Handmade for the Holidays
Staff Reports
Since its founding in 1993, HandMade in America has been a leader and innovator in creative placemaking, a term that describes revitalization by creative initiatives that animate places and spark economic development. Long before the term came into use, HandMade in America was designing programs to drive tourism, revitalize small towns, broaden markets, and create job opportunities for craft artists by emphasizing Western North Carolina’s unique cultural assets and distinction as the cradle of craft.
Today, HandMade is a national and international model for cities,
towns, and organizations that want to use their distinctive assets for
community-building and economic renewal. Their award-winning programs
have leveraged public, private, nonprofit, and community resources to
help grow the annual economic impact of the region’s professional craft
industry from $122 million in 1995 to $206.6 million in 2008.
HandMade in America’s core programs focus on entrepreneurship, market
development, economic revitalization, and advocacy. They encompass the
more than 4,000 crafts artists living and working in Western North
Carolina, and a far-reaching network of craft-based businesses.
Your Contributions are Needed
HandMade in America is seeking contributions so that they may continue
to provide services for craft artists through classes, online promotion,
information, and advocacy. Your donations will allow HandMade in
America to create more opportunities to grow the craft economy in
Western North Carolina and provide a model for areas in the nation that
want to grow the impact of craft on their economies.
For your donation, you’ll receive all kinds of great perks! For a
donation of $25 or more, they’ll send you a 3×3” I buy Handmade for the
Holidays sticker. For a donation of $50 or more, you’ll get a
hand-screened poster, and they’ll add your name to our web site,
www.handmadeinamerica.org! And at $100 you also will receive a copy of
the book Farms, Gardens, and Countryside Trails.
For $250 you will get a secret bag of Western North Carolina goodies
such as craft items, books on craft, and the famous Craft and Heritage
Trails book.
At the $1,000 giving level and up, you get to choose a fabulous
one-of-a-kind craft item in the giving level of your choice. Visit
www.handmadeinamerica.org/fundraising to view the selection of gifts,
valued from $100 to $4,200.
Other Ways You Can Help
How else can you help? Buy handmade items for the holidays. If everyone
bought one-of-a-kind handmade items instead of items from mass
manufacturers and big box stores, millions of dollars would go into the
local and creative economy. You can also promote this campaign by liking
HandMade in America on Facebook or Twitter.
Visit www.indiegogo.com/handmadeinamerica for more details.
