Join Craft Scotland this November for Craft Week Scotland, a celebration of Scottish contemporary craft.
Running from Monday 9 – Sunday 15 November 2020, Craft Week Scotland has been developed by Craft Scotland as a nationwide initiative to raise awareness of the vibrant craft sector and boost sales for both makers and craft destinations.
>>> Learn more about signing up on our Opportunity section of our website.
During the vital Christmas selling period, the Craft Week Scotland campaign is to encourage people to visit, engage with and buy from makers and craft destinations, including galleries, venues, independent shops and small businesses. We want to encourage Scotland to shop handmade and local, and we are keen to promote even more makers and venues across Scotland and showcase the breadth of contemporary craft that is happening today.
Makers, craft destinations and craft organisations can get involved by listing events (physical/digital) and sharing stories, works in progress, inspiration, images/videos and interviews online during the week using the hashtag #craftweekscotland. Following on from our Craft Directory free offer for maker profiles we are delighted to create a similar offer for Craft Destinations in Scotland during October.
As the national development agency for craft, one of Craft Scotland's key aims is to promote high quality contemporary craft practice locally, nationally and internationally. Feedback from our recent COVID-19 Impact Surveys demonstrated the serious economic impact of the pandemic on Scotland’s craft sector and participants highlighted that both makers and craft destinations need increased support in reaching audiences.
Part of our Revised programme for 2020/21, Craft Week Scotland will utilise our team’s expertise in communications and digital to support a larger number of makers and craft destinations. We will additionally be investing in a national press and advertising campaign to raise the profile of Scotland’s talented makers and vibrant craft destinations across the country. You can see a selection of the press Craft Scotland have garned over the years in our Press section and in the Media Gallery of specific projects.
Alongside the campaign, Craft Scotland will be sharing stories from the sector on our popular website and social media, particularly delving into the craft processes and techniques behind Scotland's statement handmade objects.
We will also host a series of panel talks under our new Craft & Cultural Conversations banner exploring the impact of current social themes on craft including the climate crisis and craft and the community.
Get ready for Craft Week Scotland with our new webinar series
Our latest COMPASS: Market for Craft webinar series has been created to equip makers and craft destinations (galleries, shops and venues etc.) with the knowledge and skills to boost selling opportunities as the vital Christmas selling season approaches.
Topics include the Market for Craft report launch, Fundamentals of Online Selling (sold out), how to run a socially distanced craft event/workshop, selling from both a retailer and a maker's perspective.
All sessions are free to attend, we will launch the last three webinars soon. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear.
Get in touch
If you would like to discuss your plans for Craft Week Scotland, please get in touch with the Craft Scotland team at hello@craftscotland.org.
How can I get involved with Craft Week Scotland?
1. Decide on your craft activity for Craft Week Scotland and list it on our What’s On section
- If you have a physical craft venue or pop-up space that people can attend socially distanced you could list your exhibitions, late-night shopping, demos, workshops, events and talks etc.
- Makers and production facilities, you might consider hosting a workshop, event, demo, talk, open studio if you can safely open up your workshop space
- Ideas for online craft activity could be teaming up with your studio mates for an Instagram or Facebook live, hosting a Zoom talk on a craft topic or promoting your online markets
To be included in Craft Week Scotland campaign, your activity should meet our What’s On criteria and take place between Monday 9 – Sunday 15 November 2020. When you are ready you can submit your free listing to our What’s On page.
Of course, if you have an event/exhibition happening outwith the campaign you can still list your Christmas activity on What's On.
2. Craft destinations join our Craft Directory
Following on from our popular Craft Directory offer for makers, we are delighted to create a similar offer for Craft Destinations in Scotland. Launches Thursday 6 October and apply before Friday 30 October 2020 to receive a free profile until Wednesday 31 March 2021. Criteria applies for the Craft Directory.
3. I can’t host anything this year, can I still get involved?
Absolutely! Why not write or re-share a blog post about your practice or projects, or you could post a series of images, inspiration or works in progress on social media using the hashtag #craftweekscotland to join in with the campaign. You can also download the marketing pack when it's ready.
4. Participants Craft Week Scotland Marketing Pack
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We will have a Marketing Pack available to download with branding and social media assets
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We will have a limited number of Craft Week Scotland vinyl sticker to display on your venue's window/doors and flyers
5. Follow @craftscotland on Twitter and Instagram
Every day during Monday 9 – Sunday 15 November 2020 we will share, retweet & spread the word about Craft Week Scotland campaign. Tag us and use the hashtag #craftweekscotland to join the conversation
Image: Karolina Baines, Hannah Grace Ryan, Natalie J Wood, Scarlett Cohen French / Photography by Susan Castillo
