: The bridge between architecture and podiatry
John Goodall meets Bill Bird, who, having studied architecture at the Bartlett, now makes orthopaedic shoes.
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The last bicycle maker in the Midlands: 'Our founder wanted small numbers and high quality. We've stuck rigidly to that.'
Tessa Waugh discovers why the company has stayed faithful to the first designs.
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The political cartoonist: 'Politicians hate how I depict them, but they'd hate it even more if I ignored them'
Peter Brookes, political cartoonist at The Times, is a savage commentator and the spiritual successor to the likes of Gillray and Hogarth. He spoke to Rod Gilchrist.
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The traditional fence-maker who has been turning out wattle hurdles for nearly 25 years
Traditional hazel fencing – or 'wattle hurdles' as they're properly known – is as popular as ever, a beautiful hand-made alternative to cheap, mass-produced panels which have taken over the world. Tessa Waugh meets Simon Fowler, an artisan who has spent a lifetime honing his craft.
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The Saw Maker still turning tools by hand: 'Cabinet makers love these – a lot of doctors and surgeons buy them'
Not all saws are mass-produced in Far East factories. Kathryn Bradley-Hole spoke to the craftsmen at Thomas Flinn, a Yorkshire firm who still do things by hand.
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The Yorkshire institution that sells 200,000 mince pies and 26,000 Christmas cakes each year
Tessa Waugh explains why Bettys, a Yorkshire institution founded in 1919, is the finest baker and confectioner in Britain.
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The fan maker: ‘If you can fold a piece of paper, you can do it’
Caroline Allington is one of three people in the UK known for the heritage craft of fan-making. She explains to Annunciata Elwes about this intricate art.
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The trombone maker: ‘There’s been a lot of trial, error and scrap - but after 10 years, we got there'
Michael Rath, founder of Rath Trombones, explains to Kate Green why the powerful, sonorous trombone is both tricky to play and to create.
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'I didn't even know what a cooper was': Hanging with master cooper
Alastair Simms is one of Britain’s few remaining traditional coopers. John Goodall caught up with him to talk about barrels, birthdays, and beer that tastes of plastic.
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The master arrowsmith: ‘Without arrowsmiths, there wouldn’t have been Agincourt’
Hector Cole is one of Britain's last remaining master arrowsmiths – a craft which lies at the heart of many moments which have shaped our history and national identity.
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On top of the world: The painstaking, intricate art of globe-making
After years as little-used antiques hidden in dusty libraries, Bellerby & Co is putting handcrafted globes back on the map. Katy Birchall talks to the man with the whole world in his hands.
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Boon & Lane: The only British company still producing handmade hat blocks
Boon & Lane supplies bespoke wooden and cast-aluminium hat blocks to leading milliners.
