What is the Crafts Council and what does it do?

The Crafts Council is the UK's national charity for craft. Its stated belief is that craft skills and knowledge enrich and uplift people as individuals and can change the world for the better. In practice, it acts as a national hub for the craft sector: it runs events and exhibitions, maintains a directory of makers and craft businesses, publishes resources and career guidance, and carries out research and policy work. It serves makers, craft businesses, learners and the general public.

What the Crafts Council actually offers

Events and exhibitions

The organisation programmes talks, tours, markets and sales, many of them at its gallery at 44a Pentonville Road, London N1 9BY. Examples listed on its site include:

• An online talk, "Green Shoes, in conversation with Alison Hastie", delivered via Zoom webinar (22 October 2026).
• "What's In Store", guided tours of the Crafts Council Collections Store (November and December 2026).
• A Yodomo Textile Reuse Sale at the gallery (13 November 2026).
• The Crafts Council Makers Market at the gallery (21–22 November 2026).

These are concrete, dated activities rather than abstract programmes, so the events calendar is the most direct way to see what the organisation does in a given season.

The Crafts Council Directory

The Directory is a searchable listing of more than 900 UK makers and craft businesses. Named entries visible on the site include Whyman Furniture, Silvia K, Ruby Creagh, Minju So, Pia Wüstenberg for Utopia & Utility and Hello Ditto. For buyers, curators or collaborators, this is the organisation's most practical public tool: it turns "supporting craft" into a browsable list of working makers.

Maker support and resources

The site groups its guidance into four areas:

Alongside these, it publishes sector insight and advocacy material, a research library, and content on craft research and craft policy.

Membership

The Crafts Council offers a membership aimed at getting "closer to the people, ideas and experiences shaping craft". The site presents it as a joinable programme but does not state a price on the pages reviewed, so anyone considering it should check the membership page for current terms rather than assume it is free.

Venue hire

The gallery is also marketed as an event space — "gather, create, celebrate" — available for hire, including for festive get-togethers. This is a separate revenue and public-facing activity from the exhibition programme.

Stories and editorial

The organisation publishes craft stories and interviews, such as a feature on Lorna Hamilton-Brown's WE MEK in What Remains, a studio visit with ceramicist Magdalene Odundo, and pieces on repair cafes and material reuse. This editorial output is part of how it promotes craft to a wider public.

Who it is for

• Makers and craft businesses — directory listing, business guidance, career resources.
• Learners and career-changers — learning and craft careers material.
• Researchers and policymakers — research library, policy and advocacy work.
• The public — exhibitions, talks, markets and stories at the London gallery and online.

How to use it

If you want to see what's on, start with the events calendar and filter by online versus London-based activity. If you want to find or commission a maker, search the Directory. If you are building a practice or a business, the maker support and craft business sections are the relevant entry points. If you want to support the organisation financially, membership and donations are the two routes it presents.

One caveat: the Crafts Council is a charity and advocacy body, not a regulator or accreditation authority. A Directory listing indicates a maker or business is listed by the organisation; it is not a quality certification, so evaluate individual makers on their own work.