A Maker’s Guide to Applications

To support makers with completing applications for Craft Scotland’s awards, open-calls and programmes, we have put together a short guide with recommendations and links to further resources. 

You can also access a range of craft-specific resources and lessons on COMPASS: Online, our free-to-access digital learning platform.  
 

Writing your Maker Statement 

Sometimes we ask you to provide a maker statement telling us about your creative practice.  

We realise not everyone finds this easy, so if you would like guidance on how to approach your maker statement we have a dedicated lesson on COMPASS: Online.  
 

Providing a Budget  

Some of our opportunities ask for a budget to be included in your application, showing a financial breakdown of how you will spend the award.  

Whilst we don’t request a detailed project breakdown, we ask that you give us a clear description of the project’s purpose, budget and expenditure.  

If the project will cost more than the award allows, please let us know how you will cover the extra expenditure.  
 

Funding and Awards. What can you apply for?  

Each Craft Scotland opportunity has varying criteria. This may be due to the way the opportunity is funded, or the type of work or group of individuals the opportunity is designed to support.  

Please read the criteria for the opportunity you are applying for and make sure your application addresses these. 

Typically you can apply for the following things:   

Core Costs: these are the elements of your application that should be given most weight - 

Images should be jpeg format at 300dpi; one side should ideally measure a minimum of 1100px. 

Please pay close attention to the naming conventions for all files you upload. Please name all photographs in the following format: 

YourName_WorkDescription_photographycredit.jpg 

Please credit the photographer used within your image (if this is you, please write ‘by maker’) 

Ensure you have the appropriate permissions to use this image from the photographer and that Craft Scotland is covered to use them for promotional purposes.  
 

Online Forms: Dos and Don’ts  

Fields with a star * are mandatory. 

To prevent any accidental losses, we recommend you write your answers separately and copy and paste them into the answer fields. 

When we have allocated a word count, please try to make the most of this and provide full answers to the questions. This is your opportunity to explain why you should be selected. 

CVs must be uploaded as Word documents or pdfs. 

The combined JPEG and PDF files in your submission (your CV and images) must not exceed 100Mb. If your submission does exceed 100Mb you will not receive a confirmation email, and we will not receive your entry. Video and image files may be up to 25Mb each. 

Once you hit the submit button, the files will be uploaded. This might take some time (depending on your internet connection and size of files). Do not navigate away or shut the page down. After submission check that you received an email with a copy of your full application. 
 

Support with Applications  

We can also offer additional support with your application, such as scribing. If you require support, please contact the team in plenty of time before the deadline so they can support you.   


Get in Touch 

If you need support with your applications or have further questions, please get in touch with the Craft Scotland team at programmes@craftscotland.org. 

This inbox is monitored during our core office hours between 9am–5pm, Monday to Thursday as we are a small team.  

You can also call our office on 0131 357 3283, however please note that our team works remotely for part of the week, and we cannot guarantee we are available to answer phone enquiries. Please email if you have an urgent query.  

Additionally, the Craft Scotland office will close for the festive break at 5pm on Fri 20 Dec and reopen on Mon 13 Jan 2025.