Membership Drive 2011

The STL Craft Mafia Membership Drive for 2011 has closed.  Thank you so much to those who applied.  We had a lot of awesome indie artists apply and we are very excited to welcome our newest members.  Thank you again.

To be notified of our next membership drive, please sign up to join our mailing list.  We will send out an e-mail when the next membership drive date has been set.  Thank you for your interest and support of the STL Craft Mafia! 

What types of crafters are you looking for? We represent all sorts of people and all types of indie craft – competition is fierce these days and we are looking for artists who stand out and offer something exciting and fresh.  You can be an old-skool crafter who’s been on the scene a while or a newcomer who’s trying to break into the craft scene.  The more original and high-quality the better.

What are the requirements? First, you must be local to the St. Louis area – either Missouri or Illinois.  You must have a current online store /website / Etsy shop.  You must have a personal Facebook account so that you are able to communicate the the team via our private STLCM group page.  You must be an active & practicing indie crafter.   You must be willing to volunteer a little of your time and help support your fellow crafters.  You must be at least 21 years old.

What is required of an active member? Members are required to pay a small yearly dues fee ($15) which goes to support our webhosting costs and other advertising needs.  We also require you to link your website/etsy shop to the STL Craft Mafia website.

We also expect you to be in regular communication with the administrators & the rest of the group - answer e-mails and vote when asked.  We have a Members Only Facebook Group page through which we discuss various things of interest & a Public Facebook Fan page & blog to promote our events.  We also have quarterly meetings – barring emergencies or unavoidable conflicts, we expect you to attend three out of four.

Most importantly, we want members to be INVOLVED and ACTIVE.  Volunteering is encouraged and everyone must help in whatever ways they can to make events successful.

We want crafters who will actively participate in frequent events & sales, and are active business-people growing their own businesses as well as nurturing the indie craft community. It helps if you are familiar with local crafters and shows, especially members of the Craft Mafia – the more positive interactions we’ve had with you, the better your chances are.

What are the benefits? There are lots! You are automatically accepted to mafia-curated & mafia-created shows. You get to be part of a vibrant & supportive community dedicated to promoting one another and celebrating our shared successes. Nice people, very little drama. You’ll hear about events and opportunities before almost anyone else. You have the support network you need to create & grow a show or event of your own. We’ve been around for several years and have been lucky enough to participate and create a number of indie craft events – we want to continue supporting our community!

How many members are you voting in? That depends on the applicants, although we prefer between 35 an 40 members total.

Why don’t you let in more people? We wish we could say yes to everyone – there are so many wonderful crafters locally – but realistically we can only support 30-40 people and give them the time and care they need.  When our group grows too large, members feel disconnected and it can be difficult to maintain direction.  This number gives us a good range and mix of makers and personalities.

We strive to be a tight-knit team that works together to serve the entire craft community by producing shows that support lots and lots of other vendors.

Please contact Rachel at stlouiscraftmafia@gmail.com if you have more questions.