What Is Our Artisan Market?
The world had changed. Once a planet dominated by the hands of craftsmen & craftswomen, slowly came to reflect the factory nature of the industrial revolution. Brick by brick, block by block, city by city, town by town: we grew to be the pinnacle of efficiency and standards. But what did we lose in the process? We traded soul for interchangeable parts. In the process our goods became interchangeable. Pieces of a crude puzzle made of pressed particle board and a sheen of metallic plastic.
The major gift of the “Great Recession” was unknown during the initial shock: time. Thousands of people were able to reflect on the lack of truly passionate work available. They began to connect the inherent danger of sending dollars overseas instead of buying local or handmade. At the very core, they began to work on meaningful things again.
Out of that began a movement that was spurred on mostly by the DIY and Maker movement. Tinkerers and small-time batch creators began to start small businesses. Ones that are jumpstarting a different kind of economy. One that is ripe for explosion and needs to be encouraged and fostered in each and every community across America.
The success of the Internet e-commerce revolution has finally democratized and empowered craftsmen, artisans, bakers, brewers, designers, musicians and much, much more. These lucky creators are fortunate enough to have online communities on Etsy, DeviantArt, Spoonflower, 99Designs, etc. For every online community, though there is a severe lack of physical hands-on and person-to-person interaction on any scale. Sure you can have twitter followers in Sri Lanka, but what about your neighbors, your community?
That’s where IndieCraft Artisan Market comes into play. At it’s core it’s an open source arts, goods & services market. The focus placed on piggybacking upon local farmer’s markets with a built-in base of people eager to spend local. The beauty of the market is it’s ability to adapt to the needs of those who take part. In a world of micro-business typically run out of a person’s home or shared co-working space, the market fulfills it’s promise to allow entrepreneurs a low-impact “storefront” once a week or bi-weekly. In return, the entrepreneurs will scale some services to a micro level as a way to accommodate people of all income levels.
IndieCraft will become a public square once again in each community it serves. It will get people away from their keyboards for at least one Saturday a month for a day of networking, brotherhood, and commerce.
Open Source Rules
1. Each market is independent, open source and transparent.
2. It must follow the basic skeleton of IndieCraft to carry the name and pay an annual membership of $25/year (which covers the website upkeep).
3. Each vendor must pay their “rent” to the farm market according to their rules & regulations.
4. A regional market should feature local, homegrown businesses first with a focus on artists and craftsmen.
5. Currency can be traded via cash/coins or using PayPal, Square, Dwolla or Bitcoin.
6. In the instance of trade or barter, both parties must agree to offer goods/services of equal market value. After negotiating, each party can sign a basic contract.
7. There will be a designated market “judge” to settle cost disputes and insure all local laws are followed.
8. There will be a designated market “tax expert” to oversee the barter & trade tax process.
9. There will be a designated market “barter bookkeeper” (and notary) to keep track of agreements as an independent third party witness.
10. Each market will be self-sufficient and pay the market organizer, judge, tax expert and barter bookkeeper through a portion of the market rent.
11. Micro-goods and micro-services shall be offered as both an entry-level way to reach new customers and also a way to more easily facilitate barters or trades.
12. Space shall be designated to allow community-oriented and affordable classes and seminars.
Market Organizer(s)
This is YOUR market, make it your own. Allow it to reflect your community and the niches that represents. But get creative. Curate according to season and your distinct tastes. Be open to providers at “the edge” of society. This is a learning process for everyone who attends. Have a folk band perform a set, or organize a scavenger hunt amongst the vendors. Or hold a trivia contest with questions at each booth/table.
Website - indiecrafted.com
Either a simple Wordpress template (launch video, open source rules, faq, and meetup widget) or a Tumblr with same contents.
Social Media - Meetup.com + Facebook + Twitter
Each person signs up to be a IndieCraft founder and thus starts a Meetup account ($12/mo). Each market is essentially standalone as a private franchise/enterprise that merely carries the IndieCraft name.
Social media presence should be minimal to avoid confusion.
facebook.com/indiecraft_cityname (ex: indiecraft_bklyn)
twitter.com/indiecraft_cityname (ex: indiecraft_cle)
Pilot Program “Beta Markets”
1. Montclair, NJ - https://www.facebook.com/MontclairFarmersMarket/
2. Brooklyn - http://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/ourmarkets
3. Toledo/Cleveland