QEST - Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) makes awards ranging up to £15,000 to craftsmen and women of all ages to help them further their careers.

Since 1991 the Trust has awarded £1.4 million to 218 craftspeople aged between 17 and 50 plus for study, training and work experience.

QEST, the charitable arm of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, was established in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Association and the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The Trustees look for well thought out projects, which will contribute to the pool of talent in the UK and reflect the excellence of British Craftsmanship as symbolised by the Royal Warrant of Appointment.

Craft Scholarships

What are Scholarships awarded for?

To fund further study, training and practical experience for craftsmen and women who want to improve their craft and trade skills. Scholarships are not awarded for buying or leasing equipment or premises nor for setting up a business.

How much is each Scholarship worth?

Between £1,000 and £15,000. The size of each award depends on how much funding is needed for a project. Scholarship winners also receive an emblazoned certificate.

What sort of crafts are covered?

A huge range of modern and traditional crafts. Scholarship winners have included: an antiques restorer, calligraphers, book conservators, potters, silversmiths, upholsterers and many more.

Who can apply?

There is no age limit. But you need to demonstrate you already have a high level of skill and are firmly committed to your craft or trade. You must live and work permanently in the UK to be eligible for a Scholarship. You do not have to be connected with firms or individuals holding Royal Warrants.

What are we looking for?

Well thought out proposals which will contribute to the excellence of modern and traditional British crafts. On the application form you need to explain clearly why the proposed training will improve your skills and what you expect to achieve as a result. You also need to give a careful estimate of the full cost of the training you would like to undertake.

How to apply

Scholarships are awarded twice a year. Completed forms for Spring 2011 Scholarships must be received no later than 14 January 2011.

Latest QEST Scholars

Polly Bell

Textile Designer
Age: 26

Already designing textiles for fashion and interiors using digital and manual printing processes, Polly will use her scholarship to attend the Sir John Cass Department of Art, Media and Design at the London Metropolitan University to study Modern and Traditional Upholstery. This will enable Polly to collaborate directly with furniture designers.

Toby Gough

Paper & Book Conservator
Age: 35

Currently a Paper Conservation Technician at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, Toby’s scholarship will enable a one year apprenticeship to Per-Anders Hübner, a renowned Swedish master bookbinder. He will cover historical European styles and techniques as well as contemporary design and binding.

Jay Heryet

Woodturner and Lathe Artist
Age: 50

Award winning Jay is determined to see her woodturner’s craft judged alongside the highest quality glasswork and ceramics. She will use her grant to attend the seven-week International Turning Exchange in Philadelphia, USA and collaborate with five other artists in sharing and developing skills to create an innovative body of work to be entitled Allturnatives Forms and Spirit. www.julieheryet-woodturner.co.uk
www.julieheryet-woodturner.co.uk

Will Kemp

Portrait and Landscape Painter
Age: 32

Having co-founded a studio and art gallery in Cheshire five years ago, from where he works on his private portrait commissions, Will is looking forward to increasing his knowledge of 17th century oil painting techniques and sharing his new skills through his tutorials. His QEST scholarship will enable him to attend a course with Michael John Angel in Florence, regarded as one of the foremost figurative painters and a four-week course at the Sarum Studios in Wiltshire with Nicholas Beer, a senior instructor at the Charles H. Cecil Studios of Florence to study in depth, sight-size portraiture.

James Kirby

Stonemason
Age: 41

Having trained as a banker stonemason, James went on to work as a draughtsman and workshop foreman for a small restoration company. He is currently studying at the City and Guilds of London Art School in Kennington and the QEST scholarship will enable James to complete his two year post graduate diploma in historic stone carving and fulfil his earliest ambition in becoming a full time carver.

Reuben Marsh

Stonemason
Age: 36

Reuben has worked on most aspects of masonry and building, including architectural carving, stone redressing, conservation and stone walling. The QEST scholarship will enable him to complete his diploma course in historic Stone Carving at the City and Guilds of London Art School in Kennington and develop his architectural and figurative stone carving.

Jenny Pickford

Artist Blacksmith
Age: 40

An accomplished blacksmith who combines forged steel and blown glass for private gardens, public art projects and architectural ironwork, Jenny will use her award to gain greater technical skills in incorporating glass. She will attend the Pilchuck Glass School (Seattle, USA) summer programme to study the Nature within Sculpture course.

Andrew Swinscoe

Affineur – cheese maturer
Age: 23

Andrew has a passion for cheese and has been exploring the lost art of maturing cheeses to bring out different styles and complexity before selling them at their peak. This technique is practiced widely in France and was used in Britain before World War II. He has gained work experience at Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel and his QEST award will enable him to work alongside the French masters at Herve Mons in Saint-Hâon-le-Châtel for six months.

Makiko Tsunoda

Paper and Book Conservation
Age: 33

Through working as an assistant conservation technician at the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library, Makiko has acquired considerable skills and knowledge. However, whilst the library undergoes major renovation, Makiko will use her QEST scholarship to obtain a formal postgraduate training and degree at the Camberwell College of Arts.

Anja von Kalinowski

Couture Dressmaker
Age: 32

After completing a three-year apprenticeship to become a couture seamstress in Germany, Anja joined Vivienne Westwood’s London studio and creates evening and bridal gowns. Her QEST award will enable Anja to continue her studies at the Royal School of Needlework and complete the Advanced Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery. This will enhance her couture dressmaking skills and lead to the exploration of embroidery restoration

If you are planning to visit one of the exhibitions mentioned, please check with the organisers for opening times and any changes to dates.

Excel Newsletter

QEST produces a newsletter, Excel, with details of the latest craftspeople to receive awards plus news from past Scholars. Excel comes out in January and July and will appear on this site as soon as it is published.

Journalists and crafts-related organisations wishing to receive a hard copy of the newsletter should email their details to qest@rwha.co.uk

To open these files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may need to click here to download this free software to view it.

News from QEST Scholars

The portrait by Rupert Alexander (1996) of Her Majesty The Queen was unveiled to a blaze of international publicity and will be hung in the Council Room of the Royal Warrant Holders Association in London. This new portrait was the last in a series by the artist, Rupert Alexander, 35, who had painted HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 23; the youngest artist to paint a member of the British Royal Family since the 17th Century.

The artist had three sittings with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. "During the sittings I painted oil sketches to record the tone and colour," Alexander explains, "and to experiment with various gestures to find what best expressed those elements of her character I was trying to capture. I decided to limit the portrait to head and shoulders as I wanted to focus on the more human and intimate aspects of her character, rather than cluttering the painting with the formal symbols of her public role."

Alexander studied painting at the Florence Academy of Art and Charles Cecil Studios, having been awarded a QEST scholarship in 1996. Richard Peck, Secretary of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, which endows QEST, said, "We are delighted with this portrait. It has been tremendous to see Rupert become more established since he received his QEST scholarship at the age of 21, and he has achieved an excellent reputation. He is such an inspiration to all of the QEST scholars starting out today."

Josephine Beney (2007) has been taking a year out from her Conservation Studies at The City and Guilds of London Art School whilst gaining work experience in Munich. Since arriving there in November 2008, she has been restoring two carved, gilded Ludwig II postaments for the Bavarian Castles & Palaces Administration, with whom she completed a three-month summer internship last year. These two objects are now on display in the prestigious "China und Bayern" exhibition at the Bavarian National Museum; whilst the piece that she worked on last summer, a small children’s carriage that was featured in a previous edition of Excel, is currently on display in the V&A's "Baroque" exhibition.

"Since completing the work on the postaments, I have been working with a freelance conservator to clean, consolidate, repair and retouch a suite of furniture in the Prinz Carl Palais in the centre of Munich. This historic building belongs to the Bavarian government and is used to host functions such as ambassadorial receptions and state visits. On our first day of work we were briefly interupted by the Bavarian Prime Minister himself, who took a break from a photoshoot to come and see what we were up to!"

If you are planning to visit one of the exhibitions mentioned, please check with the organisers for opening times and any changes to dates.

Useful Crafts Links

Award Giving Bodies

Colleges

Conservation

Crafts and Skills

Arts and Heritage

Publications

Please note: QEST is not responsible for the contents or reliability of these external websites and listing shall not be taken as endorsement of any kind. QEST cannot guarantee that these links will work all the time and we have no control over availability of the linked pages.