The popularity of the British TV series The Repair Shop - where damaged personal items are repaired by talented craftspeople - is a reminder that some skills must never be allowed to die out. Christchurch is about to celebrate its Heritage Festival with events including workshops for printmaking, blacksmithing and colonial baking at the Okains Bay Maori and Colonial Museum on Banks Peninsula. The Craftmasters' Festival of Heritage Crafts hopes to encourage people to give it a go, and along the way to appreciate just what goes into the handmade at a time when most things are mass produced. Lynn Freeman spoke to blacksmith Les Schenkel - who you'll usually find at the Blacksmith Shop at Governors Bay. Les is concerned that his craft is dying in Aotearoa, with few if any apprenticeships offered.