We are proud to have as members some of the country's finest and most respected designers and makers. Founded in 1887 as the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society with Walter Crane, William Morris and William de Morgan amongst our distinguished forbears, we believe that we continue to uphold the values that they established. We give a voice to beautiful, challenging and exciting work that is differen
t from the traditional Fine Arts. Our current name was established in 1960 with the merger of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society and the Cambridgeshire Guild of Craftsmen. We are a national society with some overseas members who live as far away as Canada, Australia and Japan. We have an active and hard working Council which administers the Society's business and is drawn from the different categories of membership of Fellows, Members, Licentiates and Associates. We have a large membership which offers a vast resource of experience to benefit those seeking advice about all aspects of the business of design and craftsmanship including commissioning. We hold a major selected exhibition, Designer Crafts, every year at the Mall Galleries in London. This is now very successful and well established within the London exhibition scene. Other national exhibitions are also organised. We actively recruit recently graduated designer makers through our Licentiate programme, offering exhibition opportunities and the chance to learn and develop professional skills essential to the work environment. We offer a Mentoring scheme to our members in order to offer constructive advice, help and direction. We have our own premises in London at 24 Rivington Street with our own dedicated gallery space. This provides further exhibiting opportunities in themed shows throughout the year. We are reshaping our premises to provide space for future events such as talks, workshops and meetings. We offer a point of contact for buyers who wish to commission their own piece of work. We have a comprehensive newsletter, published four times a year, supported by monthly e-bulletins so that we can keep our membership up to date with news and opportunities. We have smaller regional groups emerging, which offer more localised support and additional opportunities for more intimate exhibitions
