At this point, you have probably heard our big news- that we have been accepted to the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe. The International Folk Art Market is a world renowned event celebrating traditional art from around the world. The event is highly competitive and even having been accepted speaks to the women’s incredible skills as artisans. Just to give you an idea, there were over 500 applicants from around the world for 130 booth spaces. Needless to say, this is a high compliment towards the women’s work!
Another reason that we are excited about this opportunity is that the profits from this event will be reinvested into our sales program, allowing us to expand our sales reach. One area of our sales program we plan to expand is our wholesale program, which is a wonderful way to keep a steady and consistent stream of work coming into the prison.
Although we are thrilled to be participating in this fair (and to give the women SO MUCH work), events like these cost money. As a small non-profit we do not have the start up money to participate in an event this size. Enter Indiegogo. Next week, we will be launching an Indiegogo campaign to help us raise money to cover the cost of the event.
Our campaign goal is $10,000 and 60% of that goes directly to the women through our order! 25% will go towards the cost of the event itself, including volunteer staff travel expenses and booth fees. 10% will go into shipping and customs, and 5% will be used to support the campaign fees.
Keep an eye out next week for our launch! And, if you have fallen in love with the metal stamped jewelry from our class this trip, you will have a chance to score one as a backer of our campaign!