Creative Dimension Trust

empowers young people by teaching fine hand skills

Overview of the Charity and Its Work

The Creative Dimension Trust (TCDT) provides fully funded, high‑quality workshops that teach fine hand skills—such as embroidery, tailoring, gilding, model‑making and other specialist crafts—to talented young people aged 14–19. Its programmes focus on precision, manual dexterity and 3D thinking, offering career‑shaping experiences rather than traditional art classes.

TCDT works with expert craft practitioners and major cultural institutions, giving students rare access to real professional environments and hands‑on projects. The charity has reached hundreds of schools and delivered over 500 workshop places each year, with 80% of participants coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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Impact on Young People

TCDT builds confidence, ambition and technical skill. Students gain practical experience in traditional crafts, develop transferable skills such as patience and problem‑solving, and learn about career routes in the creative and heritage sectors.

Parents and participants frequently highlight the transformative impact of the workshops, which offer opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach. TCDT also provides unique work‑experience placements for young people aged 16–20.

The Role of The Drapers’ Company

The Drapers’ Company supports TCDT through a grant of £20,000 per year for three years to help develop and sustain traditional skills.

This funding enables:

The continuation and expansion of Embroidery and Tailoring workshops.
The creation of new Schools’ Programme workshops across London, giving more young people hands‑on access to specialist craft training.