Background 

Craft Scotland, the national development agency for craft, sought to better understand the scale, structure, and economic contribution of the craft sector in Scotland, particularly in the context of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. With rising costs and increasing uncertainty, a robust evidence base was needed to inform Craft Scotland’s new strategic direction and support programme for 2023–2028. This included identifying priority areas for investment, including marketing, showcasing, internationalisation, and financial support for makers.

Our Approach

EKOS was commissioned to undertake a comprehensive mixed-methods study. The methodology included:

• A review of economic datasets from the Scottish Government and Office for National Statistics.
• Stakeholder consultations with industry experts and national bodies.
• A maker-focused survey, engaging over 150 respondents across Scotland.
• Comparative analysis of the craft sector against other creative sub-sectors.

Key Findings

• The craft sector contributed £67.3m in GVA in 2020 and supported over 2,000 jobs across 390 VAT/PAYE-registered businesses. However, the real scale is significantly larger due to a high proportion of sole traders and microbusinesses not captured in official datasets.
• The COVID-19 pandemic led to a 37% drop in GVA, but the sector showed resilience with an 8% business growth from 2020 to 2022, outperforming many other creative sub-sectors.
• Makers reported high levels of income uncertainty, material cost increases, and a strong desire to access markets beyond Scotland.
• The sector contributes significantly to community wellbeing, cultural identity, and net zero ambitions, with many makers already practising sustainable methods.

The link to the full published report is here.