About CABC - Membership

They say that membership has its benefits; strength comes in numbers; it takes a village to raise a child, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Join us and bring your part to BC's craft community.

The Crafts Association of British Columbia (CABC) is a leader in the craft community, continually building and promoting the development, appreciation and viability of Canadian Fine Craft. Our membership is at the heart of what we do, and the reason we are here. A dynamic network of craft professionals, our members encapsulate the rich spectrum of craft throughout our province and country, building a community where creators in all media can gather.

Membership with CABC provides access to selling and exhibiting opportunities; technical, educational and business information; publications, discounts, and business services. It also provides an excellent opportunity to connect with others in the craft community through volunteering, networking, educational and social events.

We have a variety of membership options for all levels of craftspeople and businesses. Click here: Application Form to open our Membership application form (PDF) in a new window.

Benefit Description	Student	Senior	General	Friend	Business	Affiliate
Retail sales opportunity at Crafthouse Shop		*	*
Exhibition opportunities at Gallery and other venues		*	*
Craft Contacts, Quarterly newsletter & bi-weekly Electronic News Bulletins	*	*	*	*	*	*
Craft Shows Guide online catalogue preview	*	*	*	*	*	*
Scholarship & Awards opportunities	*	*	*
Business Programs - Merchant Credit Cards at low group rates		*	*
Workshops, lectures & educational programs	*	*	*	*	*	*
Member's Portfolio on www.cabc.net		*	*		*
Resource Library	*	*	*	*	*	*
Commissions and Referrals		*	*
10% Discount in Crafthouse Shop		*	*		*
Membership Discount	*	*	*	*	*	*
Voting privileges at AGM	*	*	*	*	*	*
Other - discounts at partner suppliers	*	*	*	*	*	*

Individual practioners, supporters and dabblers interested or working in craft who want to be connected to the broad community of craft, informed of current issues and events and to have access to promotion, sales, and business opportunities through programs and services.

Full-time students (ID required) who want to participate in the craft community and connect with a professional association for career development.

Supporters of the craft community who collect or purchase craft objects to enhance their homes or lives. Supports the organization for the love of craft. Charitable tax receipt issued for $17.00.

Commercial businesses, private galleries, suppliers and retailers who want to connect with issues and events happening in the craft community. Membership includes 5 coupons for a 10% discount on purchases through Crafthouse Shop. An advertising benefit of one free broadcast e-news ad per year valued at $80.

A group membership for guilds, public galleries, museums, and arts organizations to connect to the broader craft community. Membership includes 5 coupons for a 10% discount on purchases at Crafthouse Shop, distributed at the Affiliate's discretion. Individual members of the Affiliate will receive a 10% discount on a general CABC membership. Note: The affiliate must supply CABC with an updated electronic membership list annually at the time of renewal. The affiliate may apply to the Crafthouse Gallery for an exhibition as a group. The individual members of the affiliate will receive the CABC member's discount on Workshops and Professional Development programs.

This scholarship is awarded to a practicing and/or emerging craftsperson to attend a recognized school or course to upgrade technical or design skills, or to seek a stimulus for greater creativity and inspiration.

As the cost of craft-related education (tuition, materials, travel, accommodation, etc.) can be high, there is an ongoing need for financial assistance to craftspeople to help defray these costs. The principle of the Grace Cameron Rogers Fund is held in trust by the CABC, and the interest generated is awarded to a deserving member.

Must be a CABC member in good standing (applicants may include cheque for membership).
Must be a BC resident.
CABC Board Members and paid staff are not eligible. They will become eligible one year after the date of the resignation from CABC.
Previous recipients must wait 3 years before reapplying to the scholarship.
Maximum of 2 scholarships awarded per person.

Application Requirements

Please submit ALL the materials listed below in both hard copy and copied on a CD. Label the CD clearly with your full name, contact information and mark with “GCR Award”. Text files to be supplied as a Microsoft Word document, digital images to be in JPG format only.

A cover letter including an outline of the proposed study and why it would be beneficial to the applicant
Artist biography and resume/cv
A budget outlining projected expenses and revenue. Indicate pending and confirmed revenue.
A List of Works – Indicate title, date, medium, and size (in inches) for each piece of work. The numbering should match ones assigned to your digital image file names.
Digital Images – A maximum of 8 digital images of your work at 300 dpi in .jpg format with dimensions as close as possible without exceeding 3375 pixels high and 2625 pixels wide.

Format of Image File Names: The file name should be without spaces or capitalization, your first and last name and the number.
Example: johnsmith_01 and johnsmith_01d (if a detail shot is to be included)

NOTE: Submission documents will not be returned unless requested and a self-addressed stamped envelope is provided. We appreciate your understanding.

For the benefit of all CABC members, the recipient(s) is/are required to write an article for the CABC newsletter, Craft Contacts relating their experiences and artistic growth during their course of study. The article(s) must be written within 3 months of completing the course of study. At that time, depending on the proficiency of the recipient’s work, they may also be invited to exhibit their work in the Crafthouse Gallery.

Submission Deadline

The deadline of submissions must be postmarked by June 30, 2008 or delivered on that day by 4:30pm.

Submit to:     Crafts Association of British Columbia
                        Attn: Grace Cameron Rogers Scholarship Committee
                        1386 Cartwright Street
                        Vancouver, BC
                        V6H 3R8

Established by the Crafts Association of BC in honour of Hilde Gerson, who was a long time employee of CABC, textile artist and an enthusiastic craft supporter, this new prize will be awarded biannually to a craftsperson who has demonstrated excellence, innovation and leadership in the BC craft community.

In 1998, the family of Hilde Gerson initiated a fund in her memory. In 2000, the Board of Directors chose to dedicate further monies to the fund, and establish an award.Hilde was a CABC Board member, and for 16 years was the CABC's bookkeeper. A tapestry artist, Hilde wove the seat covers for the office's Francis Lemieux chairs, adding to the CABC's permanent collection.

The recipient of this award will receive $1,000. In addition, the Association will make every attempt to secure a venue for an exhibit of the recipient’s work in the year or two following the receipt of the award. The recipient is responsible for getting the work to/from Vancouver.

Candidates must be a current member in good standing of the Crafts Association of BC.
To be nominated, candidates must have made a substantial contribution to the development of crafts in BC over a significant period of time (generally 10 years, fewer in exceptional circumstances).

Candidates do not apply for the prize; rather they must be nominated by one of the following:

Eligible nominators must complete and submit a nomination form, available from the CABC. Nominators may nominate one individual each year, and individuals may only receive one nomination per year.

Nominations must include the support materials listed on the form. Digital images are required, showing a maximum of 20 different objects plus details. The images must demonstrate the nominee's range of work and be assembled in chronological order, most recent work last, with the emphasis on current work.

All images must be identified according to the instructions on the nomination form and numbered to correspond with the listing on page 2 of the form. Please make sure the digital image is right side up.

In addition, a detailed resumeand a description (no more than 3 pages) of the nominee's contribution to the development of fine craft in BC are required. Support documentation should be copied onto a CD labeled with nominator’s name, contact information and marked with “Hilde Gerson Award 2008”. A printed copy of the documents is appreciated with the CD enclosed in the package.

Nominators are responsible for gathering and providing the relevant documentation to the CABC, prior to the deadline, and for ensuring that the documentation complies with the guidelines.

Should the nominator's candidates be selected as the award recipient the following additional information must be submitted within three weeks of notification. This material may be used by the CABC in media releases and other promotional activities in support of the Hilde Gerson Award.

An artistic or personal statement of not more than 400 words written by the nominee. This statement may have been published previously.
A one-page biography of the nominee.
Two digital images of the nominee, preferably at work, and two similar sized images of his or her work. The images must be of reproducible size and professional quality (see nomination form for image specs).

Originals should not be sent. The CABC is not responsible for the loss or damage, whatever the cause, of support material.

Nominations are assessed by a peer review selection committee, composed of experienced crafts professionals selected for their expertise. The committee may include one expert from outside BC.

A key element of assessment is viewing the digital images of the candidate's current work. The CABC wishes to acknowledge that the committee would prefer to see the actual work of nominees but, as this is not practical in all cases, images must be used to be fair to all nominees. The quality of the images will inevitably influence the committee's decisions.

The principal criteria of assessment will be the excellence of the work (covering all aspects of aesthetics, creativity, innovation and technical mastery) as well as an evaluation of the candidate's contribution to the development of fine craft in BC.

Nominations and all support documentation must be postmarked no later than January 30, 2009 (or hand-delivered by 4:30 pm on that day). We will not accept late nominations. Incomplete submissions and those that do not meet the requirements will not be presented to the selection committee.

A list of nominees and the winner will be announced in February. The nominators and nominees will be notified via email prior to the public announcement. Results are not released over the telephone.

The name of the award winner will be announced publicly at a CABC event (most likely in March).

The award winner is required to attend the publicity event, give a lecture to the CABC membership and public, and possibly mount a solo exhibition during the year following the award.

Chase Paymentech provides preferred merchant credit card rates to our members who own/operate small businesses. They have a number of different options with different fees (from manual credit card imprinters to electronic point of sale terminals), and they will help you figure out which would best serve your business’ needs.

Application through Chase Paymentech (which provides both VISA, M/C and interact services) starts with a 20 minutes telephone application to their Customer Service Line. They will then mail you the forms needed to fill out and send back to them, which includes a Proof of Membership form which CABC will provide. Once they receive the complete paperwork, they will typically send you the Point of Sale (POS) machine within 10 business days. Current merchant card fees are 1.92% for VISA and 2.01% for Mastercard and reviewed annually. Rates are competitive but depend on volume for the overall group. Contract with Chase Paymentech is one year minimum. You can have your business account with any major financial institution in Canada.

If interested, please email Calvin Taplay, Communications Coordinator at info@cabc.net who will begin the process for your application.

BUSINESS INSURANCE

Whillis - Harding Insurance Agencies Ltd. has developed two special business insurance policies providing unique insurance coverage for CABC members.

Call for further details:
Whillis-Harding Insurance Agencies Ltd.
Head Office: 654 Bernard Ave., Kelowna, BC V1Y 6P3
Contact: Lisa Jabbusch
1-800-667-2217
Email:lisa.jabbusch@westernfinancialgroup.net