The craft sector comprises individuals and businesses operating in contemporary crafts, traditional and heritage crafts, and certain skilled trades. It's dominated by micro-businesses and the incidence of sole trading is rising, with 87% of businesses known to be sole traders - some sole traders may be the last practising a particular craft.
The craft industry contributes £3 billion to the UK economy each year, which is greater than the Visual Arts, Cultural Heritage or Literature sectors.
There are at least 88,250 creative practitioners working in the craft sector across the UK, representing 13% of all those employed in the creative and cultural industries, and 30,000 of these are self employed or freelance. In England, London, the South East, the East of England and the South West employ the largest numbers of craft practitioners (60% of all craft employment in England in total).
(All data from from the Creative Choices Craft Blueprint).