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Join us in the founding circle as we build a better handmade marketplace!

Artisans Cooperative is now accepting our first members!

We’re looking for artisans and supporters who want to take back control from Big Tech marketplaces and join us today as early members of the co-op. Our marketplace will feature authentic artisans and products, community control, and more profits in the pockets of artisans!

All members get ownership and financial rights (profit-sharing), and Artisan members will have lower fees and priority placement in customer search on the marketplace.

There is a one-time buy-in cost, with multiple options for payment plans and non-cash options so everyone can afford to join today. Read all the details in our blog post, Membership Drive.

The first members to join in-full before July 31st will be lifetime members of our Founders Circle, with a lower sales commission and more perks.

The full cost of membership buy-ins is 1,000 “points” (or $1,000) for Artisans and 100 points ($100) for Supporters. There are no annual dues/fees; membership is a one-time investment.

Payment plans are as follows:


Payment Plan
ArtisansSupporters
MonthlyAnnualMonthlyAnnual
Non-Cash Points1,000
Founder’s Circle
100
Founder’s Circle
Cash: 1 Year$83.34$1,000.00
Founder’s Circle
$8.34$100.00
Founder’s Circle
Cash: 2 Years$41.67$500.00
Cash: 3 Years$27.78$333.34
Cash: 4 Years$20.84$250.00

What our Members Are Saying…

Gokojo

“Other online marketplaces have become saturated with mass-manufactured items masquerading as “handmade”, creating unfair competition. We need a platform that values the handmade artisan over shareholder profits.”

Lizzy | Supporter

“It has been harder and harder to find authentic and handmade items for years. I hate having to search through 15 pages of dropship shops before finding an actual artist. Artisans Cooperative makes it easy!”

StellaNCWorks

“I love that my handmade work has a place among a community of other authentically handmade artisan products. I really appreciate that Artisans Cooperative puts its artisans first. And it’s exactly the marketplace I want to do my shopping in, too.”

Valerie | Supporter

“I want to shop on a marketplace that I can trust will treat artisans fairly.”

Atypically Artistic

“Artisans Cooperative feels like the happy place I have been looking for to offer my wide variety of creations. I want community, authenticity and a marketplace that actually cares about handmade and the amazing amount of love and work that goes into it!”

Olga | Supporter

“It’s so difficult to find unique and high-quality goods when marketplaces are filled with mass-produced goods. Artisans Cooperative makes it easy to identify handmade goods and to support artisans directly!”

Founders Circle Capital Campaign

Track Our Progress to $25,000 $50,000!

Launch Date: May 23rd, 2023! 

July Update: July 7th, 2023! 

$50,000 July STRETCH GOAL!

ON JULY 6, WE MET OUR ORIGINAL GOAL OF $25,000! In June, we launched a capital campaign to raise critical early funding from our first founding members. Our June goal was to raise $25,000 by July 31, 2023 to enable us to launch our cooperative marketplace by October 2023. 

But our strong momentum made us wonder…. “What if we could build the marketplace without outside investors?”

This would give us more democratic control of the Coop, more true to our values. SO WE DOUBLED OUR GOAL! (Learn more in our blog post)

Total Membership Buy Ins
53%

New memberships ensures our ability to launch in October by:

  1. Paying for website development
  2. Proving our community’s commitment to lenders and financial institutions
  3. Leveraging additional financing for marketing and our first staff

New members who buy-in in full by July 31, 2023, will be recognized as a Founding Member for life. Founding Members get special benefits as part of our Founding Circle including:

  • 6.5% promotional sales commission for the first 2 years (compared to 8% for members, 9.5% for non-members)
  • Opportunity to be involved in the design, testing, and beta launch of the marketplace
  • Priority access to handmade verification: be “Verified” on our launch day
  • Special marketing promotions with a search filter label and top billing for our launch, timed for the holiday shopping imperative
  • Behind-the-scenes access and a direct communications channel to the General Circle and interim Board of Directors through a dedicated Discord channel
  • Listing on a thank-you page with a backlink to your website

Thank you to our Founding Circle Members!

Walnut Studiolo | Founding Artisan Member

Dragontree Emporium | Founding Artisan Member

Bean Bros Handmade | Founding Artisan Member

Stella NC Works | Founding Artisan Member

Atypically Artistic by Miss Thera | Founding Artisan Member

Seramik Studio | Founding Artisan Member

Roff Jewellery & Saskiart | Founding Artisan Member

Pug And Paper | Founding Artisan Member

Emma Fasullo | Founding Supporter Member

Brian Silverstein | Founding Supporter Member

Steve Ediger | Founding Supporter Member

Timothy Kilgore | Founding Supporter Member

Kelly Jo Anderson | Founding Supporter Member

Pauline Orr | Founding Supporter Member

Ravi Sapre | Founding Supporter Member

Zee Spencer | Founding Supporter Member

Learn More About ThE Coop

A square block that reads: "The Impact Of A Handmade Artisans Co-op, by Elaine" with the Coop's logo in the corner.

The Impact of a Handmade Artisans Cooperative

In this post, we'll outline the what a Cooperative is, the differences between The Artisans Cooperat…

"Artisans Cooperative Membership Drive - blog post by Alex"

The Value of Cooperative Membership

In just a few years, Artisans Cooperative has crafted an online handmade marketplace for an inclusiv…

Membership Drive: How You Can Help - Blog Post by Airic

Protected: Members Only: MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – HOW YOU CAN HELP

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To the left, the title of the blog post "Points Tracker Tool for Member Activities" with "Blog post by Artisans Cooperative" below and the Coop logo. To the right is a pink highlighter checking off boxes on a form.

Points Tracker Tool for Member Activities

In this post, we're sharing a new support tool for our members who are contributing patronage throug…

To the left, it says "A Day in the Life of the Coop" with "Blog post by Aggie" underneath and the Coop logo under that. To the right is a photo of a white desk with a jar of black pencils in it, a mug on a coaster, a keyboard, a notebook, headphones, and some leaves.

A Day in the Life of the Coop

A day in the life of Artisans Cooperative is bustling with work and fun! One of the strengths of our…

To the left is a color block with "Board Election Results" at the top, "members only" underneath, and the Coop logo below. To the right is a photo of multicolored balloons being released into a beige background.

Protected: Election Results

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