‘We are being watched,’ denotes the fan twirled in the left hand. ‘When may I see you?’ – closed and touched to the right eye. ‘Kiss me,’ conveys the fan handle touched to the lips. Of all the emotions said to be communicated by the flux and fluttering of one’s fan, fan-maker Caroline Allington’s description is the most charming: ‘Once you pleat it up and open it out, the design smiles at you.’
Miss Allington started collecting fans at the age of 16. ‘I found them in junk shops, usually broken. I wanted to fix them all, so I taught myself how.’ That was 47 years ago. Now, the former curator teaches fan-making at the Fan Museum in Greenwich, SE10, and is the principal of three people in the UK known for the heritage craft, which is ‘critically endangered’, not helped by the rise of air-conditioning.
Since 3,000bc, fans have been in use the world over. ‘Even the Alaskans have dance fans,’ points out Miss Allington and in India, she relates, a punkah wallah would create a refreshing breeze by waving his leg around – he had a string tied to his toe, attached to a ceiling fan. ‘I love it because any craft under the sun can be involved, with dozens of materials in any one fan – gold thread, piqué work, bone, wood, ivory (thankfully, not any more), ebony, metal, silver filigree, ceramic plaques, embroidery and inlays.’
Making a fan is surprisingly straightforward. ‘If you can fold a piece of paper, you can do it,’ explains Miss Allington, who loves the way people’s faces light up when they learn. ‘Knowledge isn’t really knowledge unless you can pass it on to others. There’s no joy in it otherwise.’
This craftswoman doesn’t, however, hold much truck with the Victorian language of fans, ‘but they are good for whispering behind,’ she discloses.
Find out more about fan making at www.thefanmuseum.org.uk and see more traditional British craftsmen and women at heritagecrafts.org.uk
-
A country house that's 'the finest-looking estate between the Humber and the Tweed' (at least according to Queen Victoria)Burn Hall is a treasure-trove of architectural features, from its sweeping staircase to its grand snooker room.
-
Liverpool and literature: Country Life Quiz of the Day, July 18, 2025Which river runs through Liverpool and how much do you remember from the 'Harry Potter' book series?
-
The 21st century sword maker: 'There’s something appealing about getting metal hot and smacking it with a hammer'Practising ancient techniques to craft modern heirlooms, bladesmith Owen Bush handmakes both decorative and practical knives or weaponry, each with their own personalities, says Claire Jackson — with some of his swords celebrities in their own right. Photographs by Richard Cannon for Country Life.
-
The secrets of the basket-maker: 'With a basket, you watch it grow before your very eyes'Anna Stickland has woven a new career as a basket-maker; she spoke to Nick Hammond.
-
Where I Work: Huw Edwards-Jones, master craftsman and canoe makerThe ups and downs of 2020 didn't see Huw Edwards-Jones change where he worked, but it did change what he did: he's used the time to switch from creating beautiful hand-made furniture to spectacularly beautiful canoes. He spoke to Toby Keel.
-
In Focus — The Cotswolds silversmith: 'We make beautiful works of art to last for hundreds of years'Tucked away in an old Cotswolds silk mill, expert craftsmen harness a century of expertise to raise, planish and finish fine gold and silverware. Jeremy Flint visits Hart’s of Chipping Campden.
-
The master shoemakers who shod Churchill: 'Demand is through the roof, but it takes six to eight months to make a pair'The co-owners of bespoke shoe shop George Cleverley, father and son George Glasgow Snr and George Glasgow Jnr, talk to Hetty Lintell.
-
The dolls' house-maker: 'This is a place to capture the dreams of children and adults alike'Dragons of Walton Street have been making beautiful dolls' houses for four decades, and the company is still run by Lucinda Croft, the daughter of the founder. She spoke to Hetty Lintell.
-
Meet the Beadles: The centuries-old private police force at Burlington Arcade, the world's swishest shopping mallThis week marked the 200th birthday of London’s Burlington Arcade. Adam Hay-Nicholls goes undercover with the Beadles, its private police force. With photographs by Richard Cannon.
-
The bagpipe-maker: 'The older customers want me to make their pipes sharpish; they want to be sure they’re not dead before they get to play them!'Hours of intricate work are needed to craft a set of bagpipes. Kate Lovell spoke to bagpipe-maker Dave Shaw to find out how it's done.
