ABOUT raretrades METAL trades PAPER trades TIMBER trades Guilds and Association TEXTILE trades EARTH trades Friends of Rtrades

ABOUT RARE TRADES

What are Rare Trades
The notion of a rare trade is that the hand skills we use were the same a hundred and more years ago. Many of those objects are still used for their primary purpose, so the materials and techniques are proven over time. 

Our skills were originally learned as a trade, rather than a home craft or artistic pursuit, so the things we make are meant to be functional before they are beautiful. In fact, they are beautiful because they have been made with such care and detail to a custom need, and to be used for a lifetime.

The things we craft may well outlive you, and are designed to be repaired and inherited, rather than discarded or replaced. So, whilst a rare trade can be seen merely as a novel link to our heritage, it is most properly appreciated as the practice of techniques which have no equal today, and the result of well-tuned and tested experience passed on through the ages. 

Search out the rare trades in your town and you’ll find useful things that are honest and tactile, and made to be loved and inherited.

What is the Rare Trades directory? 

The directory is not a business, nor a club - it spends no money nor receives any, on principle. It is an online, small-footprint way to find Rtradies in your area, and to appreciate the precision and beauty of these lasting skills.

If you are a raretradie who would like to list, 
please don't hesitate to contact us.
It is a free service and designed to bring Rtradies, 
their customers and their communities together.