James Fox - Craftland
WithJames Fox
In conversation withNiamh MacKenzie
On:3rd September 2026, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Attendance options:
We're thrilled to be hosting the publication day event for Craftland in paperback! James Fox's journey through the British Isles to catalogue and celebrate artisan and heritage crafts has been a huge sensation since it's release last year, and we're excited to celebrate it with James in the shop.
James will be in conversation with Niamh MacKenzie, a PhD candidate working across the Highlands and Islands researching the arts, craftsmanship, and traditional practices. This promises to be a fascinating and insightful discussion, we can't wait to see it!
James will be signing books after the talk, and there will be plenty of time for audience questions during the event. We hope to see you there!
About Craftland:
Britain has always been a craft land. For generations what we made with our hands defined our identities, built our communities and shaped our regions. Craftland chronicles the vanishing skills and traditions that once governed every aspect of life on these shores.
Travelling the length of Britain, from the Scilly Isles to the Scottish Highlands, James Fox seeks out the country’s last remaining master craftspeople. Stepping inside the workshops of blacksmiths and wheelwrights, cutlers and coopers, bell-founders and watchmakers, we glimpse not only our past but another way of life — one that is not yet lost and whose wisdom could shape our future.
For as long as there are humans, there will be craft. It is all around us, hiding in plain sight, enriching even the most modest things. And in this increasingly digital age, it is perhaps more valuable than ever. Craftland is a celebration of that deeply necessary connection between our creative instincts and the material world we inhabit, revealing a richer and more connected way of living.
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
James Fox Author
James Fox is an art historian and Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Educated at Cambridge and Harvard, he received his Ph.D. in History of Art from the University of Cambridge in 2009 with a dissertation entitled 'Business unusual: art in Britain during the First World War, 1914–1918'. His research has been supported by grants and fellowships from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Art Center at Yale University, and Churchill College, Cambridge. Fox has published widely on the cultural history of the First World War and modern British art, and has presented papers on the subjects in Europe, the United States and Canada. Fox appears frequently in the media: he has written for The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent, and is a BAFTA- and Royal Television Society-nominated documentary filmmaker for the BBC. In 2014 he was selected as one of Apollo magazine's forty most influential young people in the art world.
Niamh MacKenzie Chair
Niamh MacKenzie is a PhD candidate with the University of the Highlands and Islands. Her research focuses on drystane dyking (dry stone walling) as a traditional craft and an evolving example of intangible cultural heritage. Her fieldwork has taken her to communities across the country to meet and work alongside craftspeople. Prior to this, Niamh was a bookseller, with a particular passion for modern Scottish fiction and nature writing.
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.