How can the Alliance support your artisan business?
In our 2016 Member Survey, you ranked support and grow artisan businesses as our most important objective. At the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise, we are dedicated meeting this need, and are expanding and improving our programs to support the growth of your businesses.
The Alliance is a proud partner of Kiva, the world's first crowd-lending platform! Through this partnership, all Alliance members have access to our Artisan Loan Program, offering loans up to $20,000 with 0% interest. Take advantage of this program! Find more information and begin your application in our member portal (password: alliance2012).
Additionally, the Alliance is preparing to launch our new Digital Learning Series! This online series, led by members of our community, will provide short technical trainings and additional information about the resources in our network. Contact gina.rogari@aspeninst.org with content proposals, and stay tuned more information about our first episode!
A Closer Look: Mela Artisans + Kiva
Is Kiva right for you? If you're not sure, read how Mela Artisans used the Alliance's Artisan Loan Program to provide stable employment for Kashmiri embroiderers! The organization now works with women artisans who practice traditional zalakdozi hook embroidery, which resembles crochet and dates back to the 1400s. Read more on the Alliance blog!
Consider: Cultural Sustainability in the Age of Globalization
This month, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage hosted a special symposium on Cultural Sustainability. The day-long event featured leaders from around the world focused on preserving culture and integrating traditional values with modern society, including Alliance members Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco and the Self-Employed Women's Association! Read more about the event on the Alliance blog.
Member updates:
- Take an inside look at the Italian weaving workshop Laboratorio Giuditta Brozzetti with Insight Vacations
- Read about the Pamela Love + Mercado Global collaboration on the Pamela Lova blog
- "Tradition is not preserving the ashes but passing on the flame," says ABURY Foundation creator Andrea Bury; read more in Catawiki
- Kauli introduces its first line of handcrafted Tanzanian handbags on Amazon! Read more about the launch and shop today
- What is "philanthropic fashion"? Hear from Indego Africa's Rosine Urujeni and Adesina Oyenuga on Applause Africa
- Learn about the weaving techniques preserved at the Center for Tradtional Textiles of Cusco with Contiki!
- What does a photoshoot look like for global marketplace The Citizenry? Get behind the scenes on their blog
- Look inside a GlobeIn monthly artisan box with Sustainably Chic
- How are people shopping - online or in stores? Find consumer insights from NYNOW
- Find Mercado Global's collaboration with Pamela Love featured in Nylon Magazine's Morning Scoop alongside Lena Dunham!
- How does jewelry brand Bloom + Grace "do well and do good"? Learn about its model on the UN Foundation blog
Did we miss something? Email gina.rogari@aspeninst.org with updates from your organization to be featured in next month's letter.
Newsworthy!
Read about the state of the artisan sector, consumer trends, development issues, and more:
- Learn about the revitalization of ancient weaving techniques in Peru's Sacred Valley in The Guardian
- "It Takes a Village" to build success; read more in Huffington Post
- Photographer Joana Choumali documented young, contemporary African women and their relationships to past generations through clothing, in HuffPost Arts & Culture
Stay Connected:
The heart of the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise is our diverse community of members working with artisans around the world. Take advantage of their extraordinary skills, knowledge, and experience and get in touch today!
Find our member directory, artisan loan application, logo, and other important resources in the Alliance member portal using the password alliance2012.