l e f t
news J
A
N
U
A
R
Y
F
E
R
U
A
R
e r Y
9
9
6
New Chief Executive Appointed Carmel Buttimer M.Sc has been appointed Chief Executive of the Crafts Council of Ireland. Prior to this appointment, she held the post of Executive Director of ASH (Action on Smoking & Health) Ireland. With a background in Economics and Research, Ms. Buttimer holds an honours Master Degree in Policy and Planning, with postgraduate qualifications in organisation development and management. During her career, she has held middle and senior management responsibilities in both the public and private sectors. She has also worked abroad and speaks fluent french. Originally from Co. Cork, and now living in Dublin, Ms. Buttimer is married and has two children.
Crafts Council Survey of Registered Craftspeople The Crafts Council would like to thank the 460 people who took the time to complete the Survey sent out in May. We are sure that the very high response rate, far higher than average according to the consultants who assisted the Council, had nothing to do with the weekend on offer at Ballymaloe in Cork! This was won by John Egan, a thatcher from Ballymorris, Co. Clare, who told us "we nearly didn't get there - windscreen wipers gave up and we had to use a large rubber band instead; fabulous food, lovely friendly atmosphere, great time"! The survey will undoubtedly help the Council to respond to what the registered professional craftworkers feel are their main areas of concern.
Carmel Buttimer, Chief Executive and Cyril Forbes, Chairman, Crafts Council of Ireland The most frequent observation made by our respondents was that they would like to see the Council more actively involved in the regions. Our recent pilot scheme with craftspeople in West Cork (see Craft Business Programme, Pg. 2) shows how quickly the Council reacted to your views. The very positive response of other Enterprise Boards from around the country indicates that the regional presence of the Council will be increasingly felt in 1996. It may be of interest to Newsletter readers to see some of the statistics that the survey also revealed: • 26% of respondents have a turnover in excess of £30,000 p.a. • 29% had a turnover of between £10,000 & £30,000 • 42% had a turnover of less than £10,000 p.a. • 38% employ additional workers other than themselves
• • • • •
•
58% identified their craft business as their sole source of income 48% were college trained 69% were over 35 37% identified Showcase as the Council's most important activity 51 % expect that business wi|l be a lot better in the next 2-5 years, with 25% expecting some improvement at 1 9%, domestic potters were the largest group of respondents
The Crafts Council would like to thank the College of Marketing and Design for their assistance in administering the survey, and a particular thanks to Catherine Gammell who managed and analysed the returns.