About
About us
Hi there! We’re the Artisans Cooperative, built to shine a light on all the wonderful artisans that keep handmade craft alive! We've been building a better online marketplace for handmade goods.
Sellers build and maintain their own ‘shop", verifying the handmade practices used in their production before listing and shipping products throughout the USA and Canada.
Founded in October 2023 as an ethical alternative to Etsy following the #EtsyStrike, our business is cooperatively owned by our diversity of members: handcrafting artisans, community supporters and loyal customers. Members define our rules, our policies, our processes and the cooperative operations, in creative ways through open participation and teamwork.
Follow Our Story Blog
Our Values
1. Member-Owned
We are a member-owned, member-run, and member-benefiting co-op. Members are all of the people who make us what we are: artisans, supporters, and eventually employees. Membership is open and voluntary, and we adhere to the 7 international principles of cooperativism. Co-ops may be harder to start than other corporate structures, but once running they are statistically more likely to succeed.
2. Free and Fair
Our marketplace is free to join and open to the public. It allows artisans to gain control of their own livelihoods through simple, fair, and transparent fees and enabling community connection. Our democratically-run co-op means that artisans have a say in business decisions, including fee changes. (We actually intend to lower fees once we are up and running.)
3. Inclusion: We welcome all authentic artisans and their supporters who want to see this marketplace happen. Craft has always been the refuge of the disadvantaged: a way to earn income outside of a system that makes participation difficult for so many. We lower up-front barriers to entry for members of all kinds, including unincorporated collectives and mutual-aid societies, level the financial playing field with our innovative Points & Tiers Policy, and actively engage communities that are historically not well-served by the typical corporate structure.
4. Authentically handmade: Our community-written Handmade Policy ensures that every product on the marketplace is actually handmade by putting our members in control. Using the power of our community, it provides an original-yet-enforceable definition of ‘handmade’, a verification system, and an enforcement process. This reduces artisans’ competition from drop-shipped resellers and mass-produced products, and benefits customers, too, by providing a selective marketplace they can trust to be entirely handmade.
Our Principles
In addition to our own values, we uphold the seven principles upheld by cooperatives everywhere:
- Voluntary and Open Membership: Cooperatives are voluntary organizations open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership.
- Democratic Member Control: Members actively participate in setting policies and making decisions.
- Members’ Economic Participation: Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the finances of their cooperative.
- Autonomy and Independence: Cooperatives are self-directed, self-help organizations controlled by their members.
- Education, Training, and Information: Cooperatives provide education and training internally and externally. Internal education is so all can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. Externally cooperatives educate the general public about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives: Cooperatives strengthen the cooperative movement by working together.
- Concern for Community: Cooperatives care about the local communities outside of the organization.
Our Members & Ownership Model
Unlike private- and investor-owned marketplaces, the people who use the marketplace can own it and manage it to their own benefit. And unlike other co-op marketplaces, ours is inclusive to all kinds of craft, and accessible to all genuine artisans and their supporters.
To keep profits within the artisan community rather than distributing them to external investors , we've created our business with simple tools and elbow grease. There are currently no paid employees of the cooperative: member contributions of every size sustain our operations and are counted in a simple profit sharing model & accessible participation requirements.
Membership Buy In : $10.00 USD
Artisan Participation: 990 activity points
Supporter Participation: 90 activity points
Our members are offered lots of benefits beyond a lower commission rate, creative input, cooperative decision-making and profit sharing. Member shops receive priority handmade verification, placement and promotion on the marketplace, co-op social media channels and even no-cost paid advertising for more exclusive marketing visibility. We have access to password managers, encrypted messaging and video conferencing, a cloud environment and storage service, discounts at Handmade Seller Magazine and other perks for personal use. There isn't even a requirement to sell or shop on the marketplace and members can leave at any time without needing to close shop.
About Handmade
About the Cooperative
- About Membership
- About Our Brand and Chicken Mascot
- In the News (Press Mentions)
- Our History and Progress
- Our Mission and Values
- Polls & Surveys
- Press Releases
- Support Our Work
- Who We Are
Policies and User Guides
About Cooperatives
- What is a Cooperative?
- Learn more about the international principles of cooperatives
- Platform Cooperativism: A Bill of Rights for Artisans Selling Online
- Top 7 Co-op Myths Debunked
- Union vs Guild vs Co-op vs Collective: What's the Difference?
Frequently Asked Questions
Hi there! We’re the Artisans Cooperative. A new online marketplace, built to shine a light on all the wonderful artisans that keep handmade craft alive!
Who are you?
We are a rapidly growing group of artisans and their supporters. We are creating an authentic handmade online marketplace. Think “Etsy,” but more honest and inclusive, more supportive of artisans, and more selective as a “verified handmade” marketplace for shoppers!
What makes your marketplace different?
Our ownership! Artisans Cooperative is a member-owned and member-run cooperative. This means we want artisans to be in control of their own livelihoods and to put more money back in artisans’ pockets. (Learn more about cooperatives in our blog post, What is a Cooperative?)
Unlike private- and investor-owned marketplaces, the people who use the marketplace own it and manage it to their own benefit. And unlike other co-op marketplaces, ours is inclusive to all kinds of craft, and accessible to all genuine artisans and their supporters.
In addition to being artisan-owned, inclusion / lowering barriers and authentically handmade are the values we use as a lens to build the co-op and the marketplace.
Who are your “members” and how can I join?
Our members are the people who own the cooperative:
- Artisans who sell on our marketplace
- Supporters, such as amazing customers and others who want to support handmade artisans
- Employees of the co-op (when we have them someday!)
To learn more about membership, go to our Membership page.
What do members get?
Besides being a part of an amazing community? Democratic control, financial rights, and for artisans: lower fees and marketing benefits.
Democratic control means we make decisions together as a company based on one-member-one-vote. Members also have a voice (and vote) to elect the board of directors and in future co-op decisions, such as whether to raise or lower fees.
Financial rights means that surplus profits go back to our members in the form of dividends.
In addition, we’ll also be rolling out a few member-only perks – with the input of our members. This includes such things as discounted sales commissions, earlier shop setup on the marketplace, and priority visibility in customer searches.
Compared to the typical corporate model where a company’s profits go to outside stockholders, we believe the co-op model will ensure long-term, reliable, and stable success for artisans and a better shopping experience for supporters.
Do I have to be a member to open a shop to sell in your marketplace?
Nrtisans Cooperative marketplace is open to the public. Shops must be Verified:Handmade to list products for sale on the marketplace. Members can choose to opt-out of verification.
What are the fees and commissions you take on an artisan’s sale?
To fund our operations, we have a simple, transparent sales commission. No listing fees, no renewal fees, no weird advertising fees.
Unlike other online marketplaces, we intend to LOWER the commission rate as the co-op stabilizes, grows, and thrives.
Learn more about our sales commissions and memberships >>>
I don’t live in the United States…can I still join?
Our current marketplace allows shipping to the US and Canada. If you ship to these countries you are welcome to join as a member and open a shop.
We are working towards expanding our global reach and opening to more countries as soon as possible. If you would like to see Artisans Cooperative ship to your region please reach out to us about joining our International Team as we work through the logistics of growing Artisans Cooperative.
Due to US laws, we cannot do any business with certain countries on the US sanctions and embargo lists. For a current and complete list of sanctions and embargoes, please see the US Trade Office website:
Myanmar (Burma)
Cuba
Iran
North Korea
Russia
Sudan
Syria
How can I be sure you’re selling authentic handmade products?
Our community has designed an in-depth Handmade Policy with definitions, an in-depth verification process, and enforcement system that relies on the power of our community, not contractors, employees, nor AI bots.
Our Handmade Policy has a careful checks-and-balances system, including:
- An inclusive yet enforceable definition of “handmade”
- Prohibitions on mass-manufactured items, reselling, vintage, and most print-on-demand products
- Accessible onboarding
- Labeling system for “verified” and “unverified” artisans
- Search filters by production type for transparency
- Peer verification process, incentivized by our Points & Tiers Policy
- Actionable reporting form, incentivized by our Points & Tiers Policy
- Swift action on community-reported “unverified” artisans to catch bad actors
- Evaluation process for community-reported “verified” artisans, incentivized by our Points & Tiers Policy
Learn more about our Handmade Policy.
Are you affiliated with the Indie Sellers Guild?
We are not affiliated with the Indie Sellers Guild (ISG). The ISG is a nonprofit dedicated to collective bargaining against Etsy and other platforms on behalf of all indie sellers, including vintage resellers, while the Artisans Cooperative is building a self-owned cooperative alternative to Big Tech platforms for handmade artisans.
Our founding members did meet through the #EtsyStrike and some were actively involved in the early leadership of the ISG. We are separate organizations but we have many members in common.
Are you affiliated with Etsy?
We are not affiliated with Etsy.
How did you choose the name and logo?
Our name was democratically chosen from a series of votes in our early Discord community. Learn more about branding in our blog post, The Story Behind Our Branding (and Chickens!).
Many of our decisions have been made similarly, using information gathered from polls and votes of the interested community, including priorities for the Handmade Policy, sales commission and buy-in amounts, and other things.
We are a member of the international network of cooperatives:
Thank you to our Founding Circle Members!
We wouldn't be here today without these folks. We appreciate you!
Artisan Founder Members
A Little Adventure Company | A M Thomas | Airic Fenn | Atypically Artistic | Auralis Creations | Bean Brothers Handmade | Bevz Bags | Blue Poppy Bath & Body LLC | Chantilly Avenue | Craft Tree NJ | Christo Mroz, Renovo Bike | David Bort | Drifting Spirits | Dragontree-Emporium | Eclectic Design Choices | Elaine Fraticelli | Fabrikisto.com | Hadley Hat Works | HumBirdBlue | Jack Wallace | James Joseph Designs and Photography | Jason M. | Jenna Sais Quoi | Jennifer Brown | jewellry by mishmish | Knitzy Fiberlicious | Lace Couvige | Laura Fisher | Lenise G. | Linda C. | Living Room Lab | LSD Unlimited LLC | Mandy McCarthy | Many Moons Emporium | Mastress | Megan M. | Metal Smitten.com | Octopied Crochet | Peekachello Art | Penner Fibre Studio | Petits Morceaux | Pug And Paper | Raeyn's Rarefied Things | Rainbow Ravels | Roff Jewellery & Saskiart | Sara Ferguson | SchuttenWorks | Somi Threads | Spooky Moon Studios | Stella NC Works | Sycamore Fibers | Spectrum Stitches | Stitchdoctor | StitchThatThing | The Beat In Between | The Book Roadie | The Chrysalis Imagery | Tim Kilgore | Tired Fox Art | Topographia Design | Tumble and Tide | Uncle Dave’s Art Studio | Walnut Studiolo | Zero Energy Homes
Supporter Founder Members
Abigail Borden | Adam Nichols | Agatha Florence | Alan Langford | Albert | Alexander | Ali Elsberry | Amanda Elsner | Amy Prentiss | Ana Ulin | Andy Bowling | Ann Koh | Brian Silverstein | Brianna Greenlaw | Brie Taylor | Caitlin C | Cassidy Spring | Catt Small | Chelsea Campbell | Chiraag Nataraj | Cory Skerry | Cris Cowles-Brunton | Daisy McGillvrey | David Turner | Devon Kuhrau | Edith Pucci Couchman | Elijah Harding | Emma Fasullo | Evan Hall | Galen Gisler | Gwen & Nina Exner | Ivar Teunissen | Jamie Moody | Jane Amerine | Jessica & Neal Gilbert-Redman | Jessica Kristine | Jessica Salisbury | Jhon Adams | Jim McGuire | Jon Lincoln | Josiane Richer | Judith Walker, River of Beauty Designs | K Smith | Karl Broman | Katheryn LaPorta | Kathryn Busemeyer | Kathy White | Kelly Dusterhoft | Kelly Jo Anderson | Kim Burchett | Lance Esgard | Leona Lemmon | Lillian | Lindsay Schafer | Luke Ehrenstrom | Luz Zambrano | Mark Waks | Maz Hemming | Misty Henry | Nomi Felidae | Peggy Harkins | Peter Healy | Ravi Sapre | Riesz Williams | Rozan Anderson | Scott Reed | Shannon Briggs | Sophia Elson | Stacy Ratner | Steve Ediger | Stone Clover | Sydney Morton | Terrence Kvitchko | Thomas Muirhead | Tom Boman | Tony Rella | Viet Dam | Zee Spencer | Zia Dione
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