Friday Finds: Crafty Goodness

In case you missed it (now that the month is over...), March was National Craft Month.

Since I have a marketing brain, and this kind of thing interests me, I started poking around to see what National Craft Month "meant". Discounts at craft stores? Events in my community? And, in the course of my digging, I stumbled on two sites I think every crafter should know about.

#1: Cre8time.org

Here's a snippet from their "About" page:

THE MOVEMENT:

CRE8TIME is a movement, a movement supported by a group of people who want to make a positive social change. As our lives become increasingly crowded with “responsibilities,” we tend to ignore ourselves and find it difficult to justify creative pursuits; they seem “selfish” and are often the first things we discard.  It’s time to reclaim our creativity!  CRE8TIME is a movement, a movement supported by a group of people who want to make a positive social change.  It is designed to help people recover eight hours a month and devote it to their particular craft, and to create a place for them to share their experiences – the joys, lessons, and results – with the creative community at large.

Check them out. The site serves as their hub - a place to pledge your time, get inspired, and connect with other Cre8ers. They're even a 501(c)3! Crafting as non-profit! I love it.

#2: The Craft and Hobby Association

And, from their "About" page:

The Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) is an international, not-for-profit trade association consisting of thousands of member companies engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution and retail sales of products in the nearly $30 billion U.S. craft and hobby industry.

CHA's vision, simply stated, is to create a vibrant industry with an exciting image, an expanding customer base and successful members. The goal is to stimulate the sales growth of the craft and hobby industry by creating consumer demand, helping members succeed and leading the industry.

Now, I can understand your confusion... "Why is she touting an industry association?" Well, as I mentioned earlier, I have a marketing brain and I think it's really interesting to keep in touch with what's happening on the business side of my hobbies. Plus, they have all the up-to-date information about craft conferences/expos! Now that Cassandra and I are, technically, professional crafters (that still makes me chuckle) we could actually go to these conferences and, if nothing else, walk away with loads of swag! Also, check out their blog. They have lots of good content.

As crafters, I think it's important to stay connected - to each other and to our industries. I hope you find something of value in these two Friday Finds.

- Alex