Bovey Tracey Contemporary Craft Festival was founded in 2003 and is a non-profit making company, they celebrated their 10th Year in 2013. The Contemporary Craft Festival has grown from 4,000 to 8,000 visitors since it started and has become one of the most prestigious and highly acclaimed craft events in the UK.
The Contemporary Craft Festival was born when three Bovey Tracey craft businesses joined forces and formed a non-profit making company with the aim to bring a large craft Fair to Bovey Tracey. The aim of the Fair was to showcase the very best in British craft and to create a new, sustainable and strong market place for contemporary craft but also to bring greater prosperity to the town of Bovey Tracey. The town has a long history of making and at one point up to 15 commercial potteries were running in the area.
The other partner was The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, a registered educational charity based in Bovey Tracey. Though the original group of businesses that formed the board of The Contemporary Craft Festival have changed, The Devon Guild remains an integral part and is a vocal and vital advocate of the Festival. The show is led by Sarah James, and she has been there from the beginning. She was originally employed as a freelance project manager to start the Fair in 2003 and was made a board member in 2004. Nina Fox joined the team in 2006, becoming project manager and had been a key element in the success and development of the event.
The Contemporary Craft Festival is still a non-profit making company and prides itself that it receives no regular funding from any government agency but does enjoy the sponsorship and support of many prominent regional and national businesses. It is however, occasionally supported by small grants from various sources including Teignbridge District Council, The Dartmoor Sustainable Fund and the Ernest Cook Trust. Their aim has always been to be self funding, and they manage that most the time!