The document proposes creating an International Handmade Organization (IHO) similar to the Michelin Guide but for crafters. The IHO would be a community of crafters from around the world sharing their work, stories, and tips through a multilingual blog and website. Users could vote on posts to establish a TOP rating of crafters, which would inform the creation of an e-guide and later a printed guide promoting the best authors. The IHO team aims to connect handmakers globally and help their voices be heard regardless of country or language.

1. Concept Draft
International Handmade
Organization

2. Some points to bear in mind about Michelin Guide
As a long term goal we would like to create something
similar to the Michelin Guide (MG) of restaurants but for
crafters.
MG´is a series of annual guide books published for over
a dozen countries. Its the oldest and best-known
European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the
Michelin stars
Rating system used in MG, which can be customized
to crafters as well:
indicates a "very good cuisine in its category"
represents "excellent cuisine, worth a detour,"
"exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey"

3. Handmade/Crafting movement is becoming
more&more popular all around the world and we
want to become a part of it
• Craft now is not only the act of “making” something:
• It’s a public statement to set outside the mainstream industrial
society, being green, being individual, participate in politics, making
cities more cozy for people, etc..
• it’s not only personal passion anymore and more than just a Guild
• It is particular viewpoint and attitude to the World.
•The Web altered crafting landscape:
• Allowing the viral spread of ideas and techniques
• Creating a far reaching community, mobilizing like-minded people
across different countries and languages
• Opening global gates to those whose works of art might have been
noticed before only in their home towns

4. Examples of international and local movements
Knit Bombing Movement
Norway – association of
designers, who works with
metal to promote them in
other countries
Recycle, Reuse
African Cartel is a
platform to showcase
talented artists from
Southern Africa, to tell
their story and to help
market and sell their art.

5. IHO concept – general idea
International Handmade Organisation (IHO) is Community of Crafters
and Handmaders from all around the World.
We will show works of crafters from different countries that excited us,
the stories behind their crafts inspired us,
and we believe that our publications will inspire our participants, and maybe
it will help them to discover the diversity and cultural richness of the world.
As well as our featured artists will share tips, hints and ideas, how you can
also bring your ideas to reality
Our Goal is to start talking – about art, politics, someone in need, new
working places and help all voices to be heard by wide community despite
the country the artist lives and language the artist speaks.

6. Concept of project (brief description)
We plan to create multilingual collective website-blog with smart system
of voting, where crafters from all over the world can read and write posts,
get rating for them and connect with each other and users by comments.
Important type of posts is “item post”, smth. like short messages on the
wall in our FB group with photos and short text:
International Handmade Community
Users can vote for such posts and then we can collect votes and create
TOP of crafters-bloggers, which give us first data to begin our strategical
plan – create “Handmade guide”.
These scenarios were tested during the Opportunity Analysis Project.
It’s not just our thoughts! :)

7. Target audience
Handmaders, Crafters, Artisan
Galleries and Museums (curators of exhibitions)
Final consumers
People who want to know local country arts directly from artisans
without any stereotypes
People who like to travel and buy something really special from the
visited area

8. Action Steps
Interconnected with main social
Step 1. Create Multi-language networks, supporting different
languages, so that users could
blog choose.
Promoting content through our
Step 2. Build mail list of FBpage, LinkedIn, etc
readers and contributors to
write blog and translate content
Define TOP rated authors,
Step 3. Establish voting and artists, works of arts based on
rating systems of blog posts, community members'’
feedback
authors etc..
At this point we plan to start
Step 4. Creating Guide of selling content
best authors, first e-guide,
then paper one.

9. IHO team represents different parts
of the World and almost all of our major
target markets

10. We are the missing piece of the puzzle!