HANDMADE FUTURE: The London Textile Month Premiere
HANDMADE FUTURE official trailer.
HANDMADE FUTURE premieres in London on Saturday 12 September, from 2.30 to 5.30 p.m., at the London Screen Academy in Islington. We're delighted to bring you exclusive insight ahead of the screening, having sat down with filmmaker and founder of Artist & Nomad, Kirsten Dickerson herself. The event falls within this year's London Textile Month and includes a Q&A with Dickerson and Cotswolds designer Celia Birchall, hosted by Stephanie Ferrario of WECAN Media. Expect a lively conversation covering the artisan communities featured in the film, from Morocco's rug weavers to Kentucky's broom makers, and the questions of trade and tradition running through their work.
After the panel, don't miss the pop-up shop, opening with pieces made by the artisans themselves. It's a rare chance to see the film's subjects up close, and to take a piece of that world home.
Kirsten Dickerson
Founder, Artist & Nomad. Director of HANDMADE FUTURE
Kristen Dickerson on location with artisans featured in HANDMADE FUTURE.
Kirsten, the film takes us from Morocco's rug weavers to Kentucky's broom makers. Was there a moment or a community during filming that surprised you or stayed with you?
This is a hard question to answer because I loved being with each artisan community featured in the film, and each story deeply impacted me. Although I have been in the homes of many artisans over the past few decades as a designer and host for my craft tours, this was my first time spending such an extended period simply observing and documenting their everyday life as it intertwined with their craft process.
When we were in Oaxaca, Mexico at Arturo's home—a master weaver and natural dyer—I was deeply touched by the generational story of craft that we witnessed in that family. Although the traditional backstrap weaving patterns are almost entirely forgotten in their village, their family will be one of the last to pass along their Zapotec artisan traditions to the next generation. At an unexpected moment while filming Arturo, his grandson came alongside him, set up the backstrap loom and started weaving the same sacred cloth as his grandfather. He was only 12, and he was already becoming a master weaver. When we asked him how he felt about being one of the few in his community who was continuing the craft, he responded with great enthusiasm that he was very proud to be a weaver and was looking forward to teaching his children and brothers and nephews. All of us who witnessed his response were brought to tears. It gave us hope and motivated me to really focus on raising funds for apprenticeships where traditional craft has not been passed down in families.
Arturo's Grandson, weaving proudly at a backstrap loom.
You've worked in ethical fashion, nonprofit leadership, and now film. What made this the right moment to tell these stories through a documentary?
My work in both the ethical fashion and nonprofit worlds has always revolved around empowering women and slow design. For two decades, I have spent time in the workshops of many master artisans around the world—the quiet keepers of a handcrafted history. HANDMADE FUTURE was born while leading a craft tour in Morocco when I realized that a day spent with an artisan family offers a profound connection to the beauty of a culture that words alone cannot capture. I felt an urgent need to translate that lived inspiration into a cinematic experience so that many others could glimpse that inspiring world as well.
I saw that these traditions are at a breaking point. As social media and mass production accelerate our addiction to trends, centuries-old skills are dying with today's elders. HANDMADE FUTURE explores the human cost of that loss: the millions of livelihoods at risk and the erasure of cultural diversity in an increasingly uniform world.
I wanted the camera to honor the rhythm of the work and experience of being in an artisan workshop. We used local music and aerial cinematography to capture the uniqueness of each community, as well as intimate close-ups to highlight the tactile beauty and organic textures of artisan crafts. I wanted the film’s tone to be reflective and personal, aiming to immerse the audience in the quiet dignity of traditional crafts.
Ultimately, this film asks a simple question: can we reclaim a handmade future? I want viewers to recognize themselves in this cycle—as both part of the problem and the potential solution. I hope they leave the theater not just informed, but inspired to reconsider the value of the things they hold in their hands.
An artisan shares her work and block printing skills for the documentary.
Can you tell us more about how the Artisan Fund grants work, and what kind of difference they're already starting to make for the communities featured in the film?
Our ARTISAN FUND is the nonprofit arm of Artist & Nomad, offering small grants that work as a catalyst to launch an artisan leader’s dream and vision to grow their business to a level of sustainable impact for their community. The fund also helps cover the cost to support underserved and under-resourced artisan leaders through consulting in design, marketing, visual storytelling, and business mentorship. We believe partnerships should be led by the artisans, so we come alongside artisan leaders to support their dreams and visions to grow their business, preserve traditional crafts, and prosper through direct trade opportunities.
In 2026 we are focusing on supporting the artisans featured in our documentary film, HANDMADE FUTURE. As we share the nonprofit film through global screening events and pop-up artisan markets, we are raising funds to directly support the artisans featured in the film with small grants to help them achieve their dreams of creating sustainable income for their families and communities. We will host one of these pop-up artisan markets with our London Textile Month screening on September 12th.
We are actively inviting people who have seen the film to donate to the fund. We will determine how to use the funds at the end of the year based on the amount raised and the specific needs within each artisan community. Some communities where we have screened are coming together to raise funds specifically for one of the artisan communities in the film. My tours also contribute to this effort. I am excited to see what is possible as more people watch this film and contribute to this fund.
Winding hanks of hand-dyed yarns: an artisan at work in HANDMADE FUTURE, the documentary.
Filming across the UK and USA, did you notice things the artisans had in common, wherever in the world they were?
Everywhere we filmed I witnessed how the artisans truly loved making their craft. Even those who faced exploitation or were the last in their family to continue their craft still loved the process of making with their hands. When asked to share their story and the story of their craft, the artisans lit up and spoke with great pride and enthusiasm. It was a contagious type of joy they seemed to carry as makers.
I also started the filming process by following 9 specific artisans. What we found was that all of the crafts were communal, so I had to document the community of people supporting a specific artisan and his or her craft. In the US we featured one of the last craft houses and saw the impact that could have on their small town. In Kenya, we witnessed the impact on the women in rural areas who form weaving cooperatives. In India, we witnessed one of the last block-printing communities where members each carry a different role in the making of that craft. In the UK the slow fashion designer is connected to the fiber farm, button turners, and weavers in her region to produce her designs. Everyone is connected to others to carry on their craft, whether folk or contemporary.
The film's common theme is that we are all connected through craft—the makers, their communities, and the buyers. The dream of a handmade future helps us honor those connections and provide a path towards a more beautiful, meaningful, and equitable world.
You've spoken about generosity as a form of quiet activism. What does that look like in practice at Artist & Nomad?
As a company, Artist & Nomad is an impact business focused on regenerative practices that promote artisan advocacy, climate justice, and intentional living. Regenerative approaches are holistic, designed to restore and revitalize ecosystems and resources rather than depleting or just sustaining them. We focus on leaving a destination measurably better than before by supporting local economies and empowering host communities. We want to be mindful and responsible at the core of all we do to make a positive impact in this world. We hope our presence as a company helps to foster beauty, love, and equal opportunity. Our actions matter. Our choices matter. This is what quiet activism means. It is about promoting what we are "for" that speaks loudly about what we may be "against."
This sentiment also reflects how my partner and I choose to live our lives. We believe our everyday choices do matter. Living simply, living with intention, and living thoughtfully all contribute to making a positive impact on the world. We hold all our belongings loosely and are willing to share with others.
One of my mottos is, "Noticing leads to wonder, and wonder leads to gratitude." Noticing the beauty that surrounds you...in craft, in people, in creation. When you pay attention and slow down, you have the bandwidth to care and respond to things that hold value in your life. We start each of my tours with an exercise in noticing. I invite people to wonder. This process opens our hearts to new experiences and new possibilities.
Official poster for HANDMADE FUTURE. Design: Erik Buckham
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Further Information:
Book tickets for the London Premiere of HANDMADE FUTURE as part of Selvedge London Textile Month.
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Image Credits:
Lead: Hands of an artisan, as documented by Kirsten Dickerson.
All further images courtesy of Kirsten Dickerson, and as credited in captions.