95 of Scotland's Makers Supported by Inches Carr Awards

As the Inches Carr Awards Programme moves toward its final years we're looking back on the many past awardees. Over the past twenty-nine years, the Inches Carr Awards have supported 95 of Scotland's makers, providing recognition of their talent and support for their craft practices.

2026 marks the fourth round of Inches Carr Awards delivered by Craft Scotland. The Inches Carr Awards have supported makers since 1997, and Craft Scotland has managed the fund since 2022. After the August 2026 application deadline, there will be only two more rounds of funding available, in 2027 and 2028.

>>> Apply for Inches Carr 2026 here

The Inches Carr Trust was formed in 1995 to commemorate Deirdre Inches and Malcolm Carr, jewellery experts and Directors of the Edinburgh jewellery firm Hamilton & Inches. The Trust’s objectives centre on sustaining and promoting the decorative arts. Read more about the history of the Inches Carr Trust here.

As a member of a 1997 Trust Advisory Panel, Amanda Game, curator and former Director of Craft at The Scottish Gallery, played a key role in developing the Inches Carr Awards:

“We worked with the Trustees to evolve bursaries which would allow makers in Scotland to develop their work in ways of their own choosing – either through developing a particular technique or just through buying time for a more experimental period of practice away from the demands of busy and successful workshops.”

Read more about The Inches Carr Trust's legacy within the Scottish contemporary craft sector here.

Testimonials From Makers

“Funders like the Inches Carr Trust are rare. The qualities I appreciated were the lightness of touch of the application process; the provision of security for the pursuit of a particular goal; the quiet belief in the recipients.” - Jo Barker (Inches Carr Award 2008)

"Being awarded the Inches Carr Craft Bursary has been hugely beneficial, giving me the opportunity to spend time developing my practice during a three-month artist residency." - Lucy MacDonald (Inches Carr Established Maker Bursary 2022)

“The experience has shifted something in how I think about my work… I am deeply grateful to the Inches Carr Trust and Craft Scotland for making this possible. This bursary gave me something the studio alone cannot: the space to pause, to learn, to look back towards tradition and forward towards new work, and to return with a practice that feels genuinely enlarged.” - Borja Moronta (Inches Carr Established Maker Bursary 2025)

“The award came at a time when I was pushing forward with my ceramics practice, and it has given me a boost and a level of confidence to continue making and pursuing my work. I come from a visual arts background, and I wasn’t sure how, or if, I bridged the gap into craft, so it is wonderful to now feel that I and my work can exist in this world.” - Alicia Matthews (Inches Carr Emerging Maker Bursary 2025)

Inches Carr Trust Bursary Recipients: 1997 – 2025

1997: Malcolm Appelby MBE, Peter Chang, John Creed

1998: Susan Cross, Maureen Edgar, Jack Cunningham

1999: Alison Kinnaird, Archie McCall, Jessie Ann Matthew, Keiko Mukaide

2001: Jacki Parry, Geoff Roberts, Ann Marie Shillito, Simon Ward

2002: Gillian Forbes, Susan Mowatt, Graeme Crimmins

2003: Mark Andrew Powell, Valarie Pragnell

2004: Jane Kelly, Lindean Mill Glass

2005: Deirdre Nelson

2006: Michael Lloyd

2007: Paula Thompson

2008: Jo Barker, Grainne Morton

2009: Craig Mitchell

2011: Andrea Walsh, Charonne Ruth, Joanne Thompson

2012: Geoffrey Mann, Linda Green, Frances Priest 

2013: Michelle de Bruin, Paula Cooper 

2014: Susan O'Byrne, Jen Deschenes

2015: Annie Woodford, Lara Scobie, Jennifer Kent 

2016: Jennifer Gray, Harry Morgan*, Karolina Baines*, Lucy Simpson*, Sayoko Kobayashi*

2017: James Rigler, Lynne MacLachlan-Eastwood, Juli Bolaños-Durman*, Joanne Dawson*, Jordan McGinlay*, Agne Visniauskaite*

2018: Jonathan Pang, Florence Dwyer*, Halina North*, Jane Walker* 

2019: Jeff Zimmer, Isabelle Moore, Carrie Fertig, Mariam Syed*, Eve Campbell*, Lucy Caster*, Ciara Neufeldt*

2020: Florence Dwyer, Naomi Mcintosh, Dawn Youll 

2021: David Gray*, Ellen Martin*, Maija Nygren*, Jasmine Linington*

2022/23: Erin McQuarrie, Iseabal Hendry, Scott Smith, Laura Derby, Caius Bearder, Annabel Hood, Joshua Williams, Lucy MacDonald, Jonathan Wade, Karen Westland, Heather Woof, Susan O'Byrne

>>> Read more

2024: Marzena Ostromecka, Monica Findlay, Ruth Mae Martin, William Threlfall, Kate Colin, Soizig Carey, Viv Lee

>>> Read more

2025: Gillian Finlay, Aimee Holt, Jonathan MacKinnon, Alicia Matthews, Katie Dixon, Abigail Cooper, Borja Moronta Alvarez, Sandra Wilson, Carol Sinclair

>>> Read more

* Graduate Bursary Recipients 2016 – 2021