European Craft Organization

11/04/2026

🙏Thank You all, who attended our webinar - Timeless lace - this week.

👉Who couldn´t participate - here is the recording link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1efT-Df8ImIAjg7OhGsX5QpbVeqsDH_IX/view?usp=sharing

10/04/2026

For the first time in its 25-year history, the School of Crafts of ÚĽUV in Slovakia is opening its doors to an international audience 🌍

Recognised on UNESCO’s Register of Good Safeguarding Practices of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the school is launching a pilot programme to share its exceptional pedagogical methodology and Slovak craft heritage with a global community.

👉 The Pilot Programme: Weaving and Wire Craft

The inaugural English-taught programme features two intensive, five-day courses that showcase distinctive Slovak traditions:

☑️ Loom Weaving: A deep dive into traditional textile techniques and working with natural materials.

☑️ Wire Craft: Instruction in a unique Slovak cultural phenomenon that is officially inscribed on UNESCO’s. Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Both courses emphasise a clear structure of instruction, hands-on experiential learning, and individual guidance within small groups, fostering rich intercultural exchange among participants.

☑️ Dates and Location
Tailored specifically for international participants, these five-day intensive courses will take place 👇
🔘 at the Regional Craft Centre of ÚĽUV in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
🔘 from 10 to 14 August 2026

More information and application form here ➡️ https://uluv.sk/en/events/wire-craft-course/
https://uluv.sk/en/events/loom-weaving-course/

Discovere new knowledge and experience with the School of Crafts of ÚĽUV! 🫶

09/04/2026

🔴 Intangible Cultural Heritage

Estonia’s intangible cultural heritage continues to live on through traditional crafts and community-based skills. Great examples include Muhu embroidery, Kihnu striped skirts (körts), Mulgi shawl weaving, and basket weaving from bird cherry branches in Mulgimaa.

The value of these traditions lies not only in the finished objects, but in the knowledge, patterns, techniques, and meanings that are passed down from generation to generation. This is what makes handicraft a living heritage rather than simply a historical object.

A particularly fascinating example comes from Mulgimaa, where Estonia’s national inventory of intangible cultural heritage specifically highlights both the archaic Mulgi pattern tradition and basket weaving from bird cherry branches. In the same region, Mulgi porridge adds another layer to this living heritage: just like handicraft skills, the recipe, preparation methods, and the social traditions around sharing the meal have been preserved and passed on within families and communities. Together, the textile patterns, weaving techniques, and food traditions show how cultural heritage is not limited to objects, but also includes everyday practices that strengthen identity and belonging.

Great references to explore:

UNESCO – Mulgi porridge tradition ->

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtUEXrSGhFE&t=4s

Setomaa intangible cultural heritage:

https://www.visitsetomaa.ee/en/setomaa-travel-guide-1

Muhumaa intangible cultural heritage:

https://www.muhu.info/en/home

̈sitöö

09/03/2026

🔴 Folk Dance and All the Culture and Craft That Goes With It

In Estonia, folk dance is much more than just dancing. It is part of a wider cultural world that includes music, traditional clothing, handicrafts, and community traditions that have been passed down for generations.

Estonian folk dances are known for their simple but rhythmic steps, circle formations, and strong sense of cooperation between dancers. Some of these dances date back many centuries and were originally connected to rituals and community celebrations. Group dances and circle dances were especially important, symbolizing unity and sometimes even believed to protect people from evil spirits.

A big part of the beauty of folk dance is the traditional clothing worn by dancers. Every region in Estonia has its own folk costumes, with unique colors, stripes, embroidery, and accessories that tell stories about the wearer’s home region, age, and even marital status.

Folk dance, music, and craft traditions all come together during large cultural events like the famous Song and Dance Celebration in Tallinn, where thousands of performers wear traditional costumes and celebrate Estonia’s heritage together. These traditions are not just performances. They are a living part of Estonian identity, connecting people to their history, community, and creativity.

̈sitöö

06/03/2026

Folk dance and traditional costumes (bunad) in Norway are closely connected as expressions of intangible cultural heritage: living traditions that are passed on through practice and participation.

The bunad is based on historical folk costumes and craft traditions, where knowledge of materials, techniques, and local differences is just as important as the finished garment.

The crafts include weaving, embroidery, dyeing, sewing, and assembling, and it is based on practical skills that have traditionally been passed down through generations.

Folk dance traditionally developed in the same local communities as the costumes. They were garments made for movement. When people wear bunads while dancing today, it continues the bodily knowledge of how the costume is worn and how it works in motion. This way, the bunad comes alive through dance, and the dance is grounded in material and craft traditions.

Together, folk dance, traditional costumes and the craft behind them, form a complete expression of Norwegian intangible cultural heritage, where knowledge, practice, and social meaning stay alive in line with UNESCO’s principles.

Photo: Halling Dance, 1974, Valdres Folkemuseum. Unknown photographer.

Post from Norges Husflidslag 🇳🇴

25/02/2026

🔘 Rings in Water 2026 – design competition by ÚĽUV 🙌

A unique platform for artistic craft, applied art, and design inspired by traditional folk culture — connecting tradition with contemporary design.

Open to designers, artists, craftsmen, producers, and students (individuals & collectives, also international). Submit original prototypes or finished works (no visualizations) made within the last 3 years.

The organizer will ensure media coverage of the competition, publication of a catalog, presentation of the award-winning and selected works in the form of an exhibition, publication in the RUD magazine and on the home website.

Deadline: June 30, 2026
Selected works will be delivered to ÚĽUV in Bratislava.

Let traditional craftsmanship inspire modern innovation 🫶

Detailed information on the competition, its terms and conditions and application form can be downloaded from: https://sutaz.uluv.sk/

17/02/2026

🔴 Estonia’s Carnival: Mardisandid and Kadrisandid

While in many parts of the world a carnival usually means large, colorful celebrations taking place in February, such as the Rio Carnival in Brazil or the Venice Carnival in Italy, for Estonians this kind of tradition has historically been unfamiliar. Instead, in Estonia the comparable festive masquerading season takes place in late autumn, when children and adults go from house to house as Mardisandid and Kadrisandid.

Mummers (Mardisandid) appear around St. Martin’s Day on November 10. They traditionally wear dark, ragged clothing, sometimes with animal masks, symbolizing the power of the earth and fertility. Their custom is lively and playful, filled with singing, joking, and performing. Going from household to household, they sing special Mummers songs and wish good fortune for the fields, livestock, and the entire family. In return, hosts give them small gifts of food or sweets, symbolizing hospitality and the belief that shared generosity will bring abundance in return.

Kadrisandid visit about two weeks later, around St. Catherine’s Day on November 25. Their clothing is usually light or white, symbolizing purity and the hope for light during the dark season. Their blessings focus especially on livestock, particularly sheep as well as on family health and well-being. Compared to the Mardisandid, their manner is traditionally gentler and calmer, though they too sing, perform, and receive gifts.

In recent years, there has been a growing movement in Estonia to revitalize and celebrate the tradition of “santimine” the practice of masquerading as Mummers and going house to house with songs, riddles, and good wishes. This effort, led by the Hakkame Santima! ( https://hakkamesantima.ee/eng/ ) campaign organized by the Estonian Folk Culture Council, aims to keep these customs alive by offering workshops, newsletters, community events, and an annual count of participants across the country.

🔴 Moreover, in 2025 Estonia officially nominated the Mardi and Kadri masquerade traditions for inclusion on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with a decision expected in late 2026 a recognition that would help showcase and safeguard this unique part of Estonian cultural heritage for future generations.

13/02/2026

Fastelavn has been celebrated since the 1500s as a festive time before Lent. It was originally marked by communal feasts and traditions for adults, but today it is mainly a family celebration. In Norway, Fastelavn is best known for sweet cream-filled buns and decorated birch branches called fastelavnsris 🌿🌸 In Denmark, the day is celebrated on a larger scale, with children dressing up, playing games, and singing songs.

The tradition of fastelavnsris comes from pre-Christian times. Birch branches were once used in rituals meant to bring new life to people, animals, and the land. After Christianity was introduced, the branches became a symbol of repentance and were linked to the story of Jesus’ suffering before Easter.

Today, fastelavnsris is mainly decorative. The branches are decorated with colorful feathers and paper flowers to represent spring, new life, and creativity. Many children make their own fastelavnsris in schools and kindergartens. The sale of decorated birch branches has been an important source of income for the Norwegian Women’s Public Health Association since 1946. Try making your own fastelavnsris and bring a fresh, colorful feeling of spring into your home 🌱✨

Post from Norges Husflidslag 🇳🇴

Photo: Norwegian Women’s Public Health Association (Sanitetskvinnene) making fastelavnsris for sale in 1957, from DigitaltMuseum : Shrøder/ Sverresborg Trøndelag folkemuseum

12/02/2026

👹 Today the Busó Festivities at Mohács, one of Hungary’s most famous carnivals has begun.

👹 The busó [boosho] festivities at Mohács are an end-of-winter custom performed by persons in special masks as a ritual aiming to expel winter. It beings on the Thursday of Carnival week and goes on till Pancake Tuesday. This year the busó festivities wait the visitors between 12-17 February.

👹 The main features are the busó – frightening-looking figures wearing wooden masks and big woolly cloaks. This line of events, now a festival of national renown, includes a parade accompanied by dance and music attracting the entire population of the city, the busó groups, the craftsmen/women who created the masks and other accessories as well as the musicians and dancers.

👹 Organised events are a no lesser part of the process of the busó festivities than the gathering of the busó, such as the burning of a coffin which symbolises winter, the initiation of new busó, folk dance shows, handicraft fairs and exhibitions, as well as spontaneous actions and manifestations such as cross-gender games, ritual elements of fertility magic and scaring rituals.

👹 The busó festivities were inscrideb on the Representative List of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.

ℹ More information and photos: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mohcsibusjrs

10/02/2026

Call for Entries: Håndverksbiennalen 2026 – Process 🛠️

Are you a craftsperson working in Norway? Here’s your chance to showcase your work! Norges Husflidslag invites all makers to submit pieces for Håndverksbiennalen 2026, exploring the theme “Process” from idea to finished work.

Selected works will be displayed at Novoois showroom in Oslo from June 4–28, 2026, and two winners will receive work grants of NOK 30,000 and NOK 10,000. Submit your entries by March 15th!

Norges Husflidslag arrangerer i 2026 Håndverksbiennalen for fjerde gang. Håndverkere inviteres til å sende inn bidrag som vurderes av en fagjury. To vinnere kåres og mottar arbeidsstipend på henholdsvis 30.000 og 10.000 kroner. Utvalgte nominerte arbeider stilles ut i Novoois showroom i Gamleby...

06/02/2026

Artistic blacksmithing is a craft in which fire, metal, and human skill come together to create unique works. One of the most prominent blacksmiths collaborating with ÚĽUV is Jozef Tomčala. He has devoted his entire life to the traditional blacksmithing craft. From an early age, he was drawn to working with materials and creating with his own hands. He studied artistic and craft metalworking and trained as an artistic blacksmith. He also gained valuable experience in the workshop of a German master blacksmith, where emphasis was placed on precision, detail, and traditional techniques. Today, he has his own blacksmith workshop in Lehnice, near Bratislava, and he is dedicated to artistic blacksmithing as well as the restoration of historical objects.

Since 1999, he has been collaborating with ÚĽUV, for whom he creates unique forged products. In his work for ÚĽUV, you can find bowls, plates, trays, cauldrons, and sculptures made of copper and iron. Each piece is handmade and carries within it honest craftsmanship and a sense for form.

If you want to learn more about his art, have a look at: https://uluv.sk/en/producers/tomcala-jozef-2/