Page 286 - Constructing Craft

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[and] co-operative spinning groups.’ The Hot Glass Company had received a letter
on 3 July 1980 from the Labour Department requesting that they register as a
factory. Raos and Viesnik delayed replying, but by September were being

threatened with penalties. In an attempt to delay again they pointed out to the Labour
Department that because they were part of a collective all the occupiers of their

premises would be required to register as factories. The Labour Department was
unmoved and on 1 October repeated the threat of penalties and added: ‘It is also

drawn to your attention that it is considered the anticipated change in legislation you

refer to as possibly exempting home crafts from the regulation to register as a factory
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would not apply to a registered company operating as a business.’ The submission
by the CCNZ would not have prevented The Hot Glass Company Ltd from having to

register as a factory but by suggesting clauses that exempted crafts such as ‘co-
operative spinning groups’ the CCNZ was demonstrating its lack of experience. In

contrast to the CCNZ, the CAST group that had successfully lobbied against the
1979 sales tax presented a generalised submission on the Factories and

Commercial Premises Bill that did not suggest limiting exemption from registration to
specific crafts or groups. In their submission they noted that craftspeople were ‘not

registered as manufacturing wholesalers for the purposes of the Sales Tax Act’ and

that they ‘must not be registered as factory operatives for the purposes of the
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Factories Act.’ The implication was that the government would face similar protests
to the 1979 Sales Tax. The submissions of CAST and the CCNZ were successful
and the new act reflected their concerns. However, some craftspeople may have

believed that it was another example of the CCNZ being an unnecessary layer on top
of the existing craft infrastructure. As the CCNZ tried to establish its role in the New

Zealand craft community such instances may have suggested that it would be more

prudent for it to emulate its British counterpart and leave such things as business
development and political lobbying on commercial issues to others, whilst

concentrating on the promotion of aesthetic standards and other ‘artistic’ matters.

Marketing, Sales and Recognition
The price craft was sold for was part of the amateur/professional debate in New

Zealand from the 1950s. Craftspeople and others judged the standing of an

individual craftsperson by how much their work sold for. During the 1980s in the

Constructing Craft