League of NH Craftsmen Raise $2.7M

The League of NH Craftsmen Board of Trustees announced the successful completion of its capital campaign, called Craft Our Future: A Commitment to Handcrafted Excellence, raising more than $2,700,000 in just three years. The funds are being used to support the purchase of the League’s new craft education center and headquarters, and assist in funding new educational programming, technology, and endowment funding. The League’s headquarters also includes an exhibition gallery, the League’s Grodin Permanent Collection Museum, the Kira Fournier Library Resource Center, two demonstration and classroom areas, a multi-purpose room with a business resource center, and staff offices.

Launched in April 2011, the capital campaign was funded through the sale of CDFA tax credits and from contributions by individual donors, including the League’s Board members, Capital Campaign leaders and volunteers, and many of the League’s juried and supporting members. The League is also grateful to developer Steve Duprey, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, the Concord Creative Economy, and more than 50 volunteers for their support, encouragement, and leadership. 

League Board President Beverly Wolf summarized the capital campaign’s success this way: "Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. The League ventured into our first capital campaign with determination and persistence, and we were successful…just like that wonderful fabled turtle.”

The League headquarters and education center, located in the Smile! Building on 49 South Main Street in Concord, has given Concord’s downtown arts district a new boost, offering quarterly fine craft exhibitions, a rotating display of the League’s Grodin Permanent Collection of fine craft spanning from the early 1920s to present day, and an on-going series of craft classes and demonstrations.

“A vital component of our mission is education, and the capital campaign has given us the capacity to offer classes and demonstrations – it’s a dream come true,” said League Executive Director Susie Lowe-Stockwell. Shortly after moving into its new headquarters in August, 2011, the League began offering craft classes for its juried members and the public and since then has offered more than 100 classes and demonstrations. The League is also enhancing its educational program to include classes in metal and glass techniques, which will be the first in the Concord area to do so. 

The League of NH Craftsmen’s mission is to encourage, nurture and promote the creation, use and preservation of fine contemporary and traditional craft through the inspiration and education of artists and the broader community. The League represents the signature of excellence in fine craft, through the work of its juried members, and its rigorous standards for self expression, vision, and quality craftsmanship.

For additional information about the League’s Capital Campaign, contact Susie Lowe-Stockwell at 603-224-3375 or email slowstoc@nhcrafts.org.

Submitted by The League of NH Craftsmen.