Membership Information

Boston Handmade is not currently accepting membership applications.
Please subscribe to our Arts Opportunities Newsletter to stay informed this and future review dates.

This page contains information about our membership requirements and application procedure.
Free to email with any questions: BostonHandmade@gmail.com

Who We Are
Boston Handmade is a juried arts organization of local artists and craftspeople supporting one another in the pursuit of creativity made by hand. The membership is dedicated to working collaboratively for mutual inspirational and professional benefit with regular exhibition and educational opportunities for members including skill-share workshops, craft shows, and monthly networking gatherings. Boston Handmade maintains an active web presence and all members are eligible to be published on the group blog. Founded in 2007, Boston Handmade sponsors creative and business opportunities for its members and strives to increase visibility for local handmade art and craft in the greater Boston area. We feel that it’s not enough to love what we do, and do what we love, we also strive to enrich the lives of those we meet by sharing our passion for everything handmade.

Our Members
Members of Boston Handmade represent a wide range of media. Our members work with metals, paper, fibers, found and fabricated objects, clay, paint, wax, gems, and more. Artists and craftspeople join Boston Handmade at varied points in their careers; some are just getting serious about their work, some have been engaged for decades. The beauty of this variety centers around the wealth and breadth of experience that each member can share with the group. Members benefit from one another's triumphs, struggles, and experiments.

We Are Handmade
At Boston Handmade our group members create art and craft reflecting high standards of quality and integrity. Artists and craftspeople represented by Boston Handmade show and sell original designs, one-of-a-kind, and limited editions of their work in a wide variety of media categories. All works exhibited and sold by members of Boston Handmade are created by the members themselves. Simply tailoring, restoring, assembling, or repairing an existing work of art or functional object is not considered to be handmade. Upcycled, reconstructed or significantly altered vintage and found items are considered handmade.

The Boston Handmade Difference

What makes Boston Handmade different from other regional artist associations is our commitment to each other and to the group, and our individual commitments to living the handmade life. The members of Boston Handmade gather to talk, share new work, get feedback on ideas, demonstrate techniques, and produce shows. It’s the frequent meet-ups that keep the membership connected and builds strong relationships. We know that we can rely on one another for assistance and advice in a multitude of situations. In Boston Handmade we recognize that art is not created in a vacuum and that many hands make light work; we believe in helping our fellow artist.

Membership Requirements:
1. Membership fee of $50, payable in the first month of membership (less the application fee) and annually in February.
2 .
Write a minimum of 6 creative updates per year. “Creative updates” are blog posts published to the Boston Handmade blog that can be about anything related to art, craft, your work, the business of craft, upcoming art/craft events, etc. See our blog for examples: http://www.bostonhandmade.org.
3. Attend a minimum of 6 meet-ups per year. A meet-up is any Boston Handmade activity that is not a group show. Any member can host a meet-up, lead a workshop, propose and coordinate a field trip, etc.
4. Participate in a minimum of 2 Boston Handmade shows per year, 1 can be a trunk show. There are currently several group shows scheduled for 2014 and a venues that will be holding monthly trunk shows for members of Boston Handmade.
5. Staying current and participating in the Boston Handmade Facebook Group. Boston Handmade has a private, member-only Facebook group through which all of our announcements, communication, and discussions occur.
6. Attend the Boston Handmade Annual Meeting held each year on the 3rd Saturday of January (location TBA).
7. Maintain an active online shop. Any online shop qualifies: BigCartel, Artfire, you own e-commerce shop, Etsy, etc.
8. Maintain residency in Massachusetts. We welcome members from all around the Commonwealth as long as you are able to attend meet-ups and participate in this group, which largely meets in the Greater Boston area.
9. Take on a role in the group outside of individual membership. Examples: organize group shows, do social networking for Boston Handmade, get active in a working group, or you can create your own role that gets you involved with other members and benefits the overall group.

Boston Handmade Member Benefits:
• An open invitation to exhibit in all Boston Handmade sponsored shows.
• Discounted exhibitor fee for Boston Handmade sponsored shows.
• Access to extensive online art, craft, marketing, and business resources.
• Special opportunities such as discounts to area museums and workshops with marketing and social media experts.
• Inclusion in the Boston Handmade community and group meet-ups.
• All new members will receive a free Boston Handmade T-shirt (while supplies last).

Membership Application Procedure:
When we are accepting membership applications, there is a link below to the Boston Handmade Membership Application. The application requests your contact information, links to where your work can be seen online, and your answers to a series of questions related to you and your handmade work. Answer the questions as you see fit, and to the best of your abilities. After the application acceptance period closes all of the received applications will be reviewed by a panel of current Boston Handmade Members. 

**Please note: There is a $15 non-refundable application fee payable via Paypal or credit card.**
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