Research background:
This research brings a designerly approach to the problem of capturing and passing on the skilled knowledge of expert craft practitioner. It brings together experienced practitioners, learners and designer in hybrid activities that provide an arena for generating understanding of skilled practice, embodied in learning materials rather than stated explicitly in formal conclusions .../more
Folding knife project:
This project sought to elicit the expert knowledge of traditional Sheffield knifemakers and develop learning materials to support a new generation of creative metalworkers whose interests lie in adapting traditional skills to new craft practices. Working with a group of enthusiastic amateur knife makers as learners, we developed an online resource to disseminate the skill of making folding knives .../more
Research evaluation:
This project has shown that we can use new methods to transplant skills outside the industrial setting into the hands of people who have the motivation to innovate. This understanding of craft learning could have applications not purely in the immediate area of the crafts, but also in any area where a tacit understanding needs to be developed. It leads people to attend to the tasks and activities of professional work not purely as a means to a practical end, but as bridges to a richer understanding of the practice .../more
