The 2022 British Craft Trade Fair (BCTF) Award winners were announced during a ceremony held at the show, which took place at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate from April 10 to April 12, and saw the British craft community raise a glass together for the first time since 2019.
The award sponsors included some of the UK’s greatest champions of British crafts and consistent supporters of the British Craft Trade Fair – an event which is unique for its exclusive focus on handmade British products and inspires great loyalty amongst exhibitors and retailers alike.
The eclectic mix of talented designers and partnerships who make up the BCTF community once again ensured that deciding upon the winners was an extremely difficult task. Along with excellence of design, many judges were moved by the compelling personal stories they heard from exhibitors and the powerful emotion they were able to channel into work of an exceptional quality and resonance.
A broad range of disciplines were recognised in the awards, including jewellery, fashion accessories, glasswork, ceramics, embroidery and papier-mâché. The winners received prizes that included gallery exhibitions, association memberships, website hosting, and media support and promotion that will give a further boost to their businesses in the year ahead.
The Winners
- The Platform and Function Award Winner – Shelley Faye Lazar
- The NAJ Award for Excellence in Jewellery Winner – The Metalsmith
- The Giftware Association Award for Excellence Winner – Erum Aamir Ceramics
- The Home & Giftware Magazine and Denre.com Best Post-Newcomer Award Winner – The Very Crafty Zebra
- The Heart Gallery Best Newcomer Award Winner – Beverley Sommerville Ceramics; Highly Commended: CAHM
- The Pyramid Gallery Award for Excellence Winner – Twists Glass Studio; Highly Commended Joint Winners – Kate Rhodes Jewellery & Jenny Chan
- The Giftware Association WOW Factor Award Winner (voted for by exhibitors): Joanna Coupland
Judges also paid tribute to BCTF organiser Kerrison Craft Exhibitions, which took over the running of the event last year and ensured it was once again a show to be proud of, truly reflective of the great wealth of artisan makers and design-talent we have here in the UK.
Show director Kane Thomas said: “I’m so proud and happy that the first BCTF to have been organised by Kerrison Craft Exhibitions has gone so well, despite all the challenges faced by our community over the past couple of years. I want to thank everyone who participated for their support and commitment to BCTF, which is at the heart of an exceptionally vibrant and fascinating industry.
“The whole team at Kerrison has loved working on BCTF and we are very excited about our plans for the future. Significant investment has been put into this show and we are hugely looking forward to seeing how we can develop it over the years.â€
Kerrison Craft Exhibitions also announced a raft of new developments for next year’s BCTF:
A New Home
Next year’s BCTF will take place from April 16 to April 18 at a new home in the heart of Yorkshire: The Harrogate Convention Centre. This well-established exhibition venue in the heart of the spa town is a popular choice with retailers, who will benefit from being close to the railway station and easy access to hotels and restaurants in the town centre.
BCTF South 2023
Following the success of BCTF in Harrogate and its strong reputation built over 46 years, BCTF will expand from the North of England next year with the addition of a second show in the South of England. The first BCTF South will run from May 7 to May 9 2023 at Sandown Park in Surrey, where it will be a magnet for high-quality buyers from London, Surrey, Sussex, Kent and further afield.
BCTF Online 2022
The digital event, BCTF Online, will return from May 15 to May 17 2022, providing retailers who were unable to make it to Harrogate an unrivalled opportunity to source authentic British handmade goods. The event will include many of the designers who showcased their work at BCTF in Harrogate, alongside a large contingent of exhibitors who are new to BCTF or were unable to exhibit in person.
Extremely well attended during the June and September 2021 editions – and attracting exceptional quality retailers from far and wide – BCTF Online proved to be a popular and successful event for designer-makers, who were able to reach a wider audience than ever before once the barriers of time and space were removed from the exhibition process.
The digital event features a live messenger service, video-calling and group chat room, enabling buyers to either join in the group buzz or interact one-to-one with exhibitors, see products ‘in the round’ and place orders in real time. Exhibitors will be able to create extended product portfolios with direct links to their own web shops or websites, further facilitating the retail buying process and enhancing their own online presence and SEO.