Tuesday 30th December 2014

I spent some time again today going through my industry report, as timetabled, in order to try to get as much of it done as I can this week. Today saw me reach the end of going through what I have already written, changes displayed below. This is good, and I feel much happier with what I have now written, but now comes the hard graft. Now I have to carry on writing from scratch, so probably need to complete a little more research. Up until now it has been pretty much plain sailing and has not been too difficult, now it will take a little more time to get a smaller amount done, so this is when progress becomes slower :( So far I have completed......1,070 words out of 4,000. Only 2,390 words left!! :D

Craft is a major sector of the textile industry, particularly in the UK. A report by the ‘Crafts Council’ in October 2014 revealed that craft skills generate £3.4 billion for the UK’s economy (Crafts council. 2014), a rise in contribution compared to £3 billion in 2008 (Department for Culture, Media & Sport and The Rt Hon Maria Miller MP. 2014). However, in relation to the £71.4 billion the creative industries contribute to the UK economy each year, craft only generates a small proportion. (Yair, K. (2010).

Although it is a relatively small part of the wider textile industry, statistics show an increased demand for luxury, handmade goods. Rosy Greenless, executive director of the Crafts Council, has said that recent statistics evidence the importance of craft skills the UK’s economy. Craft contributes to the creative industry across all sectors, to boost creative production as a whole. For most of which areas, the UK leads the world. (Crafts council. 2014). This idea is further backed up by the following statistics from the Crafts Council which suggests that craft is not a standalone industry. Craft skill is contributing;

• £745 million to the economy through the craft sector.
• £243 million to the economy through creative industries such as fashion, film and architecture.
• £2.4 billion to the wider economy in industries such as bio-medicine, science and engineering.

(Crafts council. 2014)

With statistics displaying a rise in the craft contribution to the UK economy, is it possible that has diversified and become more spread across the creative sector? It is clear, from the statistics, that there is still a craft industry,  that it is an evident sector. The craft sector has diversified, so is less visible. Are ‘craft’ and ‘handmade’, phrases which can remain relevant in such a consumer focused industry?

An overview of the wider textile industry and the possible impacts on the relevance of craft in the UK.

It could be argued that the craft industry is such as small part of the global textile industry, that it is no longer relevant in today’s consumer conscious culture.

The creative industry in the UK is a major part of the country’s economy and its contribution to the global export market. In 2010, the creative industry brought £71.4 billion to the UK economy and in 2011; the value of services exported by the Creative Industries was £15.5 billion. This was eight per cent of total UK service exports. (Department for Culture, Media & Sport. 2014). In fact, in 2012 the creative industry was responsible for one in twelve jobs in the UK. (Department for Culture, Media & Sport. 2014).

It is fair to speculate that design in the UK is a growing sector as more and more large UK based companies are becoming recognised globally. Growing global brands such as Orla Kiely and Cath Kidston boast 166 stores globally and international sales of £46 million (Jamieson. (2014), the UK is definitely a distinct player in the global creative industry. UK based design is desired worldwide and is known for notions of quality and style.