This week on the Abbey England Podcraft, we speak with Mark Romain, MBE and Master Saddler. 

Mark’s career started in 1973 and he has been a key player in the British Saddlery industry ever since.

Having trained over 300 saddlery apprentices and well over 2,000 saddlery short term applicants, Mark KNOWS what he’s talking about when it comes to discussing the different pathways to become a Master Saddler. In 2014, Mark was awarded an MBE in recognition of his contribution to the saddlery industry and in 2019, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from BETA.

We discuss all of this and more in episode 5.

In today’s episode we speak with The Irish Saddler, Lucy Cushley. Winner of the RDS Craft Award and crowned ‘Future Maker’ by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland. We discuss how she got to where she is today, how she funded her saddlery training, mental health and what it means to be your own boss – the good and the bad!

For those interested, QUEST Scholarship applications open Monday 11 July to Monday 15 August 2022. For more information, visit www.qest.org.uk/apply/scholarships/

In this episode, we interview leatherworker Jason Stocks-Young. Jason’s leather career started in 2014 when he started his business Diamond Awl Workshop and subsequently JS-Y Leatherworks. Since then, Jason has starred in the BBC’s Made in Great Britain and Saved and Remade TV series. We discuss Jason’s career, his time on the show, why making products in the UK is so important and his response to vegan leather.

This week, we speak with Operations Director Michael Crawford from the Crawford Hide Company in County Down. Crawford Hide are the leading hide and skin processing operation in the UK and supply tanneries all over the world. Back in 2018, Crawford Hide, Kilger Tannery and Abbey England, saved Sedgwick Leather and together invested £1.5m. We discuss everything from saving Sedgwick Leather to animal welfare and traceability AND the impact of Brexit.

We interview Nigel Armitage from Armitage Leather. Nigel is a published author and a seriously GOOD leatherworker. We discuss Nigel’s early career, challenges along the way, his new book ‘Leathercraft’ and some useful tips for all you aspiring leatherworkers!

Host – Ishbel Watson

In episode 6, we celebrate International Women's Day with Helen Reader. A female saddler at the top of her game. In 2018 Helen became the only SMS member to hold the titles of Master Saddler, Master Harness Maker, Master Bridle Maker and Master Saddler Fitter. This year, Helen has also been named one of the UK’s 100 inspirational entrepreneurs by Small Business Britain’s f:Entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign  as well as being named as the next President of the Society of Master Saddlers. 

In episode 5, we meet and greet our 2021 Scholarship Winners Christie Farren, a British Army saddlers apprentice to The Kings Troop RHA and Ross Miller, a website designer turned leatherworker. We discuss their drive for saddlery and leatherwork and their future plans.

In episode 4 we interview Suzie Fletcher, Master Saddler and leatherworker. We discuss Suzie’s expansive career from her harness work being used by the Queen of England to her move to Colorado and why restoration is so important in today’s world.

In this episode, we interview award-winning Saddler Jo Heard from J H Leather. Jo’s wealth of experience in the leathercraft and saddlery industry has enabled her to build up 100,000 YouTube subscribers. Jo tells us about how she got to where she is today and the challenges she faced along the way.

Today we discuss the phenomenon behind Biothane belting and why more customers are choosing to make their goods from the PVC coated webbing. Hear from Biothane's International Sales Manager Scott Hanna and Abbey England's Marketing Manager Ishbel Watson.