The Crafts Council, the UK development agency for contemporary crafts, has appointed Andy Marshall, the former head of marketing at Bath-based Future Publishing, as a trustee.
Andy, pictured, has more than 30 years’ experience in media and publishing. He becomes one of 11 trustees at the council at a time when crafts are becoming ever more popular through magazines such as Mollie Makes and Jewellery Maker TV. 
These titles are published by Bristol-based Immediate Media Co, one of the biggest consumer media businesses in the UK.
Andy, now group managing director at Immediate, where he runs its highly successful craft, youth & children and specialist groups, worked for Robert Maxwell in the late 80s and early 90s in customer publishing and then at The European Newspaper.
He joined Future in the 1990s, becoming publisher of its music titles. In 1997 he joined specialist publisher Origin in Bristol, rising to become managing director in 2004. He became group managing director in 2011 when the business merged with BBC Magazines and Magicalia to become Immediate Media.
The Crafts Council said he brought invaluable expertise to the organisation as his career in publishing had coincided with the digital revolution.
“His personal interest in craft led to the founding of Origin Publishing, and he now brings this entrepreneurial spirit to his work at Immediate Media Co with a fresh thinking approach to developing new business models,” it said.
Crafts Council chair Geoffrey Crossick added: “Andy brings a wealth of business and commercial experience, a real understanding of the varied world of amateur making and an enthusiasm for contemporary craft. A great mix.”
Andy said: “I am excited to be joining the Crafts Council and have always had an interest in British crafts. I hope to use my experience within media to further support makers to share their enthusiasm and showcase their skills.”
The Crafts Council’s goal is to make the UK the best place to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft. It believes that craft plays a dynamic and vigorous role in the UK’s social, economic and cultural life and that everyone should have the opportunity to make, see, collect and learn about craft.
