Weaving Heritage and Innovation: A Celebration of Craft and Collaboration

Table of Contents

• A Day of Craft and Community at Rittergut Schönber …

• Innovation in Traditional Silversmithing Craft: Wh …

• International Crafts Research: New Opportunities

• ​Crafting Creativity: Brian Eno, Collaboration, an …

A Day of Craft and Community at Rittergut Schönberg: Weaving the Future of Heritage

On 12 April 2025, Rittergut Schönberg in the Altmark region buzzed with creativity as The ARCH hosted its Neighbourhood, Children’s, and Craft Festival. Fifty community members, including 20 children, gathered to celebrate traditional crafts, from weaving with natural materials to sculpting clay tree faces. This vibrant day was a testament to the power of heritage and connection, made possible by our partners: Fleischerei Wohlfahrt, Bollé Safety, and Vitos e.V.

A Spark of Creativity

Under the spring sun, families explored crafts. Children built twig houses and crafted mandalas, finding focus through nature-based activities. Adults joined in and wove natural materials with reclaimed fabrics or shaped clay, rediscovering the joy of hands-on creation. Local district administrator Patrick Puhlmann and his daughter captured the mood: “Thank you for this wonderful afternoon… We don’t want to go home and would love to come back!” Their words echoed the community’s enthusiasm, as families shared, “It was a beautiful afternoon… the children could express their creativity!” Featured in the Osterburger Zeitung (“Auf Entdeckungstour im Grünen,” 15 April 2025) and Biese-Aland-Kurier (“Es geht auch um Erdung,” 11 April 2025), the festival marked a milestone for The ARCH’s Altmark Handwerks-Hub. This Nachbarschaftsfest was more than a local event—it was a step toward preserving rare craft skills and inspiring global concepts.

Why Crafts Matter

Crafts are a bridge to our past and a foundation for the future. They teach patience, spark creativity, and connect us to nature. For the children, crafting fostered focus and environmental awareness. For adults, it was a chance to slow down and create with intention. At The ARCH, we believe these skills are vital for communities worldwide, and Schönberg is where we’re testing ideas that can scale globally.

From Schönberg to the World

The Altmark Handwerks-Hub is a laboratory for international craft preservation. The festival’s media coverage and heartfelt feedback show that traditional crafts resonate deeply, uniting communities through shared heritage. We’re building a global network, starting in Schönberg, to ensure these skills endure for generations.

Host Your Own Craft Event

Inspired to bring crafts to your community? We’re developing a Community Craft Event Handbook, filled with practical tips and insights from Schönberg to help you host your own event. Whether you’re a teacher, organizer, or craft enthusiast, this guide will empower you to celebrate heritage and connection. Be the first to get the handbook! Email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) with the subject “Craft Handbook” to join our early access list. We’ll notify you when it’s ready, so you can start your community’s craft journey.

What’s Next

The Schönberg festival is just the beginning. We’re planning more events and expanding the Altmark Handwerks-Hub’s impact. Thank you to Fleischerei Wohlfahrt, Bollé Safety, and Vitos e.V., and to every participant who made this day unforgettable. Join us! Let’s craft a future where heritage thrives, from Schönberg to the world.

Innovation in Traditional Silversmithing Craft: When Science meets Art

Image credits: All Alice Fry

Step into the world of Alice Fry, ARCH’s new special crafts advisor, who is reimagining treasures by fusing traditional silversmithing and science.

Award-winning jeweller and silversmith Alice is redefining the boundaries of traditional metalwork by merging centuries-old techniques with modern science and innovative materials. Her sculptural pieces, inspired by geological wonders, shimmer with an otherworldly quality, transporting viewers to the hidden worlds of minerals and crystals.

A graduate of The Glasgow School of Art with a First in Silversmithing and Jewellery Design, Alice honed her craft at the prestigious Bishopsland Educational Trust. It was there that she received The Jane Goodman Award, granting her the opportunity to study the unique metal niobium with anodising expert Brian Eburah. This deep dive into niobium has become central to her practice, and she is now one of the very few metalworkers in the UK to specialise in this remarkable material.

Alice’s work has gained international recognition, with exhibitions at New York’s "MAD About Jewelry" show, London Craft Week, The Scottish Gallery, and the celebrated Goldsmiths’ Fair in London. From her workshop at The Sculpture Lounge in Holmfirth, Yorkshire—a vibrant, artist-led community nestled in the North of the Peak District—Alice continues to push the boundaries of her craft.

Her fascination with geology, rocks and all things glistening began in childhood, sparked by collecting rocks and visiting the Blue John Stone caves in Derbyshire. At university, Alice sketched and studied the Blue John mineral specimens and visited museums like the Natural History Museum, where she closely studied the intricate shapes and textures of mineral treasures.

Alice’s creative process combines these natural inspirations with the ancient technique of chasing and repoussé. This meticulous method involves hammering steel punches into sheet metal from both sides, shaping it into intricate forms while supported in pitch. The technique, passed down through generations, allows for a vast array of styles and textures using only simple tools. For Alice, this method is like drawing in 3D, bringing rough crystals and sparkling rocks to life in metal.

Forming the sharp angles and flat planes of crystal structures in metal is an exceptionally demanding task. Alice handcrafts her own steel punches to achieve these precise forms, and her signature sparkling diamond texture is made by using diamond burrs as chasing punches, imprinting tiny shards of diamonds onto the metal’s surface.

Alice combines this ancient technique with modern materials and science. One of the standout features of Alice’s work is her use of niobium, a rare and durable metal known for its hypoallergenic properties and lightweight strength—ideal for jewellery. Through anodising, Alice transforms niobium into vivid flashes of colour, from yellows and pinks to blues and purples. This process involves submerging the metal in a bath of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in water and applying an electric current, which creates a niobium oxide layer. Different voltages yield different colours, and by masking areas or using an electrified brush, Alice can achieve striking multicoloured effects.

In today’s fast-paced, mass-produced world, Alice’s dedication to traditional craft is a powerful reminder of the value of slow, skilled making. Her work preserves ancient techniques while proving their relevance in contemporary design, fostering a deeper connection between maker, material, and wearer—an antidote to disposable culture.

Alice has recently been named as The King’s Foundation’s “35 Under 35” list — a network of makers and changemakers, brought together as part of The King’s Foundation’s 35th anniversary celebrations, to advocate for the change His Majesty wants to see in the world. Alice’s work stands at the intersection of art, science, and tradition. By updating historic silversmithing techniques with modern materials and processes, she creates pieces that are as innovative as they are timeless—capturing the mysterious beauty of hidden geological worlds in shimmering metal.

International Crafts Research: New Opportunities

Partner with The ARCH gUG (Alliance for Rare Crafts Heritage) to co-own a transformative ERC Advanced Grant project that redefines the value of rare crafts and empowers artisans globally. We look forward to collaborating with you to shape a frontier research initiative with lasting cultural, economic, and societal impact. Find more information here: https://www.thearch.org/post/international-crafts-research

The ARCH gUG also seeks a mid-to-senior researcher for our Crafts Atlas and Crafts Bank project, documenting culturally rooted crafts worldwide. Lead the Review and Validation Phase of the project, ensuring data quality for the developing open-source Crafts Atlas platform, with options to contribute to planning, data collection, and advocacy. Join us to preserve rare crafts! Learn more at https://www.thearch.org/post/expression-of-interest-researcher-for-crafts-atlas-crafts-bank

​Crafting Creativity: Brian Eno, Collaboration, and The ARCH’s Mission to Preserve Rare Crafts

Brian Eno, the legendary artist and producer, once said, “The most interesting things happen at the intersections.”

For Eno, creativity isn’t a solitary spark but a vibrant dialogue—between people, ideas, and traditions. His approach to innovation, rooted in collaboration, mirrors the heart of The ARCH’s mission: to preserve rare craft skills by fostering global networks that connect artisans, advocates, and communities. We’re proving that true creativity thrives when we work together.

Eno’s Collaborative Canvas

Eno’s career—from ambient music to producing icons like David Bowie—shows that innovation emerges when diverse voices collide. He championed “scenius,” the collective genius of a group, over the myth of the lone artist. In his studios, musicians, engineers, and even chance processes (like his famous Oblique Strategies cards) co-created, each contribution shaping the outcome.

Eno’s insight is simple yet profound: collaboration amplifies creativity, turning individual sparks into a collective flame. At The ARCH, we see this principle in action. Our work to preserve rare crafts relies on a network of collaborators. Artisans, advocates, and visionaries unite to ensure these skills endure, proving that heritage, like creativity, is a shared endeavour.

Collaboration as Innovation

The ARCH’s network spans continents, from Europe to South Asia, uniting diverse champions for rare crafts heritage. We’re not just preserving crafts; we’re innovating ways to make them relevant. Collaboration—between artisans, planners, and communities—drives creative solutions to sustain crafts in a disposable, AI-driven world. Join Our Collaborative Journey Eno’s “scenius” thrives at The ARCH. Our pilot projects, like community events or campaigns to value craft, amplify artisans’ voices within our working groups. We’re building a future where crafts connect us to our humanity, history, and each other.

Email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) to join the community. Together, let’s craft a world where collaboration fuels creativity and heritage thrives.