Published 01-09-2017
Keywords
- Innovation Through Craft,
- Craft Industries,
- Craft Council,
- Material Manipulation,
- The Workmanship of Risk
- Makers,
- Diverse Industry,
- Craft Tech Residencies,
- Parallel Practices,
- Glassmaking,
- Matt Durran - Glass,
- Lauren Bowker - Textiles,
- Dr Ellis - Technical Textiles,
- Material Innovation,
- Knowledge Transfer Network,
- KPMG,
- Workshop Sessions,
- Workshop 1: Crafting in Industry ...More
How to Cite
Abstract
Innovation through craft is nothing new. Across material disciplines, craft processes have always driven breakthroughs that have passed into other fields. What David Pye (1968) called ‘the workmanship of risk’ – the skilled manipulation of material that affords unplanned breakthroughs – is an enduring characteristic of craft that gives it its innovative edge.
Today we see this applied in such diverse fields as digital technology, aerospace and bioscience as well as in examples such as an embroiderer collaborating with a roboticist to develop wearable sensors for medical and sports applications.
Yet, as asserted in this article, insufficient attention is paid to which is the best way to generate collaboration between makers and diverse industries, creating an opportunity cost to the UK economy. Strategic and systematic support would enable the potential for innovation through craft to be realised. KPMG’s research for the Crafts Council (KPMG, 2017) analyses the experience of innovation in making and proposes a set of actions to address this gap.
The paper describes the journey from policy positions in relation to craft and innovation, through research findings. It goes on to assess the research and policy impacts of this research and the importance of continuing to seek ways to promote opportunities for innovation through craft.