Arts & Crafts Trail in Wales

Re-Imagined Ruthin Craft Centre Blazes the Way for an

Arts & Crafts Trail in Wales

New York, New York           October 8, 2008        Wales has long been a haven for artists and artisans, informing the designs of the late Welsh designer Laura Ashley and inspiring Portmeirion pottery, named for the fantasy village in North Wales.  Throughout its 25-year existence, The Ruthin Craft Centre acquired a reputation as the leading venue for the applied arts in the UK.  The redeveloped Centre's £4.4 million transformation has cemented its primary position as a dynamic influence on Europe's contemporary arts scene.

Located in Denbighshire, North Wales, about one hour from the English cities of Manchester and Liverpool, set in the picture postcard setting of the Vale of Clwyd (pronounced Cloo-id), the center, designed by Sergison Bates of London, epitomizes the confluence of function and artistry. The cast stone building was created with an undulating zinc roof that subtly suggests the warp and weft of weaving.

The new craft center houses three galleries, six artist studios, a retail gallery and a café with a courtyard terrace. Two of the new galleries will display the best contemporary crafts from Wales and around the world, while the other will be a collections gallery.  The center opened with a one-man exhibit by Britain's flamboyant Andrew Logan, who has been collected by everyone from the late Queen Mother to U2's Bono, Elton John and Julie Christie.  Information about Ruthin Craft Centre's exhibits, residential courses and workshops can be found at www.ruthincraftcentre.org.uk.

Travelers to Wales can see artisans at work making Celtic jewelry, ceramics and woolens, learn a new craft and take home a piece of Wales.  Traveling in a southwesterly direction from the Ruthin Craft Centre, one comes upon Ceredigion in Mid Wales.  Two rewarding  stops are Jen Jones Welsh quilts (www.jen-jones.com), the world's largest collection of antique Welsh quilts and Rhiannon Welsh Jewellery (www.rhiannon.co.uk), offering the world's largest selection of Welsh and Celtic products.  Additional arts and crafts hot spots in Mid Wales can be found on www.gomidwales.co.uk/thingstodo/artsandcrafts.

Just south of Ceredigion, lies Melin Tregwynt (www.melintregwynt.co.uk), a mill and design studio offering outstanding modern wovens, which are exported worldwide.  Melin Tregwynt is a whitewashed mill, owned by the same family since 1912 and located in a wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast of Wales.  There has been a working mill on this site since the 17th century, when local farmers would bring their fleeces to be spun into yarn and woven into fine wool blankets.  The mill uses a combination of modern rapier looms and traditional flying shuttle looms.  Travelers can see the mill in action on weekdays.

For tourist information about Wales please visit www.visitwales.com or email [Back to Press Releases Main]