Crafts City Community Blog

In the Crafts City Community blog you'll find the latest news about the community, tutorials, helpful resources and much more! React to the news with the emotion stickers and have fun!

🍋 Lemon Clothing Patterns in 2026

Fruit and vegetable prints and accessories have become a signature micro-trend for the season, bringing a fun and energetic vibe to spring and summer looks. Especially, lemon-themed clothing and citrus jewellery have become a trend in 2026, representing freshness and positivity. This trend represents a wider shift in the fashion landscape – away from the muted aesthetic of “quiet luxury” to a celebration of individuality, colour, and emotional connection in fashion.

Bookkeeping for Handmade Businesses

What records you must keep (UK self‑employed)

You must keep digital records of:

  • All sales from every platform (Etsy, CraftsCity, Facebook, Shopify, etc.)
  • All business expenses (materials, tools, packaging, postage, platform fees)
  • Mileage or home‑office use if applicable
  • Invoices and receipts

From April 2026, if your income is over £50,000, you must follow Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules:

  • Submit quarterly income & expense reports to HMRC
  • Keep digital records
  • Submit a final declaration at year‑end

$4,500 and $1,000 Artist Grants Open for Spring 2026 Applications

Visual artists worldwide are invited to apply for the Spring 2026 round of the The Hopper Prize artist grants, with a submission deadline of 12 May 2026.

The open call offers a total of $13,000 USD in unrestricted funding to artists working across all visual media. This season, the organization has increased its top grant awards, with:

2 artists receiving $4,500 each
4 artists receiving $1,000 each

The program is open internationally and welcomes applications from emerging and established artists alike, regardless of geography, background, or artistic discipline.

Organizers describe the initiative as a platform designed to connect artists directly with a broad international network of curators, gallerists, collectors, and arts administrators. Beyond financial support, selected artists gain additional visibility through the prize’s online journal and social media channels, which currently reach an audience of more than 160,000 followers.

Recent UK-based recipients have included artists such as Jo Dennis, Suzanne Clements, Liam Fallon, Anna Perach, and Rafael Perez Evans, reflecting the award’s ongoing engagement with contemporary artistic practices in the United Kingdom and beyond.

In addition to the six grant recipients, 30 artists will be shortlisted for further exposure opportunities through the organization’s digital platforms.

Artists working in painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, performance, digital media, and interdisciplinary practices are all eligible to apply.

For full eligibility details and application guidelines, visit The Hopper Prize