I am a shoemaker from Wales and my Fellowship was about craft. In 2016 I travelled to Mexico and Japan to study the relationships between the maker and the apprentice. My Fellowship was called Generations of Craft.

With craft skills on the decline and with a lack of funding and training available for makers, I wanted to visit two countries with a rich and diverse history of craftsmanship and discover how, at a time when demand for factory-made goods continues to increase, they are ensuring these skills are passed to future generations and not lost to the world.

I spent time with small communities in the south of Mexico who continue to practise weaving, the art of their ancestors. In contrast, I then visited large-scale companies in Japan who train many apprentices. I was impressed by the national honours system present in Japan, whereby master craftsmen are commended, which means traditional craft skills are protected.

Since my Fellowship I have opened a second shop and begun training a further three apprentices in our small market town of Machynlleth, where I hope to continue bringing craft skills and making to the town.