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About Us

How it Started

The Craft Festival was founded in 2004 and is a non-profit making organisation and we celebrate our 19th Year in 2023. The event has grown from 4,000 to over 10,000 visitors since it started and has become one of the most prestigious and much loved craft events in the Europe. 

The Craft Festival came about when a group of Bovey Tracey craft businesses joined forces and formed a non-profit making company with the aim to bring a large craft fair to Bovey Tracey. The aim of the Fair was to showcase the very best in British craft and the create a new, sustainable and strong market place for contemporary craft but also to bring greater prosperity to the town of Bovey Tracey. The town has a long history of making and at one point up to 15 commercial potteries were running in the area. The House of Marbles, one of the founding companies is located at the former site of the Bovey Pottery which closed its doors in the mid 80's. The other founding partner was The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, a registered educational charity based in Bovey Tracey.

We were originally funded with LEADER+ fudning via the European Union. We have accessed various funds over the years but we now are mainly self sustaining with additional support provided by working in partnership with a variety of organisations and via sponsorship. 

Award Winning Festival

In 2015, 2016 and 2018 we were awarded Gold medal for Visit Devon's Festival of the Year and our first GOLD for South West Excellence Awards in 2018. We were also delighted to win overall Winner of Winners for the South West 2018. We have won Silver & Bronze at the South West Tourism Event of the Year in the past so we are delighted that the Festival has been recognised in this way. 

Working Internationally

During Lockdown we launched 3 initiatives: Our podcast, The Capital of Craft, Digital Craft Festival and Find a Maker. Our 3 Digital Craft Festivals featured over 400 makers from across the world selling their work, demonstrating their craft and talking about their work. 30,000 visitors took part in out online Festivals. 

Our latest initiative is Find a Maker. Having spent 19 years creating some of the most beautiful craft festivals in Europe, we have gathered a loyal and knowledgeable audience of followers that love and appreciate skillfully, handmade objects. Through Find a Maker, we connect our audience with a curated collection of the finest makers, regardless of where they are based. In addition, behind the scenes, there is a real community. This includes the Business School with live workshops, regular email updates, monthly Family Gatherings and a Members Only Facebook Group.⁠ We currently have over 370 Fmaily Members and you have he opportunity to join twice a year. If you'd like to join, you can Register HERE

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Looking forward to our 20th Anniversary at Bovey Tracey

Latest News

Looking forward to our 20th Anniversary at Bovey Tracey

20 Years in the MakingHello! I hope this finds you well. We've had all sorts of weather down in Bovey today.

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Contact Us

Craft Festival, Unit C, Kach Business Park, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9TZ 

hello@craftfestival.co.uk

If you'd like to volunteer please CLICK HERE