PA guild of Craftsmen Bold and Energized

I can not say enough about what a great show experience I had at the PA guild of Craftsmen fine craft show this weekend. The guild has built on nearly 70 years of experience in promoting and nurturing fine crafts in Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. The show in Wilmington last weekend was gorgeous. The Chase center on the Riverfront was a top-notch venue with excellent staff and security.

I was drawn to participate in the Guild shows because of a new "emerge" program that is in it's very first year. The emerging artists who participated (including myself) had booths all in the same section, and it was great to see so much fresh new work. The program has generated a great deal of commotion, press coverage and new energy in in the guild.

I was pleased to take part in a meeting of members discussing the future of the guild. I was so interested that the organization was taking the time to get feedback from their members, and to embolden themselves with brave new ideas about how to bolster the art and fine craft market. Another topic of discussion was the "handmade movement." I quote it because, nobody knows quite the word for it. Many phrases are being coined by different organizations: Buy Handmade, Always Handmade, Give Handmade, to name a few. We are all interested in finding the phrase that will take off as the name of the handmade movement. Please share if you have any ideas.

The ideals behind this movement are both personal and socio-political. Buying handmade is good for your local economy, spending your precious dollars in a small business environment where the money will continue to be circulated in your immediate area. It is good for the environment to purchase something handmade rather than something pumped out in a factory. It is good for your community to have small studio businesses and handmade shops. It is good for your soul purchasing quality goods with personality which were made with human hands.

Bravo, PA guild, for a great show and great leadership. For making a stand for the arts, for spreading the love of handmade goods to a diversity of people. Thanks for being encouraged and invigorated by change and youth. And thank you for starting up the emerge program and making everything easy and digital for artists (I know it's not easy to do).