Following the announcement that Craft Scotland will represent Scotland later this year at SOFA Chicago, Craft Scotland are now delighted to announce the makers we will take to SOFA New York 2013.

SOFA New York has been a highlight in the New York arts calendar since it began in 1998, attracting buyers, arts collectors, museums, galleries, interior designers and enthusiasts from around the world. 

Craft Scotland will showcase the work of seven Scottish-based craft makers, some with previous success at SOFA and others who will show their work in the USA for the first time. 

The craft we will exhibit at New York’s Royal Armory on Park Avenue from 10 to 12 May 2013 will include work from some of the most celebrated and talented makers in Scotland, across the disciplines of ceramics, jewellery, furniture, glass and silver.

The participating makers are:

• John Galvin (Furniture, Glasgow) 
• Marion Kane (Silver, North Ayrshire) 
• Alison Kinnaird (Glass, Midlothian)
• Craig Mitchell (Ceramics, Leith) 
• Patricia Shone (Ceramics, Isle of Skye) 
• Katharina Vones (Jewellery, Edinburgh) 
• Andrea Walsh (Ceramics, Leith)

Award winning cabinetmaker and furniture artist John Galvin, winner of the British TRADA Wood Award in 2011, will make his US debut with a selection of work handmade in his studio in Glasgow. 

Marion Kane produces handcrafted silverware using traditional techniques of hand raising and fabrication. Based in West Kilbride (Craft Town Scotland), her work is inspired by the everyday patterns she finds in the West Coast of Scotland; from the village landscapes through to the peaks of the Isle of Arran.  

Glass artist Alison Kinnaird MBE, who recently completed a major commission for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery to coincide with an opening by the Queen as part of her Jubilee tour, will be showing at SOFA for the sixth time. 

Leith based ceramicist Craig Mitchell uses humour throughout his work to explore contemporary culture and universal themes. He is the only maker to be represented by Craft Scotland at both SOFA Chicago 2012 and SOFA New York 2013. 

Patricia Shone, an Isle of Skye based ceramicist, often uses materials from the land around her to signify the influence that the powerful Skye landscape has on her work. 

Jewellery is represented by Katharina Vones, a German craft maker now based in Edinburgh. Katharina uses contemporary techniques such as photo-etching, laser welding and rapid prototyping. 

The collection will be completed with Andrea Walsh, who works with a combination of ceramics and glass to create work that encourages a tactile response. Andrea’s work often includes a unique application of precious metals which enhances the overall concept of the work. 

New York is the second event Craft Scotland has planned with The Art Fair Company, the organisation responsible for SOFA. Craft Scotland will also take a collection of six makers to SOFA Chicago in November 2012. Further opportunities for Scottish makers to connect with the American market are currently being prepared.

Emma Walker, CEO of Craft Scotland said: "SOFA New York has been an ambition of Craft Scotland’s since 2009 when we visited as part of a larger Scottish curatorial trip. We are delighted to be taking seven craftspeople from Scotland to New York, particularly so soon after our SOFA debut in Chicago which is scheduled for November this year."

Keep up to date with Craft Scotland at SOFA on www.craftscotland.org/SOFA

SOFA New York 2013 and SOFA Chicago 2012 follows Craft Scotland’s successful launch into the US craft market at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show in November 2011. Over four days Craft Scotland sold $200,000 of craft products made by 25 Scottish based makers.

For more information, interviews with makers and Craft Scotland, feature ideas and high-res photography please contact: Emma Walker, Chief Executive: emma@craftscotland.org or phone +44 (0)131 466 3871.