Creating Community – Boston Handmade

Boston Handmade is a community of Massachusetts-based Etsy sellers. I learned about the group as I became more active in attending area events, including a visit to their holiday shop in Downtown Crossing in Boston. Through Lucie Wicker, I got in touch with Jessica Burko to find out a little bit more about this very talented group of artists:

I understand that you started the group Boston Handmade. Can you tell me where you came up with the idea?

In 2007 I opened my Etsy shop, Reclaimed To You, and when I realized that there were other artists and craftspeople selling their work on Etsy that lived in the Boston area, I immediately wanted to meet as many as I could. I posted in the community section on the site that I’d love to get together with interested parties to meet up, share our art in person, network, and I invited everyone to my South End studio. In addition to being an artist, I have been working as an arts marketer since 1997 so my idea in gathering local Etsy sellers was geared towards sharing my marketing knowledge and learning from other artists about their experiences in the local creative economy.

How has your group grown over the years?

We’ve grown from a casual artists group into a guild of dedicated creative professionals. We produce shows together, occasionally purchase group advertising, and publish a daily blog. The members of Boston Handmade are truly dedicated to their independent businesses AND to the group. It’s the dedication of our membership that has kept us so strong these past several years – - the group development has been exciting to see!

What are some of the tools you use to keep in touch with the group?

We have a very vibrant email discussion group and we also get together a couple times per month. It’s the in-person gatherings that help us really connect with each other and where so many of our best ideas are generated. As an artist in the 21st century, I am involved with many on-line groups, and it feels good to know the Boston Handmade group members on a more personal level because of having so much “face time” with them.

What’s on the schedule for 2010 for Boston Handmade?

We are actually in the process of planning 2010, so stay tuned! We announce upcoming events through a variety of methods including out email list which you can sign up for via this link.

Any tips for other people interested in starting a similar group?

Understand that it will be a lot of work to keep it going, but all the efforts are extremely rewarding. Choose a way to communicate with your group right from the beginning and stick to it, Google Groups, Big Tent, and Yahoo Groups are a few of the great ways on-line to have group discussions and share information. Identifying the goals of the group is very important and will help you shape all aspects such as group size and what types of activities you will have. But most importantly, if you want to gather folks together to make common connections, go ahead and do it! You will be glad you did.