Hello World! Today we’re opening the doors to Artisans Cooperative – the ONLY member-owned marketplace for buying handmade! For those of you who are new to the community, welcome!
18 months ago, many of us were participating in the #EtsyStrike, and had a fire in our belly for change. When we realized Wall Street was unpersuadable, we shared a clear and simple vision with the world: a fair marketplace, owned by and for artisans.
Our vision resonated with so many others. Had you told us that about a year later we’d be launching our dream, a cooperatively-owned alternative, we’re not sure we’d believe you! Never underestimate the passion of determined artists.
Today we are here to celebrate the results of the past year: an ethical handmade marketplace and a stronger and more beautiful cooperative community.
Our ethical, member-owned marketplace launches today with over 65 shops and 1,000 handmade items – and more onboarding every day. We built the basic platform on Shopify in record time by using existing tech tools and many dedicated hours from our members.
Our cooperative now stands at over 200 artisan and supporter members, with more than half providing the initial seed money necessary to pay for our launch. We are an entirely self-financed operation! Not only that, our members are determined to keep it that way, voting in August to maintain control and contribute more work hours rather than seek extractive outside financing. Only by keeping control are we able to build the marketplace that best fits our collective needs.
Thank you to each and every one of you who believed in the platform before it became a reality. Words cannot begin to describe how much we appreciate your belief in the vision. A genuinely heartwarming number of people gave critical early trust and support, and each of them have made it better with their feedback, hours, and funds.
Now it’s time to spread the word! There are three simple actions we’d like everyone to take today. They should take fewer than ten minutes to complete.
- Visit the marketplace and make a purchase (or two!)
- Forward this to your friends & family or write a note of your own (here are some samples)
- Share on social media. Simply reposting our posts or creating your own will go a long way.
In many ways, today is the day the journey really begins. Now our attention turns to getting the word out to the world and continuing to build our vision of a community that values Fair Tech over Big Tech!
About Artisans Cooperative
We are growing an online handmade marketplace for an inclusive network of creatives: a co-op alternative to Etsy.
Shop the marketplace!