After 45 years BCTF will open its doors to the general public for one day only on Saturday the 4th April 2020.

The decision was made prior to this year’s fair and reflects growing demand for handmade British Crafts and Art.

Researchshows that supply is outstripping demand and we need to shout about ourdesigner makers and what they produce and be proud that this growing industryis being forged forward by creative individuals with a desire to share theirlove of craft and art with others.

BCTF is, and will always be a trade event, offering a fantastic choice to trade buyers and anything we can do to encourage more makers to take the trade route can only be a positive to all those retailers passionate about stocking and supporting British handmade.

BCTF is known for its mentoring program tailor made for graduates and new start up’s and it is particularly relevant to those in our Newcomers Gallery and in the Post Newcomer area. We pride ourselves in making sure that all these exhibitors are professional, ready and confident in their collections and pricing. We prepare them for the road ahead and give them realistic expectations of what they can hope to achieve over the coming months and years. We have seen many of these makers businesses flourish as they grow with confidence and expand their collections which are eagerly snapped up by our buyers. BCTF retailers place orders throughout the year, hold instore exhibitions, give great advice and encouragement and some mentor too, all hugely beneficial in a constantly evolving industry.

For mostcrafters the trade route is the only true way to progress and grow theirbusiness, rather than exhibiting at retail craft fairs every weekend they candevote their time to making and creating new collections.

We do all wecan and already subsidise the Newcomers Gallery and the Post Newcomer area, wealso offer free display space within the hall for large scale work that makersfeel would take up too much room on their stands. No one is excluded from thisfree space and it is also offered to jewellers who are encouraged to hang largeformat images of their jewellery.

Even withall the help we offer for some the financial investment required to establishthemselves with trade buyers can be prohibitive and some give up at the firsthurdle. The public day will help these makers get an immediate financial returnon their investment and enable them to reinvest in their trade journey.Anything we can do to help makers succeed and is within our means we will do,as one of BCTF’s objectives is to raise the awareness of British craft andoffer it to a wider audience and the public day will help achieve this. Thepublic whilst at the fair will also be made aware of local galleries and shopsstocking exhibitors work, which in turn we believe will increase footfall tothose retailers.

We are asmall passionate team working with designer-makers passionate about theircraft. We are proud to showcase the best of British and our privileged to workwith some of the most talented creatives working and producing in the UK today.

To be partof BCTF 2020 please register through our website: www.bctf.co.uk if you are not already registered.

To book a stand click on the link below.