The stained-glass maker: ‘It’s powerful, volatile… too overwhelming for domestic settings’
Thomas Denny makes windows that are not only pictures hidden in colourful patterns, but complex interweavings of naturalistic and biblical imagery, radiant and spiritual.
The neon sign maker: ‘Piccadilly Circus was our answer to Vegas – now it’s all pixellated screens’
‘Every time I come here, it blows my mind,’ admits Marcus Bracey as he approaches Gods Own Junkyard, his neon emporium in Walthamstow.
The putcher fisherman: Flying the flag for a dying way of life
Chris Cadogan, the only remaining fisherman to practice this medieval method on the Severn.
The sculptor: ‘Every day, I go into the studio in the morning and set about things. I don’t know any other way to live’
James Butler (MBE, RA, RWA, FRBS) is in his late 80s and still sculpting every day.
The glass-eye maker: ‘I make sure that the eye fits, but psychology comes into my work as well’
Jost Haas, the only remaining maker of glass eyes working in Britain today.
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’
In the expert hands of Andy Peters, pine is sculpted into a glorious array of decorative items, but the show-stopping figureheads that stand up to 15ft high are his bread-and-butter.
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.
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’
You could travel many miles to find someone who relishes his working day as much as Owen Jones enjoys creating oak swill baskets.
The poppy maker: ‘I was very weak, very emotional and in a bad place when I started, but I’m back to my old self again now’
Wish Lloyd battled a traumatic childhood, the army, an athletics injury and homelessness to find his place at the Poppy Factory, making the poppies we wear every November.
The luthier: 'You don’t know if you’ve been successful until you put the strings on. That’s the moment when it comes alive.'
Tom Sands talks about his life making guitars – and pays tribute to his mentor, a 'cross between Gandalf, Yoda and Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid.'
Credit: ©Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library
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
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
The dry stone wall builder: 'Every metre of wall contains a ton of stone. You really feel it after a hard week.'
This week's Living National Treasure is Anthony Gorman, a man who has spent his life building beautiful walls by hand
The gold stamper: ‘The younger generation is very appreciative of artisan work – they’re the ones driving the trend’
This week's Living National Treasure is John Timms, the man who leads the team that stamps gold lettering into thousands
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The Georgian rectory that you've (probably) been waiting for has come on to the market in a bucolic spot just outside CheltenhamClassic Georgian rectories in the Cotswolds are hard to find, says Penny Churchill, so this example in Gloucestershire is a real treat.
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Don't be a (beauty school) dropout, come and do the Country Life Quiz of the Day, September 18, 2025Today's quiz is the word.
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Arts & Antiques: Five ways in which we are living in a material worldCarla Passino looks at a new art, fashion and culture festival at Kew Gardens, and the life and work of the artist Rose Hilton.
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‘City gents in bowler hats beat on our shop windows shouting “immoral!” and “disgusting!”’: The rise (and rise) of the mini skirtWhat the mini skirt lacked in length it more than made up for in meaning.
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Helene Kröller-Müller: The woman who made van GoghAfter a life-threatening illness spurred Helene Kröller-Müller to make plans for a museum, she bought modern art voraciously, forming an extraordinary collection that shaped the early-20th-century perception of Vincent van Gogh
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Goodwood Revival 2025: Pictures from the 'F1 of classic car races'Here's everything you might have missed if you didn't get the chance to make it to West Sussex's most elegant event.
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Rust-free romance: hire a classic, not the headachesWant to drive a classic car, but don't fancy the headaches of ownership? Why not borrow one for a day and explore the most beautiful parts of England while you're at it.
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(Space) oddities: New David Bowie centre opens at V&A East StorehouseThe museum will house and display the largest collection of the artist's costumes, musical instruments, set models, props and more.
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How one woman cured her fear of horses by making a perfume that smells exactly like themThe fragrant story behind one of Hermès's most exclusive perfumes.
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Goodwood Revival and the Scottish sheep farmer who dominated the world of motor racing in 1965The 2025 Goodwood Revival will celebrate the 60th anniversary of legendary race car driver Jim Clark's most impressive year.
