Making Festival at Ulster Folk Museum
Peter Sloan, a Heritage Carpenter and Craft Demonstrator at Ulster Folk Museum, is gearing up for this weekend’s Making Festival. He shares his passion for preserving historical wooden elements, offers insights into traditional crafting techniques and highlights how Making Festival celebrates Northern Ireland’s rich cultural heritage.
Can you explain your craft or skill, including what it involves and what you need to be good at it?
As a Heritage Carpenter, I specialise in conserving, preserving, and repairing original wooden components of historical or architectural significance. My projects have ranged from repairing sash windows, castle doors, and church floors to restoring furniture items like chairs and external structures such as rotted roof timbers and ornate barge boards. In all these tasks, my approach emphasises minimal intervention and maximum retention, replacing only what is beyond repair, retaining as much of the original material and using like-for-like materials to maintain authenticity. This work requires a deep understanding of different species of wood, appropriate hardware, and finishing products that are used to carry out honest and authentic repairs.
How did you learn it?
I began my journey with an apprenticeship after leaving school in 1992, earning an NVQ in Carpentry & Joinery. In 2014, I furthered my expertise with an NVQ in Heritage Carpentry. Additionally, I hold an HNC in Building Studies and a Nebosh Certificate in Health & Safety. My experience as a self-employed Joinery Contractor and my hands-on practice at home, including lathe work and attending a range of craft workshops, have honed my skills in carving and woodturning.
What do you enjoy about it?
What I enjoy most is the fact that every project is different, with each presenting unique challenges that keep my mind focused and continually learning. The knowledge that my work in preserving and repairing historic and important pieces of our built heritage, ensures that these items live on and continue to serve their original purpose is profoundly satisfying. It allows me to contribute to the ongoing story of these significant items.
Tell us about your role at Ulster Folk Museum?
I work as a Craft Demonstrator in Gillespie’s Carpenter's workshop at the Ulster Folk Museum in Cultra. As the resident heritage carpenter, I run the workshop as an authentic carpenter's shop from the late 1800s to early 1900s, carrying out live demonstrations. On any given day I could be carving a sign, building a vernacular milking stool, sharpening tools, preparing wood for various projects - all using traditional hand tools. I greet visitors from around the world, explaining my work, the materials and tools I’m using and the history of the building and its significance to the Folk Museum. I get to meet some very interesting people and learn something new every day from our visitors.
How important is it that we stay connected to our traditions?
Staying connected to our traditions keeps us in touch with our ancestors and helps us understand their lives. This connection spans not just crafts, but also music, language, literature, towns, cities, rural communities and the architecture within them. I believe that maintaining a direct link to our heritage enriches our sense of belonging and preserving these elements is essential for maintaining our cultural heritage, providing both physical and spiritual links to our past, which help us navigate our approach to the future. Through Ulster Folk Museum hosting events like its annual Making Festival, we are providing opportunities for individuals to engage in activities that foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of their diverse heritage.
What can people expect from Making Festival?
Visitors to the Folk Museum Making Festival can expect a celebration of Northern Ireland’s heritage construction skills and traditional crafts. This festival, which coincides with August Craft Month, features a vast array of live demonstrations, including thatching, blacksmithing, wool weaving, leatherworking, and goldsmithing, among many others. Attendees can not only observe skilled artisans at work but also dive into a wealth of hands-on activities, allowing them to engage directly with these time-honoured crafts. Visitors can also enjoy a range of musical performances from traditional tunes to pipers and rhymers and screenings of films at the historic Picture House. Making Festival aims to celebrate and honour Northern Ireland’s rich cultural traditions while strengthening community bonds, enhancing wellbeing, and inspiring future generations to embrace and continue these cherished practices.
The Making Festival takes place at the Ulster Folk Museum on the 17 and 18 August. Booking is advised, for more information visit www.ulsterfolkmuseum.org/whats-on/festival-making