Introduction

Craft + Innovation, II International Congress about Craft, was held in Toledo, Spain, on October 24th and 25th, 2008. The Congress was being promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce and the government of the Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha. It was organized by the Spanish Foundation for Innovation in Crafts, organism dependant from the General Direction of Small and Medium Enterprise Politics.

For two days, national and international experts gathered in this city, part of Humanity Heritage and historical meeting point of three cultures, to debate around topics considered of vital importance for the survival of craft in the XXI century:

• Which are the new consumer trends and in which way they affect craft?. Facing the changes in life styles and consumer habits… do craft objects have that "something else" new consumers are asking for?. Are craft enterprises able to jump into the train of trends? Are they prepared to create products that are ecological, ethic, original, personal, customized, beautiful, different, with roots, with message, humorous, etc… and bring forward a new collection each one or two years?.
• Are craftspeople using the new technologies and materials? How do the resultant products look? Is craft in danger of loosing its "essences" in the way?.
• How about that old love relationship between craft and design? We all know that they cannot divorce, but, how they managed to be a solid and stable couple?
  
  

The Aim

In the first Congress, Valencia, 2006, the aim was to search about the state of European craft. In this second Congress, the aim was to thoroughly check the influence of the new -and volatile- characteristics of the environment in which craft enterprises are now forced to develop their activity. To achieve it, the Congress featured a mixture of theoretical thinking, by analysts and experts, with the presentation of best practices study cases by the craftsmen themselves who told how they are taking advantage of the opportunities and avoiding the risks derived from this new scenery.

Agents of the Congress

The Congress was aimed at the craft sector in Spain and Europe, and to all their agents:

• Leaders and staff of public administrations with competences over craft.
• Managers and staff of organisms related to crafts (Craft Centres, Technological Centres, Chambers of Commerce, Local Development Agencies, etc…).
• Board members and managers of associations.
• Teachers and students of educational institutions related to crafts.
• Consultants, designers and, generally, any professional with interest in the topic.

The Congress also had the participation of craftsmen/women, associations and organisms of other countries.