Maker in Residence 2025 Kelmscott Manor
I’m so very excited to announce that I’ve been chosen as the Maker in Residence 2025 at Kelmscott Manor.
This April - October I will be weaving, teaching, demonstrating and immersed in life at this historic residence. Once the cherished home of William Morris, the great designer-craftsman, writer, conservationist and revolutionary socialist, Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire is visited annually by over 26,000 visitors.
To be showcasing the rural craft of basket making and chair-seat-making as this year’s Maker in Residence is a dream come true. Anyone who’s known me for more than two minutes has most likely been firstly blasted by my passion for my craft and then quickly picked up on my long term love of the Arts & Crafts movement. The values, beliefs and creative power of William Morris have long been interwoven in my life and are held within all that I design, create, make and teach. I’ve never before walked into an interview and declared that all I wanted to write on the application was, “This is my destiny”, but I did this time!
I’m so looking forward to this incredible opportunity of engaging with and responding to the Manor, gardens and its visitors as well as supporting in widening the learning programme.
To be able to forge new work whilst at Kelmscott Manor, to be gifted the space to fire my creativity with such inspiration, it’s so exciting and I hope will lead to my being able to spark and inspire others. Being able to honour my heritage craft form whilst revealing and challenging how we as craftspeople live and work in today’s society, to explore our collective values, look closer at what we want and need for a better future - I may just be found weaving this all in too!
____
Click on the link here or head to www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-stories/sarah-le-breton-maker-in-residence for the Heritage Crafts Press Release announcing my residency.