Craft & Hobby Association Announces Formation of CHA-UK

The Craft & Hobby Association has announced the formation of an affiliate in the United Kingdom called CHA-UK. The new association will be independently funded and governed from its American affiliate, and will operate as a not-for-profit organization.

This isn't CHA's first international partnership. CHA already has a Canadian affiliate called the Canadian Craft & Hobby Association (CCHA), which also operates as an independent non-profit organization.

CHA-UK's Board of Directors met in Manchester on May 18th to elect their first slate of officers. The Board consists of:

  • Colin Poole, Creative Expressions Ltd

  • Alastair McMinn, Coats Crafts

  • Barry Short, Creatively Inspired

  • Jane Gregory, Addicted 2 Craft

  • Tony Sheridan, Create & Craft TV

  • Catriona Marshall, Hobbycraft

  • Derek Bamford, Cutting Edge Craft, Grafton Projects Ltd

  • Mark Hill, The Thomas Kinkade Company LLC

  • Sara Davies, Crafter’s Companion Ltd

  • Stephanie Burnham, The Bead Scene

  • Anna Davenport, Immediate Media Co.

  • Carolyn Schulz, Creative Solutions Ltd

  • Terry Bowles, Design Objectives Ltd

  • Kathy Walsh, Personal Impressions

  • Stephanie Weightman, Art and Craft Direct Ltd

  • Andrej Suskavcevic, Craft & Hobby Association

Sara Davies and Mark Hill are also Board members of the Craft & Hobby Association, and Andrej Suskavcevic is the association's CEO.

From that May 18th meeting, the CHA-UK Board of Directors elected the following officers to lead the new organization:

  • Chair: Sara Davies, Crafter's Companion Ltd

  • Vice Chair: Carolyn Schulz, Creative Solutions Ltd

  • Secretary/Treasurer: Derek Bamford, Cutting Edge Craft, Grafton Projects Ltd

CHA-UK's mission will be similar to its U.S. affiliate: to promote and grow the craft industry and provide support for craft businesses.

“The UK is at a crossroads”, explained Sara Davies, newly elected CHA-UK Board Chair. “We need to come together to collaborate in order to expand the craft industry in the UK by leveraging shared experience and pooling of resources to harness the collective power of an entire industry rather than individual craft businesses.”

One of CHA-UK's first actions as an organization was to affiliate itself with BATF (British Allied Trades Federation), which will bring CHA-UK members a whole host of benefits, including access to discounts on credit card merchant processing rates, healthcare, mailing & shipping, healthcare, travel, insurance, and web design & hosting services.

CHA-UK membership starts at £100 per year for Buyer members and £200 per year for Supplier members, depending on a company's annual revenues.

Nancy Nally

I’m the owner of Nally Studios LLC, which owns the websites Nally Studios and Craft Critique. I’ve spent the last 20 years working in the crafts industry as a writer and marketing consultant. My newest venture is the Nally Studios etsy store, where I sell digital files for scrapbookers. I live in Florida with my husband, teenage daughter, and a cat who thinks its a dog.

https://www.nallystudios.etsy.com
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