Northern Ireland Assembly Gift and Coffee Shop

Opportunity to sell

Introduction and Background

Continuing the successful collaboration between Craft NI and the NI Assembly Gift Shop at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, the initiativenow invites applications from NI-basedmakers for the period1stDecember 2016 to 31st May, 2017.

As before, this is a great opportunity not only for sales but to raise the profile of selected makers through specific press-related articles, as well as by Craft NI marketing and PR, local media and the N.I. Assembly website.

The NI Assembly Gift and Coffee Shop is located in Parliament Buildings, Stormont. It is open to members of the public Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Application process

1.Makers wishing to apply for this opportunity must complete the attached application
form and return it to Craft NI by the deadline date.

2.A selection panel will assess completed applications against the following criteria:

CRAFT NI Quality Guidelines for Retail: by this, we mean contemporary work/product supplied for retail should:

  • demonstrate distinctive craft and design and significant accomplishment in its construction and presentation;
  • demonstrate that the maker has in depth knowledge of the material with which they are working and high level skills in the techniques used;
  • demonstrate the individual creative signature of the maker;
  • reflect appropriate standards in the products’ durability, size, weight and materials that are suitable to retailers and buyers;
  • be packaged / labelled appropriately to a high, professional standard;
  • be accompanied with marketing materials providing details of the maker and the work.
  • Price: work / products with a standard, local retail price of £5 - £75.
  • Range: the final selection of makers is likely to reflect a range of different types of product and maker.

Suitability for the space: selected work / products must be suitable for display on a shelf space withmaximum dimensions of:Width 222cm, Depth 360cm and Height 340cm.

What kind of designer-makers are eligible to apply?

Definitions of contemporary craft used by Craft NI currently does not include print, photography, fine art, fashion, candles, hand-made cosmetic/soaps, traditional musical instruments, heritage craft, mass produced/manufactured work. For more information on our eligibility criteria please visit

If in doubt please contact Craft NI to check the eligibility of the products you are considering.

Completed Application Forms and additional materials must be submitted to Craft NI by 4pm,

Friday 28th October2016. Applications received after this deadline cannot be accepted.

Other information

1. The selection of designer-makers is a two stage process:

INITIAL SHORTLISTING: Provisionally w/c November 4th2016(Craft NI reserve the right to change these dates subject to operational needs).

Applicants will be assessed against the specified criteria noted above based on their application form and submitted images. Designer-makers will be notified via email whether they have been successful or unsuccessful in progressing to the next stage of the selection process.

FINAL SELECTION: Provisionally w/c 11th November2016 (Craft NI reserve the right to change these dates subject to operational needs).

Designer-makers who have been notified that they have been selected for final shortlisting may be asked to submit actual finished product samples to the Craft NI office and include packaging/marketing materials. Craft NI will allow makers 1 week from notification to submit samples. The final selection of designer-makers will be made by the selection panel by assessing against the specified criteria based on application form, images and product samples/packaging/marketing materials.

Designer-makers will be notified via email whether they have been successful or unsuccessful in being selected for the opportunity. Please note that it will not be possible to provide feedback to unsuccessful designers – makers due to operational constraints. Craft NI accept no responsibility to return submitted product samples to designer-makers.

2.Selected designer-makers must provide and have available:

- sufficient initial stock for the start date of 1st December2016;

- a re-stock of products as required over the 6-month period;

- appropriate stands for displaying the work / products, as necessary;

- printed background info on the maker, product or both to help illustrate the
uniqueness and significance of buying a maker’s locally made, NIcraft products;

- packaging that enhances the product and adds value to the end purchaser.

3. Work / products will be supplied on a sale-or-return basis. Selected makers are

required to deliver and collect their work / products from theAssembly Gift and Coffee

Shop.

4.The Assembly Gift and Coffee Shop does not want to undercut other localretailers so

the sale price of work / products must be in line with standard,local, retail pricing. Please
note that the price listed on this application form should be the final price for products
and cannot be changed should products be selected.

Selected makers will be paid 80% of saleprice.

5. Selected makers have the option to be paid as follows:

  • Payment at the end of the 6 month initiative
  • This will need to be agreed and approved by the Assembly Gift & Coffee Shop in advance.
  • Payment can be made by cheque which can be collected from a Representative at the Northern Ireland Assembly or by BACS transfer.

You will be advised of any work that has not been sold by 31st May2017, however an up-to-date report will be forwarded to each maker on a monthly basis by a representative from the Northern Ireland Assembly.

6. In the event of theft or damage the Assembly Gift and Coffee Shop willreimburse makers
at the sale price.

APPLICATION FORM

1. Your Contact Details:

Applicant’s Name
Company Name (if applicable)
Address
Postcode
Telephone Number
Email address
Website

2. Quality criteria. This is an important section. Please fully describe how your work / products and
practice meet the following quality criteria: by this, we mean contemporary work that:

- demonstrates high standards of technical skill and design;

- does not reproduce or restore but is innovative in its use of materials, aesthetic

vision and/or processes;

- reflects the signature of the individual maker.

3. Product Images:

From which material(s) is this piece made? / What kind of product is it? i.e ring, table, vessel etc / Dimensions of the piece? (mm) / Please describe the packaging and where possible include an image / Price / Please confirm that you have included an image of this work
PIECE 1
PIECE 2
PIECE 3
PIECE 4
PIECE 5

Please include some images of your work with your application form. Images must be NO LARGER THAN 1 MB. Very large images will not be accepted by the Craft NI system. Use the boxes provided to describe each piece of work shown in the images you are submitting up to maximum of 5 pieces

4. Returning your application:

Deadline for application 4pm, Friday 28th October 2016.

Please Include:

  1. Completed application form
  2. jpeg images (72dpi) – each image of work / product should:

(i) be clearly marked with your name

(ii) correspond to the pieces listed in the Application Form (i.e. 1-5).

(iii) be no larger than 1MB for each image

3.Packaging is very important andyou should include a sample(s) to strengthen your application.

Please note that very large images are likely to exceed the email size limit allowed by the Craft NI email account. If you are having problems, please decrease the size of the images and resend.

Please note: if your application is shortlisted for final selection, you may be asked to submit examples of the actual work and packaging. Craft NI accept no responsibility to return submitted product samples to designer-makers. Product samples will be stored in the Craft NI office for NO MORE than 1 month after the final designer-makers have been selected. After this time product samples will be used for display purposes in the Craft NI office.

I confirm that I have read and completed all relevant sections of this application form and confirm that all information provided, and any material submitted in support of the application, is truthful and accurate.

I confirm that I am resident and practicing in Northern Ireland.

Signed:Date:

______

Craft NI would prefer to receive applications via email however we want to make sure our application process is accessible to everyone so if you have difficulty with our application form, cannot use email or need further guidance please contact Craft NI on 02890 323059.

Please send completed application forms and digital images to

(subject line: Assembly Gift and Coffee shop opportunity: Round 11)

It is your responsibility to ensure your email is received in Craft NI’s Inbox by 4pm on Friday 28th October 2016.

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