BOVEY Craft Festival’s director has received an MBE, or Member of the Order of the British Empire, for her services to craft. 

‘I just got a letter for the cabinet office,’ said Sarah, ‘I first thought oh no what have I done? 

‘I had no idea what it was about. Then the letter talked about how the Prime Minister recommended you to the King, you think oh my god! I was blown away.’

Sarah James helped to establish the Bovey Craft Festival in 2003 after vital countryside regeneration funding was secured from the European Union. 

Sarah said: ‘I was pulling it together with a newborn baby and a three-year-old. It was an interesting year, I remember it now. But it was such a great opportunity, I was excited not just to organise it but also as a maker of ceramics myself.’ 

Already running her own gallery in Bristol and an experienced ceramics maker herself, Sarah’s experience, expertise and extensive contact book quickly solidified Bovey Craft Festival into the craft calendar. Over the years, the event grew from 2,000 to nearly 10,000 visitors and picked up many awards along the way, such as the Visit Devon's Festival of the Year Gold Award; Gold for Festival of the Year at the SW Excellence Awards and Winner of Winners in 2018.

Sarah said: ‘We just built it up over the years, and now it’s just become this incredible experience that people come from all over the world to enjoy. It’s quite extraordinary, we have people coming from Sweden, Australia, Austria, Germany. 

‘But obviously, lots of people come from very close by as well. We want the local economy to benefit from the festival as much as possible. Unless it’s not available locally, we always get it local.’

Then in 2020, like for many other events, Bovey Craft Festival was thrown into disarray. The pandemic put a stop to the festival and Sarah and her team were left scratching their heads. 

Despite this, Sarah’s main concern was helping the scores of makers that form the event, as well as keeping Bovey’s craft scene alive. 

Within weeks of the first lockdown, Sarah was busy organising a digital craft festival, as well as launching a variety of initiatives to help makers to continue their businesses. 

One such initiative was Find a Maker, an online platform which connects audiences with a curated collection of makers. She also launched the Find a Maker Business School, which runs monthly tutorials delivered by industry professionals to support makers’ businesses.

She also began The Capital of Craft podcast, talking with makers and thinkers about what it means to be a maker and how it can change your life.

‘We put the first digital festival on around the time we would have had the normal festival. I did Zoom interviews, workshops, children’s make-alongs. I was broadcasting live on Instagram most of the day. 

‘We were supported by the Arts Council and subsequently with the Cultural Recovery Fund, which we were really lucky to get.’

Sarah added: ’The Find a Maker platform morphed into something else (after the pandemic) because we realised that while the festival is on for a weekend, the maker community needs supporting all year. 

‘It’s now created a strong platform and a strong community of makers who meet regularly online and in real life as well.’

Since the pandemic, Bovey Craft Festival has continued to flourish, its success testament to the hard work from Sarah, her team and the craft community. 

When asked about her motivation, Sarah said: ‘Good quality craft needs to be protected, and we’re in a situation where the availability of makers may be reduced in the future. 

‘But you can’t stop people getting into craft, we’re finding that many these days are getting into craft later, they’re self-taught. It’s therefore important for us to keep championing high-quality work and fostering an atmosphere of inspiration.

‘At the show, there’s entertainment and education, but It’s all spun around the idea of making and learning about making, seeing the transformative feelings of making and how much it calms you. In the midst of a mental health crisis, I don’t think it's considered how much making can help with people’s mental health and their feelings of anxiety.

‘The award has given me a great feeling of contentment and feeling that I’ve done something right.’

On receiving the MBE, Sarah thanks Nina Fox and Kate Martin, her logistics manager and finance manager as well as long-time friends. She also thanks Susan James, her sister and PR manager as well as her husband Andy and two children, Ella & Lewi.