The National Swedish Handicraft Council

The office is located at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket) in Stockholm. The Government appoints the council itself for a period of three years and currently comprises nine members.

The Council allocates state grants to work that furthers and develops handicraft. The focus is on information, further education, co-ordination of the work performed by handicraft consultants, follow-up and evaluation as well as investigatory work and initiation of development projects. The total funding in the year 2013 is SEK 11 800 000.

What does a handicraft consultant do?
The handicraft consultants work in both advisory and informative capacity. Their mission is to promote handicrafts by arousing people´s interest and increasing their knowledge of what handicraft work involves. The handicraft consultant´s activities include organizing educational programs, courses and exhibitions, documenting old handicrafts, initiating development projects in collaboration with designers and craftsmen and promoting craft activities among children and young people.

Responsible authorities for the  handicraft consultants are handicraft societies, regional councils or county museums. The county/regional councils finance at least half of the consultancy operations and are important partners at the regional level.