Lost trades delight
ALICIA Mora-Hyde is the last of her kind in Australia, but she’s proving the art of umbrella making is not lost yet.
Artisans and craftspeople from across the country were on show at the Lost Trades Fair at the Cobb and Co Museum on the weekend.
More than 10,000 patrons attended the festival which paid homage to simpler times of craftsmanship and handmade creations.
IN A WORLD where automated machines can spit out wooden products with ease, Pete Trott uses just three tools to create actual works of art.
The master woodworker and spoon-maker was one of dozens of artisans showing off their skills at the Lost Trades Fair at the Cobb and Co Museum at the weekend.
More than 10,000 patrons watched on as artists and tradespeople from around Australia returned to simpler times of craftsmanship with handmade creations.
Ropes, wooden toys, fly-fishing rods, buckets, umbrellas and penny-farthing bicycles were just some of products made from scratch in front of amazed onlookers.
Mr Trott, who has been woodcarving for most of his life, said the compulsion to create was an indescribable feeling.
“I started when I was young – I made my first spoon when I was about eight or nine up in the shed,” he said.
“I just chiselled away at a lump of wood and I’ve just done it ever since.
“It’s one of those things – I can’t even explain it, just once you carve one you can’t stop.”
He said people were starting to appreciate what were once lost trades.
“I think it is having a big resurgence around the world – a lot of people are dedicating their lives to it,” he said.
“There is so much machinery out there, but it’s just bringing it back to three basic tools.”
Event coordinator Wendy Green said the turnout for the festival’s second year was doubled from 2017.