Creative Kernow Associates x MAKE Southwest: Guest Makers Open Call 2025

Deadline: 5pm on Monday 13th Janurary

MAKE Southwest (formerly Devon Guild of Craftsmen) is a renowned exhibition space for contemporary craft and design and a leading charity for craft education. It is unique in being the only retail and exhibition space in the Southwest dedicated to supporting makers across the region.

Located in Bovey Tracey on the edge of Dartmoor, MAKE Southwest features large galleries that host inspiring exhibitions and events, encouraging visitors to support, create, and learn about contemporary craft. The space welcomes over 120,000 visitors annually and boasts more than 300 Maker Members.

As a registered charity with educational goals, MAKE Southwest reinvests profits from its trading ventures to support its mission. This includes funding its exhibition programme, school and community projects, lectures, and learning initiatives.

With the exception of a few select items, the MAKE Southwest retail gallery exclusively showcases the work of its Members. Meanwhile, its exhibitions strive to present a wide variety of the contemporary craft from across the UK.

We hope to select up to 6 makers and designers to be the featured artists in the hugely popular MAKE Southwest Shop, under the Design Frontier banner – a brand promoting and representing the best of design and craft from Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, established by Creative Kernow in 2018.

The Opportunity Offers:

• 6- 8 weeks as Guest Makers in MAKE Southwest shop and online;
• Marketing and promotion through all our, and our partner’s, networks;
• 1 x one-to-one advice/mentoring session with the MAKE Southwest team.

We welcome designers and makers working in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly working in all mediums to apply. You may want to refer to MAKE Southwest website to make sure it is the right context for your work.

This showcase is aimed at emerging designers and makers who have limited experience of showing/selling their work outside of Cornwall, and may need additional support to build their portfolio of galleries and shops.

You must be a Creative Kernow Associates member to apply (membership start from £5/month), find out more about the membership here: https://associates.creativekernow.org.uk/

Makers will be selected based on:

• Suitability of your work to the opportunity;
• Whether your work brings something new to the MAKE Southwest Shop;
• The impact this opportunity may have on you and your business.

The selection panel are:

• Laura Wasley, MAKE Southwest
• Tonia Lu, Creative Kernow Associates
• Member of MAKE Southwest Selection Committee – TBC

• There is no cost to apply to or take part in this opportunity, but you will need to be a CKA member to apply;
• Selected makers are expected to supply 20-30 pieces of work if they are small, or 10-15 pieces for medium and large pieces;
• The shop takes item on sale-or-return basis, 50% commission will be taken on all sales;
• Selected designers/makers will be responsible for transportation of their work to and from Bovey Tracey;
• The panel will decide which 6-8 weeks slot each of the exhibitors will be allocated.

Application online via https://form.jotform.com/CreativeKernow/MSW-guest-maker

Application deadline: 5pm on Monday 13^th January

We hope to select and inform applicants of the outcome within 10 working days of the deadline.

If you have any difficulties completing the application or have any questions, please contact us at associates@creativekernow.org.uk.