The New Zealand Spinning, Weaving and Woolcrafts Society Inc. (Creative Fibre) has set up a scholarship in honour of the trail blazers who established the Society. The scholarship may be given to one member of Creative Fibre every year to study within New Zealand.

The selected recipient receives $1500 to be used for study within New Zealand.

The Objective of the Scholarship
The objective of the Trail Blazers Scholarship (the Scholarship) is to give a member of Creative Fibre the ability to extend their knowledge by studying in New Zealand with a recognised practitioner. The intention is that this will provide an opportunity for the Creative Fibre member to extend their existing skills and to develop their practice.

The Creative Fibre member chosen for the Scholarship will be a person who is a competent craftsperson who wants to develop further in the technique they are seeking to study and move their practice to the next level. They need to have the confidence, knowledge, and inspiration to maximise the study they undertake.

The Scholarship requires the study to be undertaken after the receipt of the scholarship; it cannot be applied retrospectively.

Scholarship
The Trail Blazers Scholarship is not intended to meet the full cost of the course of study. It is intended to enable the applicant to undertake study by assisting with travel and tutoring costs. The Scholarship can be awarded to:

• assist with the costs associated with attending a workshop or series of workshops with one or more practitioner/s working in the area of expertise sought; and/or
• assist with the costs associated with taking part in a programme of learning or one-on-one mentoring with one or more practitioner/s working in the area of expertise sought.

Application for Scholarship
The person applying for the scholarship must be a financial New Zealand-based member of Creative Fibre. Applicants can only receive this scholarship once in their lifetime. The applicant meets the cost of sending their application and portfolio to the selectors and its return. Applicants must submit:

• A comprehensive plan of their proposed programme. This needs to include the aims of the proposed programme, how they intend to achieve these aims, and how they will measure whether they have achieved them.
• An explanation of why the method of study is important and provide a resume of the person(s) they will be learning from, and an explanation of why they are appropriate tutor(s) for the applicant.
• A timetable for when this scholarship will be taken up. This should include details of the place and format of the study and evidence that the proposed workshop/s or practitioner is available for the suggested course of study within the proposed time frame.
• A portfolio that includes photographic images and selected samples of the applicant’s recent work.
• A complete budget of all the costs for undertaking the proposed programme. The applicant must explain how the scholarship will contribute to these costs.