Lowe-Stockwell to Step Down as Executive Director of the League of NH Craftsmen

After more than 14 years as executive director of the League of NH Craftsmen, Susie Lowe-Stockwell has announced that she will retire on June 26, according to a press statement.

“The League of NH Craftsmen has thrived under Susie’s brilliant leadership,” said Alice Veenstra, president of the League’s Board of Trustees. “She has led this organization through a wonderful re-invigoration, a new building project, and the opening of several new galleries since she began with the League in 1997 as a managing director. We will all miss her vision, dedication, and wonderful, calm presence in the midst of a whirlwind of activity that is the League today.”

The League is a recognized leader in promoting the highest quality of handmade crafts, and maintains rigorous standards for juried membership. Under Lowe-Stockwell’s tenure, the League has achieved many significant accomplishments:

• Managed the League’s first-ever capital campaign, which raised $2.7M for the purchase of a new headquarters in downtown Concord. The headquarters includes: classrooms for The Craft Center craft education program; a Gallery for fine craft exhibition; the Grodin Permanent Collection Museum, which contains craft from the League’s early years to the present; and the Kira Fournier Library Resource Center, which has a collection of more than 2,000 craft books and periodicals.
• Created a business management model and participant criteria for the League’s premiere event, its Annual Craftsmen’s Fair.
• Produced a 58-minute historical documentary film for the 75th anniversary of the League, updated the League’s written history, and acquired funding to professionally archive the League’s historical papers.
• Developed a professional exhibition gallery program exhibiting the work of hundreds of craftsmen and introducing the public to the artistry of fine handcraft.
• Created the NH Open Doors annual statewide, self-guided tour, encouraging visitors to experience, first-hand, the skill and talent that goes into making fine hand craft
• Produced Craft in the Digital Age conference in 2004 to address the use of technology with craft.
• Opened three new successful fine craft galleries in Littleton, Nashua, and in February 2015, at the Hooksett Welcome Center.

“My time with the League has been incredibly rewarding. I have been mentored by so many who believe passionately in the League, as I do. As an organization, we have seen a lot of change over the years and I am deeply grateful for the genuine level of support, guidance and friendships that I have experienced along the way,” said Lowe-Stockwell. “I appreciate our amazing, dedicated and passionate staff, board members who give countless hours of their time and expertise, donors and sponsors who support our programs, and our over 200 volunteers who work on committees, help at the Fair and support the headquarters staff.”

To ensure a smooth transition, Lowe-Stockwell will work with the League’s new Executive Director, Jane Oneail, who will begin on June 1, 2015.