State of Vermont to Celebrate 'American Craft Week,' 10/4-13

Resurgence in interest in craft? Cool to buy American again.

This fall, Americans in all 50 states, including Vermont, will be celebrating the art of handmade craft. From Oct. 4 to 13, American Craft Week will feature hundreds of diverse events in galleries and artist studios, museums and schools, as well as at fairs and festivals.

The State of Vermont is a major sponsor with participating activities and events including Fall Open Studio Weekend, October 5 and 6 with 127 sites participating. Other participants include the 35th Anniversary of the Putney Craft Tour, the Craftproducers art and craft festivals in Manchester (Oct 4-6) and Stowe (Oct 11-13), Vermont Artisan Designs, the Bennington Arts Guild, Readsboro Glassworks Open Studio (Oct 5 & 6), among others.

Martha Fitch, executive director of the Vermont Crafts Council, says "Hand made objects and the stories they tell, connect us to the past as well, as they are the artifacts that museums use to illuminate the human story. In Vermont, with its agricultural history, the crafts of stonework, blacksmithing, glassblowing, furniture making, weaving, and sewing, are all part of this tradition. This great diversity of artist studios is yet another reason to put Fall Open Studio on your calendar, make a day of it and travel the roads of Vermont and as a secondary thrill, you might see some of the natural beauty of the Vermont landscape while you are doing it."

"American Craft enriches our homes, wardrobes, offices and public spaces. It contributes to our nation's economy, our balance of trade, and the fabric of our national history," says Diane Sulg, co-chair of American Craft Week. "By taking part in the celebration, people are joining in on the trend of buying artisan and locally made products."

Four years ago, the American craft industry decided it was time to do something to bring more visibility to the industry that was facing challenges as the global market and advanced technology brought more competition for the consumer's dollar.

Diane Sulg, a board member of the Craft Retailers & Artists for Tomorrow, hatched the idea to have a national weeklong celebration to promote the wonders, value, innovations and traditions of American made craft. She says, "Other industries tout their products...now it's time to showcase the American craft industry with a nationwide celebration."

Vermont has played an important part in the American Craft movement since the 60s. No doubt, Vermont's agrarian heritage created a culture of craft and an appreciation of the hand-made, which remain to this day. More to the point, Vermont was at the forefront of discussions championing craft as art. In 1938, Aileen Osborne Webb invited artisans and groups with a vested interest in crafts to a meeting in Shelburne, VT, by the end of their three days together; they had agreed to form the Handcraft Cooperative League of America, the first national organization of craft. That organization would evolve to become the American Craft Council.

"It can be argued that Vermont served as the birthplace of the modern American craft movement," wrote Jamie Franklin and Anne Majusiak, curators of "State of Craft," an 2010 exhibit at the Bennington Museum.

Other Vermont sponsors include major sponsor Cerf+, and regional sponsors Long Trail Brewing Co. and the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce.

The fourth annual American Craft Week will be held Oct. 4-13 in cities and towns across the nation. With hundreds of diverse events at galleries, artist studios, museums, schools, as well as fairs and festivals, it is the premier public celebration of handmade craft in America. American Craft Week is a program of Craft Retailers and Artists for Tomorrow (CRAFT), a trade association dedicated to the growth and vitality of American craft. For more information, visit http://www.Americancraftweek.com.