About
The Mission
Our mission is to be a trusted source of industry information, creative inspiration, and community for craft professionals. We’re working to help our members:
- Stay current on industry news, trends, and opportunities
- Make connections with other small business owners
- Develop viable business models
- Achieve profitability
- Run their businesses according to their own standard of ethics
Craft Industry Alliance is committed to fostering a community that reflects the rich history and cultures of craft and the diversity of crafters. Our goal is to continuously evolve and to proactively create an organization that seeks to represent and recognize this diversity.
The Founders
Craft Industry Alliance was founded in 2015 by Abby Glassenberg and Kristin Link. They each had over a decades’ worth of experience as craft industry professionals. They’d been designers and producers, makers and retailers, writers and teachers. Their vision was to build a thriving trade organization that meets the specific needs of today’s craft industry professionals and offers an opportunity for makers, suppliers, designers and writers to join together as allies under a united “craft industry” umbrella. In 2019, Kristin moved on from the company, but they remain friends and her vision was an integral part of the organization’s foundation.
We are led in collaboration with a Board of Advisors. Our board works with the co-founder and president to steer the organization, including providing input on internal policies, identifying outreach initiatives, and creating long-term plans.
Trade Show
Craft Industry Alliance is the strategic partner for h+h americas, a trade show for the crafts industry. This event is a uniting force for crafts, bringing all businesses together in one place. Showcase new goods, discover trends, network, and make crucial connections at this exciting event.
The Team at Craft Industry Alliance
Abby Glassenberg
President and Co-Founder
(she/her/hers) Abby co-founded Craft Industry Alliance and now serves as its president. She’s a sewing pattern designer, teacher, and journalist. She’s dedicated to creating an outstanding trade association for the crafts industry. Abby lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Kate Ankeny
Operations Manager and Outreach Coordinator
(she/her/hers) Kate is our Operations Manager and Outreach Coordinator. She has a background working in the arts non-profit, marketing, and design industries. Kate has coordinated with craft business owners to put on workshops, guest artist residencies, discussions, and large-scale creative events. In her design business, she creates visual branding and promotional pieces for creative entrepreneurs. She lives in Silverthorne, Colorado.
Ashleigh Brookshaw
Community and DEI Strategic Consultant
(she/her/hers) Ashleigh is our online community and DEI strategic consultant. Ashleigh brings over 10 years of experience managing online communities for corporate, non-profit, and membership associations and in change management and culture change through a diversity, equity, and inclusion approach. She has fond memories of watching her grandmother sew and believes crafting can create memories for people that can last a lifetime. She lives in Chicago.
Lisa Calixto
Community Manager
(she/her/hers) Lisa Calixto manages our online community. She has been active in the nonprofit sector for over 15 years in the areas of marketing, social media and community outreach. Lisa enjoys working with small businesses to assist them with website development and design as well as social media consulting in her free time. She is also the Director of Technology and Social Media for a national mental health nonprofit. She currently lives in New Jersey. Lisa enjoys crafting, graphic design, photography, dancing, and spending time with her family and puppy.
Stephanie Alford
Manager of Membership Sales and Engagement
(she/her/hers) Stephanie is our Manager of Membership, Engagement, and Sales. It’s her job to make sure our members maximize their benefits and she absolutely loves to help them squeeze the most out of their membership! She holds a degree in Textiles and Clothing, and brings years of experience in the craft industry, including 14 years as the owner of SpaceCadet, an indie hand-dyed yarn company she started in her basement as one woman operation and grew to into a dye-house employing a team of five in a dedicated studio. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA.
Grace Dobush
Corporate News Reporter
(she/her/hers) Grace Dobush writes Craft Industry Insider, our monthly newsletter for corporate members. With more than 15 years’ experience in news journalism, she has written about business and creative entrepreneurship for publications including Fortune, Wired, Quartz and Handelsblatt. Grace was also the co-founder of Cincinnati’s Crafty Supermarket and Midwest Craft Con, and was the author of the Crafty Superstar business guides. Now based in Berlin, Germany, Grace is a native Ohioan who still misses Pat Catan’s.