The Naked Craft Network, hereafter NCN, is an international collective of research academics, writers, curators and industry partners whose aim is to develop strategies for craft theory and policy, future craft practice and dissemination of craft based work rooted in local places and spaces. The Crafts Council's (UK) recent report entitled "Craft in an Age of Change" (February 2012) highlights a UK perspective on current craft practices across the 4 regions (Scotland, Wales, England and NI), and provides a wealth of data about the economic importance of the craft sector. This significant policy document also highlights pressures in the years to come for the sector. Themes developed from this research report, of particular interest for the NCN, lead to 3 particular questions: - local vs. global: 70% of makers in UK do not export: how can we support an increase in moving the local globally? - understanding practice: how can we support the interpretation for "what" is going out into the global space (the vernacular of the locals; understanding practice) - demographics: average age of makers in UK surveyed is 49 - how do we support the emerging makers and their vision of future practice in the global/local context? NCN intends to develop a better understanding of the relationships between the identification inherently attributed to geopolitical regions outlined in this Craft Council report, and the reciprocal role that the material production of craft plays in building, maintaining and disseminating identities in a global arena of commerce and culture in the future. The approach that NCN adopts is to bring together relevant stakeholders involved with craft practice into discussions to engage and exchange how the understanding of craft practice, rooted in local communities and traditions evolves and is challenged, promoted and communicated on the post-colonial global stage. "The craft sector finds itself pulled in different directions. There is a strong 'localist' strain in craft. Many makers seek to build small businesses strongly rooted in particular places, emphasizing authenticity and building on local traditions in, for example, their choice of material. On the other hand, many makers want to take advantage of the business opportunities globalisation offers." (Craft in an Age of Change, Crafts Council UK, February 2012). This context presents NCN with some significant questions: what do we mean by traditional craft practice in the post-colonial age? What role does our local heritage play in a global context? How do the objects and artefacts of localised production, that are part of the fabric of our tradition and heritage, become understood in a larger, globalized context? Which locality can lay claim to authenticity of tradition? Our initial partnership involves a case-study approach of two independent communities with a common heritage; Scotland and Nova Scotia, Canada (New Scotland). Within both Canada and Scotland, craft practice is informed by many similarities arising from similar geophysical, political, social and historical elements. For both countries, craft plays an essential role in the cultural and creative industries, providing communities with important financial frameworks as well as being a catalyst for strengthening the connections between creativity, place, landscape and identity. In light of the common heritage and affiliation that Canadians and Scots already share, how will the work of contemporary Scottish makers challenge or reinforce the current conception of Scotland abroad? In what way will Canadian makers move beyond tradition and production of stereotyped histories derived from a post-colonial reminiscence? In understanding the trajectories of these two divergent communities which share a historically common point of connection, NCN intends to establish a space for reflecting upon and re-evaluating the traditional roles of craft practice in the future.