Crafting professionals: entrepreneurial strategies for making a living through passionate work

Crafting professionals: Skills and resources for graduates entering the craft economy

“…It is argued that such a position is reductive and perpetuates both a misconception of those who pursue creative practice as a profession and an elitist entry system to the creative careers (Banks, 2017; Brook et al, 2020) whereby the capacity to preserve ‘artistic integrity’ and become the ideal entrepreneurial subject (Scharff, 2016) is reliant on an individual’s pre-existing economic and social capital (Lindström, 2015). Instead, in crafting careers, it is argued that we need to take a hybrid perspective that acknowledges the demands of both the creative pursuit and economic sustainability (England, 2022b), and to actively tackle persistent inequalities in the craft sector.…”

“…(Plymouth College of Art Graduate 2) This is perhaps the most prominent area in which inequalities may emerge or be exacerbated in the early stages of developing a craft career once graduates lose access to university facilities and materials at heavily subsidised costs (and student loans). A lack of access to family finance (the bank of mum and dad, inheritance or spousal support) makes graduates reliant on generating income from alternative, often unrelated employment to support their creative practice (England, 2022b). This in turn reduces the time and funds available to develop artwork/products, pursue opportunities and their business, as noted by a glass artist who worked full-time as a school teaching assistant: 'I find it difficult to kind of establish a practice, you know, the lack of time and money' (Sunderland Graduate 3).…”

Crafting professionals: Logics of professional development in craft higher education

“…The emphasis in this paper is on educator perspectives, although amplified by the student voice. Student and graduate experiences have been explored further in other publications (see England, 2022aEngland, , 2022b. Interviews used open questions and facilitated a targeted focus on the topic of the research and provided in-depth personal perspectives on craft education and professional development, including teaching practices and logic componentspractices, values, beliefs, assumptions and rules (Thornton et al, 2012).…”

Access and diversity in South African craft and design: The work of craft intermediaries in Cape Town

“…but we're also teaching them to work, in the working world (Intermediary 3) For many, the priority is access to education. However, thinking critically about the sustainability of craft careers (England, 2022) has become an essential issue across many countries and also needs to be acknowledged in the context of SA. In fact, programmes that aim to integrate craft skills with business skills might be a more successful strategy, as discussed by Intermediary 1.…”

“…First, while products have the potential to have high-end value (due to the unique skill and tradition they embody), they also tend to be located very far from their potential market – in remote rural communities nationally and also globally. Second, as is recognised in the wider craft literature, there is a perceived and actual lack of business/entrepreneurial skills among makers (England, 2022; Naudin and Patel, 2020). This is potentially heightened in emerging economies where training and higher education (HE) is less accessible to low-income sections of society.…”