Cork Craft Month, ideal platform to promote region's creative artists

Wealth of creative talent on display as Cork Craft Month 2025 celebrates from August 1st, marking 20th anniversary with 99 events

Ava Hayes, Cork Craft Month festival director. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan / OSM PHOTO

Careers in the crafts sector are becoming increasingly attractive as people's appetite for unique creative craft pieces continues to grow. 

When Cork Craft Month 2025 begins on Friday, August 1  — featuring 99 events, including 80 hands-on workshops — it will be the 20th year of this hugely popular event. The level of visitor numbers has steadily grown each year from the outset, providing a platform for countless successful creative careers. 

This year, some 81% of the programme will be workshop-based — an 11% rise on 2024. This a clear shift toward hands-on, participatory experiences that connect the public directly with the making process. 

From traditional methods to modern experimentation, highlights include seaweed pressing with Samuel Arnold Keane (23 August), basketry with Sonia Caldwell and spoon-carving with Tadhg Breathnach-Peelo (4 & 17 August); beginner embroidery with Sarah Buckley (9 August); needle felting with Emily Thompson (29 August); slab-built ceramic houses with Brendan Ryan (22 August); and lampshade making workshops with Mr Kite (15 August).

Organised by Cork Craft & Design, a social enterprise representing over 110 professional makers and artists, this milestone year sees the festival expand in both scale and ambition. Cork Craft Month, in association with the all-island August Cork Craft, kicks off on 1 August at Fota House with Echoes of the Makers, a special members showcase exhibition celebrating two decades of Cork Craft & Design. For the first time, key exhibitions will run in both the city and county asthe Voice of the Craft opens 14 August at St. Peter’s, North Main Street.

Also returning is the  EMERGE New Makers Exhibition at  The Gallery at No. 46, Grand Parade  (31 July – 21 August), spotlighting the creativity of Ireland’s newest generation of makers. 

Ava Hayes, Cork Craft Month festival director, said: "This year is a particularly meaningful one for us at Cork Craft & Design, as we celebrate 20 years of supporting and championing makers across Cork. The landscape of craft and design has evolved enormously since our foundation in 2005 and especially since the pandemic, which created a seismic shift in how makers live, work, and connect with the public." 

In the Q&A interview that follows,  Ava Hayes outlines some of the reasons why careers across the crafts categories continue to grow in popularity, sustained by a growing public appetite for unique creative products. 

In what ways have careers for craft workers evolved since the pandemic? 

The pandemic was a turning point. Many makers reassessed how they wanted to work and for some, what began as a creative outlet during lockdown has now grown into a full-time practice. We’re seeing more people taking the leap into professional creative careers, supported by digital platforms and community networks like ours. At Cork Craft & Design, we now have over 110 members – from potters and woodturners to textile artists and jewellers — many of whom are now sustaining their practice full-time. There’s also been a renewed appreciation among the public for locally made, high-quality, sustainable products. That’s helped create a more viable market for makers, both online and in-person.

Why does Cork Craft Month draw so many visitors every year? 

It’s clear every year that our audience are hungry for connection and the hands on experiences that craft offers. This year, 81% of our events are workshops, which shows a clear appetite for participatory experiences. Visitors don’t just want to admire craft, they want to try it, understand it, and meet the people behind it. Cork Craft Month creates those moments, whether it’s pressing seaweed in a botanical workshop or throwing clay on a wheel for the first time. We’re also proud to bring craft and design into beautiful, historic venues like Fota House and St. Peter’s in Cork City, making each event an experience in itself.

How do craft workers, effectively 'solopreneurs', benefit from collective events like this?

Being part of a collective like Cork Craft & Design is transformative. Makers who often work alone suddenly find themselves part of a supportive, collaborative community that is full of people from all over the world, from various educational, cultural and skill-set backgrounds. Events like Cork Craft Month give them that extra boost of visibility, a chance to build their audience, and access to shared resources. It is about more than sales for our makers, it’s about storytelling, skill-sharing, and sustainability. This annual celebration of the independent, the conceptual and the experimental – across Cork city and county – allows them to do just that.

As Cork Craft & Design marks 20 years, has the sector changed for the better? 

Absolutely. Twenty years ago, craft was often seen as a niche or hobbyist pursuit. Today, it's recognised as both an artform and a viable career. We’ve moved from the margins to the mainstream. I do believe that this is thanks to the incredible talent, resilience, and innovation of maker communities such as ours. Cork Craft Month is a celebration of that journey, and of the creative future we’re still shaping together.

To explore the full programme of exhibitions, workshops and events, visit corkcraftanddesign.ie today. Certain events have limited capacity, so early booking is encouraged.