Hothouse / Crafts Council Collective / Maker Development / Professional Development / / Crafts Council

Hothouse

A programme of support from the Crafts Council for emerging makers.

Take part in our survey and win one of six gift packs from Crafts!

Are you looking for support and advice, tailor-made for your contemporary craft practice?

Are you within two years of setting up?

Are you looking to develop a strong foundation and peer-group to help you make the best start?

Applications for Hothouse 4 will go live in May 2013. Sign up to our e-bulletin for further information or come along to a Hothouse Taster Day this Spring

Hothouse provides 40 emerging makers (those defined as being within two years of setting up a practice) with a programme of focussed, intensive business skills and creative development, complemented with 1:1 support over a three month period.

‘Hothouse has given us new ways to look at ourselves as creative people. I found it inspirational in making me want to move forward with my business. I feel happier in the knowledge that I am not alone and that support is there for me.’
Hothouse participant.

Hothouse aims

‘Organisation, clarity, belief, confidence – all coming from in-depth research and learning, and submersing myself into a creative craft group, so that being a maker is the NORM.’
Hothouse participant

• To provide a national scheme which profiles and supports the most promising and talented new makers each year
• To provide a programme that places business acumen and development of creativity on an equal par
• To profile models of practice and career routes, helping emerging makers to consider directions and explore options around the development of their practice
• To add Crafts Council value and support, through the sharing of resources and specialist skills, for the long term benefit of the crafts sector and emerging makers
• To develop increased self confidence and independence for emerging makers, supported and shared through peer support
• To develop ambassadors for Hothouse and the craft sector

‘I’m beginning to see myself as a small business of one and to take that seriously… I’m the only one who can drive it where I want it to go.’
Hothouse Participant
Hothouse Benefits

‘I am much more positive, confident, thinking. I see the benefit of questioning one’s direction and not being afraid to change sometimes.’
Hothouse participant

Hothouse provides makers with the knowledge and skills to:
• Understand a creative practice as a business and be able to set business goals
• Build a professional development plan and understand the sequential steps needed to take this forward
• Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks in relation to those goals
• Develop an understanding of potential markets and how to develop products or bodies of work in relation to these
• Gain confidence in presenting and profiling themselves and their practice
• Source and use appropriate networks and opportunities, and take part in a national peer group of exceptional makers

‘Hothouse relieved the pressure of achieving ‘everything’ in a short period of time, by allowing me to think about the long term sustainability of my practice. I now consider it a career.’
Hothouse participant
Who is this for?

• Emerging makers, those about to set up a practice or within the first two years of doing so.

• Open to any discipline; based in any region and from any educational background or training, both formal or informal. There is no age limit.
What does it comprise?

We take up to 40 makers per annum across the UK, delivered in cohorts of 10 – this means participants are part of a valuable peer group and a wide national network at the same time.

‘I really felt inspired by the people in the room. It was great to get to know the other cohorts and I feel very excited about our future.’
Hothouse Participant, Peer Networking Day

We work with up to four regional professional development agencies or other relevant organisations across the country. These might include universities, colleges, makers’ networks, galleries and retailers, studio complexes, Guilds & Societies, cultural institutions and professional development agencies. This makes the Hothouse programme tailor-made for contemporary craft makers.

Through a range of regional hubs created by our partners each year, we provide focussed support for these selected cohorts. This means that the Hothouse participants get to meet lots of other national organisations too, and our partners get to see up and coming talent.

Hothouse is a sequential core programme over a six month period, and it’s led by expert trainers and experienced practicing makers. The programme comprises: group sessions on developing business skills, market knowledge and creativity; networking events which bring participants together as a national group; support from a peer buddy from a past cohort; 1:1 sessions with a specialist mentor from the sector.

‘It was so great to get feedback on my work from a professional making in my field who understands where I am coming from and really encouraged me to continue.’
Hothouse participant
How can I find out more?

• Come along to a Hothouse Taster Day! A Hothouse Taster Day is a stand alone one-day intensive programme of tips and advice especially tailored for craft makers wanting to set up in business and develop their creativity. Get tips from the Crafts Council Maker Development Team on how to apply, and hear from makers who have taken part.
• Sign up to the Crafts Council e-bulletin to be the first to hear about when Hothouse applications are open, and to look out for when Hothouse Taster Days are happening around the country
• Keep a regular eye on the Opportunities listing in our Craft Directory. Details of forthcoming Hothouse cohorts – along with the application guidelines and forms will be posted here, plus lots of other exciting opportunities from other organisations too.
• Sign up to Craft Rally Online – our online network for makers – to read more about the last few years’ Hothouse programmes, including more about the partners who helped make it happen and the exceptional emerging makers who took part. Read more about the Hothouse pilot scheme here.
• Are you an organisation interested in being a Hothouse Partner or delivering a Hothouse Taster Day? Organisations can read more and get in touch here.

‘I love the making process but find the business and networking side of things more difficult… The Hothouse Taster Day info has made me feel this side of my work is much more possible.’
Attendee, Hothouse Taster Day
There are currently four cohorts which run between January-June 2013, these are:
• Hothouse: East
With Smiths Row and University of Hertfordshire
• Hothouse: North
With Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool Hope University and Yorkshire Artspace
• Hothouse: South West
With the Devon Guild and Plymouth University
• Hothouse: London, Jewellery & Metal
With Benchpeg
Download the application pack below