Carol Sedestrom Ross, CODA chair (left), and Joan Mondale, the keynote speaker at the CODA conference.

There couldn't have been a better place to hold the Craft Organization Directors Association conference than Asheville, N.C. The town is truly one that promotes crafts, especially fitting since the 90-some conference attendees were gathered to discuss crafts' national economic impact and the promotion of the craft field.

Four of the 12 attractions listed on the downtown area map I got at the airport were galleries. One of those galleries, Blue Spiral I Gallery, hosted the opening reception for conference attendees on Saturday evening, March 31. The reception was a reunion for many craft organization directors, artists, administrators, show promoters and gallery owners, and an introduction for many others. The setting, amidst amazing craftwork by many nationally known artists, was perfect for such a gathering.

The next morning, Carol Sedestrom Ross, CODA chair and director of craft marketing for George Little Management, welcomed attendees with her usual humorous anecdotes. She explained the origins of The CODA Survey, and the reasons the results were so important. (If you missed her introduction to the survey results, "Settling an Old Score," check out TCR May 2001.)

$13.8 billion? That's it?
The first presentation was the one everyone had been waiting for: the results of The CODA Survey. The results were presented by the survey researchers, Dr. Mike Evans and Dr. Dinesh Dave of the Center for Business Research at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. As they went over of the results, attendees were interested to find out statistics like the average age of craftspeople is 49, and that nearly 80 percent of craftspeople have their studios on their residential properties. But what they were really waiting for was the magic number: The national economic impact of the craft industry. When Dr. Evans finally announced the $13.8 billion figure, many were impressed. I was surprised, however, to hear a voice nearby saying, "$13.8 billion -- that's it?" And then another voice, "Yeah, I thought it would be more." And another, "Me too. Well, I guess $13.8 billion is good, right?"

These comments brought up a major point that was addressed during the press conference held on Monday, April 2, at the Folk Art Center -- a point that everyone should understand. This study examined the sale of handmade crafts by craftspeople. The final figure representing crafts' national economic impact also included a legitimate estimate of the value of wholesale items at retail. (They knew craftspeople's wholesale sales, and that craft retailers generally mark up items 100 percent, so they could estimate the impact of the sale of those items at retail and add it to the figure.)

But perhaps more important is what the survey did not include: It did not include the economic impact of craft education centers like Arrowmont School of Crafts and Interlaken School of Art, university programs, museums, or the employment generated by craft organizations, craft shows and in craft studios. It did not include the impact of craft publications, craft suppliers, conferences, or travel by craftspeople or buyers.

As Carol Sedestrom Ross pointed out at the press conference, The CODA Survey is the first-ever study of this scope, and it should be used as a starting point for further research.

As for the $13.8 billion figure ... it is an excellent starting point. Many organization directors said they will share this figure with their state legislatures to help rally support for the craft field. It is not a figure that will be easily ignored.

(Left to right) Laurie Huttunen, director of services for HandMade in America; Dr. Mike Evans, from the Center for Business Research at Appalachian State University; Becky Anderson, executive director, HandMade in America; and Dr. Dinesh Dave, from the Center for Business Research at Appalachian State University.

Cultural and economic policies
Throughout the three-day conference, additional presentations were given by many notable cultural figures. Many stressed the importance of educating the public about crafts, and about sharing the values inherent in the craft field.

Robert Lynch, president and CEO of the Americans for the Arts, pointed out important issues facing all of the arts today, from societal to financial. He believes the most important cultural policy issue facing America today is arts education. The arts have gained so much in recent years that there is greater potential for loss. He quoted such figures as, "There were 7,000 nonprofit arts organizations in 1965, and 40,000 in 1998." While this number seems extremely optimistic for the arts, Lynch said, it also means a lot more competition for resources. Arts organizations need to constantly educate the public and the policy makers about the societal and economic impact of the arts.

Paula Duggan of the World Bank Institute in Winston-Salem, N.C., is the coordinator of the National Crafts Planning Congress, which is slated to be held next year, and of the Investing in Culture: Artisan as Entrepreneur Learning Program. She explained that the mission of the World Bank Institute and its programs is threefold: poverty reduction, community empowerment and cultural preservation. In her presentation, she also stressed the importance of emphasizing the link between culture and economic development -- something The CODA Survey results will certainly help facilitate.

The Internet from several perspectives
One highlight of the conference was a panel discussion about Web sites, e-commerce and the online role of the craft organization. The panel was moderated by Dian Magie, executive director of the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design at the University of North Carolina in Hendersonville, and winner of award-winning multimedia arts education presentations. The panelists were: Joyce Link from the online retailer of fine craft, Guild.com (which recently merged with Ashford.com and will now be called Guild Art at Ashford.com); David Bolotsky, a former Internet retail researcher who is now founder and CEO of uncommongoods.com, an online marketplace with an inventory of unusual, hard-to-find products, including crafts; and Mary Beth Crawford, director of education at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte, N.C.

One of the most important points made during this panel addressed the concern that many have had about craft's potential to sell on the Internet -- that the tangible nature of crafts requires touching it and seeing it in person. David Bolotsky, who spent 15 years on Wall Street predicting retailers' futures on the Web, pointed out that people once had this same concern about clothing's potential to sell in catalogs. Today, the number-one selling product in catalogs, said Bolotsky, is clothing.

At Guild.com and uncommongoods.com, people have been buying, said Bolotsky and Link, and they haven't been going after just the low-priced items. Guild.com's top-selling craft media have been glass, ceramics and furniture. The average selling price for ceramics and jewelry is about $150; it is slightly higher for glass; and furniture averages just under $500. However, Guild.com makes about half of its revenue from artwork priced over $1,000, said Link.

A keynote address by Joan of Art
Another highlight of the conference was the keynote address made by Joan Mondale, wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale. Her efforts as the honorary chair of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities had gotten her dubbed "Joan of Art." Her support of crafts and attendance at craft events like the first Winter Market of American Craft in Baltimore (held by the American Craft Council) in the mid-'70s brought much media attention to the field.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

CODA Box 7553 Asheville, NC 28802 HandMade in America (828) 252-0121

New on the horizon
The conference came to a close with perhaps the most challenging of all presentations, both for attendees and for the presenter, John Parton. Parton is an organizational development consultant in Durham, N.C., who specializes in leadership transitions. His job at the conference was to address "The Graying of Craft Leadership." In a field where the average constituent is 49 years old, and many have been in leadership positions since the mid-'70s, this could have many implications. The concept of leadership was discussed, as was the perception that there are less young entrants into the field. Participants discussed whether or not these young craftspeople were actually few in number or just "invisible" as much of the craft field has been. So many issues and topics relevant to the future of this field were brought up in this interactive presentation that it will be covered in-depth in a future article.

At the end of John Parton's presentation, he asked several attendees to stand up and say what they were going to do when they got back from the conference. Responses ranged from, "Send the survey results to my state legislature" to "hire that young person" to "implement craft business courses in the curriculum." When I got back from the conference, I thought, I should encourage you, TCR readers, to share The CODA Survey results with as many people as you can, and encourage craft organizations that are engaged in efforts combining craft and tourism or economic development to write to or call The Crafts Report's editorial department and tell us about these efforts. We have been following many of these efforts over the last few years, but many new projects are springing up every year. In conjunction with CODA's undertakings, we can start recording all of these initiatives and build a more concrete foundation for other state and local organizations considering efforts of their own.

To help CODA advance farther in their mission of supporting the work of such craft organizations and to continue the momentum for the field initiated by the survey results, CODA has hired its first staff member. Linda Van Trump of the Arkansas Arts Council will serve as CODA's managing director. CODA is also exploring nonprofit status to aid in securing future funding.

Moving forward
As I looked out along the Blue Ridge Parkway on my trip back to the airport, I was amazed not only by the accomplishments made by the craft field in the last century, but also by the accomplishments made by a group of craft advocates during the last three days.

The next year will be an exciting one, not only for CODA but for the entire field. We will see the impact of The CODA Survey unfold, the National Crafts Planning Congress will be underway, and who knows ... another survey may even be in the works.

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