AWM believes that creative businesses can become integral players in Western Mass’ sustainable economy. If you would like to join our movement and bring awareness to your work and your creative business, please take a moment to read over our membership requirements.
Artisans of WMASS membership requirements:
A person may become a juried Member of AWM if that artisan:
- Lives and/or works in Berkshire County, Hampden County, Franklin County, Hampshire County, or the North Quabbin Region;
- Is 18 years or older;
- Pays the required membership dues $45 annually;
- Signs AWM Membership Responsibilities Form upon joining;
- Attends one general meeting per year at a minimum;
- Participates in AWM promotions and campaigns;
- Artisan’s work fulfills the following requirements:
- All creations must be handmade by the artisan member; the term “handmade” can additionally be interpreted as “hand-assembled” or “hand altered”. Simply tailoring, restoring or repairing an item is not considered handmade. Upcycled, reconstructed or significantly altered items are considered handmade;
- Artisan maintains significant hands-on involvement in design, production, and creation of each piece; production assistance for certain intermediary tasks in some crafts may be acceptable;
- The finished piece’s artistry transcends that of mass-produced objects;
- Item was made from materials that are mixed together with artist intent and input that result in a new product; that is the item’s materials were substantially and personally enhanced by the artisan;
- The creative process is being regularly revisited;
- Artisan’s content affiliated with AWM (websites or shows) does not contain material that defames or vilifies any person, people, races, religion or religious group and is not obscene, pornographic, indecent, harassing, threatening, harmful, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable.
Annual membership dues of $45 go towards promoting AWM, your creative business, AWM sponsored events, publicity materials and AWM sponsored workshops.
If you would like to join our Artisans of WMASS, or you have any further questions about our organization, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with our Membership Coordinator, Steve Nartowicz: membership@artisansofwmass.com, or our President, S. Lou Leelyn president@artisansofwmass.com and we’ll get right back to you! We will send you everything you need to join us.
**Please include your name, business name, type of art/craft, email, website, and mailing address in your inquiry.**
Welcome to the local, handmade movement!
