MARCH/APRIL 1979
NEWSLETTER
LTD. Thomas Prior House, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Telephone 01 680764
Crafts Council Growing Readers will be aware of the advertisements for a Crafts Officer for Crafts Council. Extra funds were made available this year for the employment of such a person and at the time of writing this is being implemented. As will be obvious from the job description, the extra staff is needed to help the Council to carry out its craft advisory programme and the programmes aimed at increasing public awareness. Both programmes are out of Management Committee deliberations and from the input from the Wexford Conference. What was particularly evident in the recommendations made at the Conference was the obvious desire for business advice among many craftsmen; for help in question of tax and VAT; on matters such as cash flow and even general business management. Another area of concern was that of communications— not only closer communication between the Council and the Associations and other members, but closer communication between the members themselves and, indeed, a series of co-operative activities linked with the Council's aims would seem to fit into this pattern. These activities can relate to the necessity to create a greater public awareness of good craftsmanship and add the factor of education and training necessary to ensure a continuing growth of better design and crafted products.
There is also the requirement of more qualified craftsmen, either individuals working from their own studios or others working for them, because the growth in demand, if it outstrips the
Teapot and bowls — Elizabeth Kelly capacity to produce, can only lead to a dropping of standards or a filling of the vacuum from outside the country. The potential for development is such that it cannot adequately be met by the existing staff of two, especially since it will involve much more work at field level, and demands in terms of planning, meetings, and the growing day to day activities reduce the time which can be spent away from base. A new Crafts Officer can enable the fulfilment of many plans to the continued advantage of the crafts sector as a whole and indeed to individual craftsmen.
AGM-April 25th An innovation to this year's AGM will be the invitation to representatives of the various organisations which are members of the Crafts Council to give a short (two minute) review of their specific craft activities during 1978. It is hoped that this will be valuable as a means of communication to each association what their colleagues have achieved in other areas.