London Craft Week x Dulwich Festival

Did you know that between the 11th and 17th May, the London Craft Week programme will be running?

During this time, a curated selection from over 1000 British and international designers, makers, galleries and brands is brought together to be showcased based on underlying substance, not price or fame. People can attend live demonstrations and exhibitions, and it’s a great way for artists to be discovered by a new audience. 

Over the week, it’s also a great opportunity for anyone who enjoys being creative to practise their skills, use the time to try a new craft, share their work online, and seek inspiration.

Coincidentally, this month (May 2026), on the 9th & 10th, and the 16th & 17th, in collaboration with Suzanne James, The Exchange will be showcasing tex craft at 57 North Cross Road as part of the Dulwich Festival Artists’ Open House. This will be our first-ever pop-up exhibition, and will feature commissioned pieces that have been crafted by makers, designers and artists inside our ceramics, textile and timber workshops. There will also be a couple of pieces available to purchase.

Here at The Exchange, our aim is to provide Erith’s Old Library with a sustainable future. To discover what that future might look like – and to ensure its future was grounded firmly in the past - we went back to explore why the Old Library was built and what the construction of it achieved. It was a library. And later a museum. It existed to empower the local working population through knowledge.  It was commissioned, designed and built by local people, using local materials and showcasing local crafts. Through this, the building demonstrated the power of craft to transform lives and places. It was a place where people could come together, learn together and share together. People would use it for lectures, debates and community gatherings. It was a space for the creation of “community”.  

Our purpose brings these three pillars of “Empowerment”, “Craft” and “Community” together “Makers” to us are all those who help us to uphold and advance these pillars, supporting us to achieve our mission and vision for Erith. We make responsible craft that benefits people and the world, celebrate natural, built and intangible heritages, create solutions that help solve challenges, and focus on collaboration to deliver the best results.

Some of our most popular projects include the Hemmings Tray, the OL Tables and Chairs, Ceramic Tea Light Holders, Daisy Plates, Jaunty Woven Plant Pots and more.

So if you’re local to Dulwich or fancy a trip out, pop down to North Cross Road and view our exhibition.

Read more about our exhibition at Dulwich Festival here.

If you’re interested in crafting but you’re a complete beginner and not quite sure where to start, or maybe you have experience but need guidance, you can consider becoming a volunteer in one of our workshops. By joining us as a volunteer, you will work alongside like-minded individuals, with guidance from our workshop leads. You get the chance to learn from others, expand your skills, and make new friends, all while creating items that will benefit the community.

Click here if you’d like to find out more about becoming a Community Maker. You will be supporting people, place and planet.

Or, if you like our work and want us to make something just for you. You can commission us, and we’ll work with you to create a solution that is beautiful and unique.