The National Trust for Scotland and the Robert Gordon University are joining forces to celebrate Traditional Craft Skills at a conference to be held in Aberdeenshire on 13th and 14th June 2005. This event will build on several successful NTS conferences on Scotland's heritage.

As has been made evident by the level of concern being expressed nationally, and recent television shows, we are reaching a crisis in the number of conservation and restoration jobs that must be done and the dearth of traditional skills available to carry them out. The NTS is working towards the idea of establishing a Centre for Traditional Craft Skills at Fyvie Castle where training will be given and workshops can be held to encourage a resurgence in the required skills and trades. This conference is being held to complement that initiative.

We wish to find out about successful restoration projects that can be publicised, explained and discussed at the conference. There will be a variety of modes of presentation available, from poster presentations to workshop sessions and key-note addresses. The conference will also result in a publication that can include all contributions, whether or not they are presented. We hope that this book will be a definitive resume of the state of play in restoration and traditional craft skills throughout the world.