Today's leather guilds

[Johanna]

Hundreds of years ago, in Europe, tradespeople organized themselves into Guilds to protect their interests. Today's modern leather guild is not a closed society of people in business. Today's leather guilds are clubs of friends who enjoy the fellowship and educational efforts of their fellow guild members. Many of the US guilds belong to an umbrella organization called the International Federation of Leather Guilds, which sponsors an annual competition and show. Individuals do not belong to the IFoLG, only guilds. Show hosting is rotated among member guilds. You don't have to belong to a guild to enjoy a show, but you do need to belong to a member guild to enter a piece in competition. Be aware that the host guild sets the rules for the competition, not the IFoLG, so each year there are subtle variations on the theme.

Many guilds accept members that can't attend the meetings, most have nominal dues, and some guilds have newsletters. Some guilds are focused on teaching and archiving information, and hire instructors when they can. (The Columbine guild just had a class taught by Jim Linnell.) Some guilds are friends that drink coffee and work on small projects. A person can belong to as many guilds as they want, but if a piece is entered into competition at the IFoLG, they have to "declare" a guild to enter it under.

PSLAC is not a Federation Guild, but they are a dynamic group of people who have compiled some great online resources. (Click the "Rawhide Gazette" link at the bottom of this page for more info.) The South Central Leathercrafters Guild is applying for membership into the IFoLG this fall. Keep an eye on this guild, because like the Prairie States Guild, the dedication of the members is fantastic, and they are also gathering information to share online with leatherworkers who are interested. The Pitt Pounders publish a monthly newsletter online. The Lonestar Guild is hosting the 2007 IFoLG show. For more guilds, and contact info, click here. Please send me updates, corrections, omissions etc. so I can keep this listing as accurate as possible.

Leatherworker.net is not a guild, and wishes to support any leather guild in any way possible. Guilds should feel free to use the Live Chat feature at their convenience. If your guild is doing something, let us know so that we can spread the word! If your guild does not have a website and wants one, please let me know. If your guild needs assistance with a website. please let me know. Leather guilds have the opportunity to represent themselves in their community as ambassadors of our craft, and with the collective effort of the group, everyone can learn something from someone else. The biggest advantage to joining a guild is the friendship of the other folks in it. As you can see from the board, leatherland is full of interesting, creative, helpful and genuinely wonderful people.

And life is good.

Johanna

[BWL]

This is just what I needed

Hundreds of years ago, in Europe, tradespeople organized themselves into Guilds to protect their interests. Today's modern leather guild is not a closed society of people in business. Today's leather guilds are clubs of friends who enjoy the fellowship and educational efforts of their fellow guild members. Many of the US guilds belong to an umbrella organization called the International Federation of Leather Guilds, which sponsors an annual competition and show. Individuals do not belong to the IFoLG, only guilds. Show hosting is rotated among member guilds. You don't have to belong to a guild to enjoy a show, but you do need to belong to a member guild to enter a piece in competition. Be aware that the host guild sets the rules for the competition, not the IFoLG, so each year there are subtle variations on the theme.

Many guilds accept members that can't attend the meetings, most have nominal dues, and some guilds have newsletters. Some guilds are focused on teaching and archiving information, and hire instructors when they can. (The Columbine guild just had a class taught by Jim Linnell.) Some guilds are friends that drink coffee and work on small projects. A person can belong to as many guilds as they want, but if a piece is entered into competition at the IFoLG, they have to "declare" a guild to enter it under.

PSLAC is not a Federation Guild, but they are a dynamic group of people who have compiled some great online resources. (Click the "Rawhide Gazette" link at the bottom of this page for more info.) The South Central Leathercrafters Guild is applying for membership into the IFoLG this fall. Keep an eye on this guild, because like the Prairie States Guild, the dedication of the members is fantastic, and they are also gathering information to share online with leatherworkers who are interested. The Pitt Pounders publish a monthly newsletter online. The Lonestar Guild is hosting the 2007 IFoLG show. For more guilds, and contact info, click here. Please send me updates, corrections, omissions etc. so I can keep this listing as accurate as possible.

Leatherworker.net is not a guild, and wishes to support any leather guild in any way possible. Guilds should feel free to use the Live Chat feature at their convenience. If your guild is doing something, let us know so that we can spread the word! If your guild does not have a website and wants one, please let me know. If your guild needs assistance with a website. please let me know. Leather guilds have the opportunity to represent themselves in their community as ambassadors of our craft, and with the collective effort of the group, everyone can learn something from someone else. The biggest advantage to joining a guild is the friendship of the other folks in it. As you can see from the board, leatherland is full of interesting, creative, helpful and genuinely wonderful people.

And life is good.

Johanna