ONE of Victoria’s premier showcases of craftsmanship will have a double Portland influence this year.

The Lost Trades Fair is expected to attract about 20,000 people when it is held at the Bendigo racecourse on Saturday and Sunday, and among the attractions will be a demonstration of steam bending timber.

That will be done by Portland furniture maker Chris Williamson, who has been invited to the fair before but has always declined as it clashed with the Port Fairy Folk Festival.

However this year the Bendigo event – which attracts people from all around Australia skilled in many ‘lost’ crafts – has been pushed back a week, allowing Mr Williamson to take up the invitation.

And it’s a skill he is demonstrating thanks to a friend and ex-Portlander in Martin Carswell, a renowned leather craftsman based in Melbourne these days.

“He bought a leather clamp out of the (US) and had a bit of a whinge about the cost ,” Mr Williamson said.

So he took up the challenge of making one and after tinkering with the first attempt, got it right.

Mr Carswell and Mr Williamson are active on the Instagram social media service and when the former posted a picture of the clamp, Mr Williamson got inquiries from around the world wanting him to make them one as well.

Postage costs made it uneconomic to turn it into an international trade, but he has made

about 30 so far.

 “It snowballed from there,” Mr Williamson said.

“It’s a funny little sideline, I didn’t know there were so many leather workers around.”

Mr Williamson uses American oak or white ash – it needs to be a straightgrained timber without any flaws.

The process starts with the steam bending in a box – the machine used to produce the steam is a wallpaper steamer.

“The steam penetrates and softens the fibres in the timber and it bends,” he said.

“It’s then put into a press and we leave it for a week to cure and it comes out ready to go.”

Mr Williamson is keen to show the steam bending process at the Lost Trades Fair as a point of difference from the work he is best known for.

“Part of the fair is that it’s not a market, you’ve got to display something,” he said.

“There are other furniture makers I know who are going but I didn’t really want to jump in there.

“Martin’s going to come on the Saturday and do some stitching demonstrations as well.”

Lost Trades Fair founder Lisa Rundell said she was delighted Mr Williamson would be making the trip to demonstrate his skills at the event.

“The Lost Trades Fair was founded on the principle that people are fascinated when talented craftspeople openly demonstrate and share their incredible skills and knowledge,” she said.