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Crafts CouncilBusiness SkillsSupporting craft businesses

Information for craft businesses

Regularly updated resources and useful links


  • COVID-19
  • Craft business

The crafts are an important part of our social and economic life with the Crafts Council Market for Craft report showing craft sales worth £3 billion to the UK economy.

We know the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on a sector dominated by micro enterprises and sole practitioners and the UK has now left the EU which has affected all businesses.


  • Laura Jane Atkinson in her studio

Employment

The National Minimum Wage is due to increase in April 2022. If your business employs staff aged under 23 years old, make sure to check the latest rates as part of your business planning. Visit gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

New Living Wage rates were introduced in November 2021 for employees aged 23 years and older. All employees should receive the new rate by 15 May 2022. More information on this and the voluntary Real Living Wage can be found on livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage

Trading advice

There are two key organisations that can support you with your overseas trade:

Chamber Customs
A paid-for service established by the British Chamber of Commerce to provide you with in-depth advice and guidance on logistics and documentation for overseas trade.

  • Visit: chambercustoms.co.uk
  • Call: 020 7654 5821

Export Support Service
A free helpline and online service for UK businesses, provided by the Department for International Trade. Consider this a 'one-stop-shop' of UK government information and frequently asked questions about exporting to Europe.

  • Visit: GOV.UK/ask-export-support-team
  • Call: 0300 303 8955.

The Export Support Service will initially focus on questions businesses have about trading with Europe but may expand to cover more global markets in the future. Visit great.gov.uk for guidance on exporting to countries outside of Europe.

Funding for export
The Internationalisation Fund is now open for businesses in England. This is a match funding grant (up to £9,000) to support UK businesses with their market research and trade fair funding where Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) grants are not available.

Eligibility:

  • Company turnover of £100,000 or more
  • Based in England but outside of Cornwall and London
  • A proven track record of trading overseas

Example outcomes:

  • Match funding to improve your digital content and capabilities.
  • A consultant to support you with logistics or legal requirements for trade
  • Exhibiting at a trade show

Commercial invoice
A commercial invoice is the most important part of your export documentation and is recognised worldwide. Check your commercial invoice against your customs declaration, if this does not match you could face delays or fines. When describing your goods, you must avoid being too vague or too short, again this could cause delays at Customs. For more advice, download our Trading After Brexit resource or read the UPS How-to Guide.

VAT when trading with Europe

From 1 July 2021, VAT rules on cross-border business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce activities will change. The rationale for these changes is to overcome the barriers to cross-border online sales and address challenges arising from the VAT regimes for distance sales of goods and for the importation of low-value consignments. Please visit gov.uk and the European Commission website for advice.

What does this mean for your business?

  • For craft businesses selling direct to customers via online marketplaces (OMP) such as Etsy, and the value of the item is less than €150.00 (£125.00), excluding shipping and insurance; it is now up to the OMP to collect the VAT at the point of sale, not the seller or the customer (to pay).
  • If you sell B2B (direct to businesses in Europe) and/or your item is more than €150.00 you are liable for paying the VAT in the country you are shipping to.

For more information on shipping to the EU and understanding VAT implications, contact UPS who are on hand to help you with your shipping needs.

Brexit

Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU on 31st December 2020, new rules are in effect that impact the craft sector. Download the Trading after Brexit resource paper for guidance and refer to our selling and showcasing your work overseas resource.

Covid re-opening

If you are welcoming in-person visitors back to your business or hosting a physical event, please follow our top tips for a safe re-opening:

  • Generate your own QR code for visitors to scan on the Gov.uk website
  • Have hand sanitiser at each point of entry
  • Download a free sign to suit your needs or create a simple text design to print out and remind visitors to please wear a face mask and maintain social distancing.
  • All visitors should wear a mask/visor in indoor spaces. Artists should wear one as well to protect themselves and others.

Crafts Council support

We continue to be in direct and regular contact with relevant government departments and Arts Council England to ensure they are properly briefed on the craft sector situation.

At the end of 2020, we were asked to summarise the impact that Covid-19 and Brexit would have on the craft sector to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) – see summary here.

We have a number of new online business resources including films on the following topics;

  • Building and sustaining a craft business with Etka Kaul, Melanie Eddy, Andy King and Karen Thompson
  • Building Craft Experiences film, guide, case studies and checklist
  • Getting the most out of Instagram with Crafts Council’s Francesca Glass
  • Why Video is your friend with Carl Earl-Orcan
  • Identify your brand values with Alexandra Lunn
  • How to build customer profiles with Patricia van der Akker

Stay connected

  • Follow our social media
  • Join our Facebook Group for 'craft opportunities'
  • Subscribe to our newsletter

Further resources

  • Arts Council England is helping artists across England recover and grow their creative businesses post COVID with Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants, Developing your Creative Practice and the new fund: Lets Create Jubilee Fund to support initiatives for UK’s Communities celebrating the Platinum Queens Jubilee. Applications open 4 January.
  • Government Business Rates Relief
  • The CreativeUK represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries
  • The Culture, Health & Well-Being Alliance
  • The Business Finance Guide is a free and independent source of information on the forms of finance available to business owners produced by ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales) and the British Business Bank – it has produced new content designed to help companies to meet financial challenges resulting from the crisis.
  • Reopen your business safely during coronavirus
  • Creative United has published an investigative report on the contribution of creative freelancers to the economic, societal, and place-based impacts of the creative industries. Download Mind the understanding gap: the Value of Creative Freelancers.

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