Recognition Awards FAQ

Yes, if you are completing the form on your own behalf, where it refers to ‘maker’ please answer the questions about yourself.

Yes, you are welcome to nominate someone else. It’s a really lovely way to acknowledge someone’s talent. 

You are welcome to apply for as many awards that are relevant to you. Just follow the prompts in the application form.

There is just one form for all awards.

Please ensure all sections are completed as thoroughly as possible as different sections will be used for shortlisting.

Applications undergo initial assessment and final judging by a specially selected panel made up of specialists depending on the award.

Those who are shortlisted in the top three will be invited to a prestigious Awards Ceremony (taking place in November each year) to find out who has won.

Winners will also be welcomed to be part of the Heritage Crafts Recipients’ Circle.

An open community of makers and organisations whom Heritage Crafts has supported with a grant or bursary, or acknowledged with an award or successful National Honours nomination. Providing ongoing connection, additional opportunities, support and guidance into the future.

Download a copy of the questions here – these are for reference purposes only and may differ slightly by round. 

(We will update this document soon with the 2026 version).

No, it is free to submit a nomination. You can nominate as many individuals as you like. 

No, once you have started you have to submit it or lose your changes.

We recommend that you draft your application in a separate document using the list of questions provided as a PDF and then cut and paste it into the form when you are ready. 

If you have any questions or need assistance with the application process, you can email Rae, the Grants, Awards and Membership Officer: [email protected]. 

No, it is not a requirement for the nominee to know about the nomination, but you are welcome to share your plans with them if you like.

You will be asked whether the nominee knows, and if they do, then we will ask for their email address and phone number.

If you would like us to keep it a secret, we can do that too.

We will liaise with you about the nomination during the shortlisting and judging process. Therefore we require some contact details for you.

We will also need to know whether the person you are nominating knows you are putting them forward for the award(s).

If your nomination is shortlisted for the award(s) we will let you know and liaise with the nominee too.

The majority of awards receive a cash prize which can be spent in any way the winner chooses.

However, there is an exception for the prestigious Patron’s Award for Endangered Crafts. This prize is to be spent on a project linked directly to the nomination. 

Images help bring a nomination to life. But we know it can be hard to provide images if you are making a nomination for someone else.

Ideally we need three images of their work, with one of them taking part in their craft/trade.

If you do not have any, you can send us some publicly available images from social media etc as examples.

If the nominee is successful in being shortlisted then we will liaise with them to confirm which images they would like to be used for promotion. 

We send out a collective confirmation email after the deadline to confirm we have received your nomination.

We open applications for Awards once a year in March with the deadline in August.

Do subscribe to our newsletter for direct updates (at the bottom of the home page): www.heritagecrafts.org.uk 

The winners will be revealed at a prestigious Winner’s Reception in November, supported by our generous sponsors

Yes – check out the Opportunities page for more.