Applied Arts Scotland is offering a special craftscotland discount of £25 or £35 for delegates attending their 2005 conference on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 April 2005 at Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh.

The conference has something for everyone – inspiring speakers, workshops, seminars and opportunities to get practical advice.  And of course, there is also the opportunity to network and meet other makers and professionals in the crafts sector.

The special delegate rate to attend the conference is £85 (for both days), or £50 for only one day. 

The deadline to book a place is 6pm on Tuesday 26 April so e-mail office@appliedartscotland.org.uk if you want to take advantage of this offer and mention craftscotland for the special rate.

The conference begins with a presentation by Professor Simon Olding, director of the new Crafts Study Centre at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design, University College.  He will be talking about his experiences in promoting and selling craft and explaining the work of the new centre.

This is followed by Ann Marie Shillito of the Tacitus research project, who will be discussing how technology is influencing the future of applied arts.   Throughout the conference delegates will be able to actually try out the new technology through on-site visits to the project which is based at Edinburgh College of Art.

In the afternoon head of jewellery at Edinburgh College of Art, Dorothy Hogg, will be discussing building international opportunities and networks and some of her research students will talk about their experiences in doing so and how it has influenced their work.

The afternoon finishes with practical workshops on setting up effective networks led by representatives from Cove Park, Scottish Potters Association, design-ED and the Scottish Basketmakers Circle.

Patricia Ferguson MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport will then attend and evening reception and buffet.

The second day starts with a presentation by the Crafts Council on national and international selling opportunities.  This is followed by a presentation by craftscotland about the promotional opportunities created by the new website and how to make the most of them.  Applied Arts Scotland will then officially launch their new public relations service for makers working in Scotland.

During the rest of the day there is the opportunity to find out how other makers use their own website to market work and a chance to ask experts about building your own site and to get advice on web marketing.   For those makers not interested in websites there are workshops about portfolio presentation.

Anyone attending the conference can also pre-book a session with a professional photographer at a special rate.

A copy of the conference booklet can be downloaded from the Opportunities and Training page.