The Hudson Valley Fiber Arts Network is a listing directory, marketing & news resource to promote and celebrate the diversity & creativity of the fiber arts community of the greater Hudson Valley region - from New York City to the Canadian border, along the I-87 and Hudson River corridor and surrounding areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is behind Hudson Valley Fiber Arts Network?
Known among her fiber friends as Mary G. she lives in the mid-Hudson Valley and is a knitter, spinner, feltmaker, sometime crocheter, plant and natural dyer, writer, gardener, and more, with a technical and computer background. She was looking for a central listing of fiber events and suppliers but couldn't find it. So she decided to start this herself so that more people will discover the richness, and perhaps even hidden treasures, of the fiber arts community in the greater Hudson Valley region.
Who might benefit from the Hudson Valley Fiber Arts Network?
We'd like to think that the fiber arts community as a whole will benefit as connections are made through the network. We envision that the Hudson Valley Fiber Arts Network will be used by at least a couple of groups of people. First by businesses and individuals involved in the fiber arts in an income producing way to connect with each other and with potential customers. For example, an indie dyer may find a shop that would love to sell her products. The second group would be folks interessted in the fiber arts and looking for related products and services and information about what's happening. Perhaps a knitter looking for unique single breed yarn, or a spinner who needs help with some spinning wheel repairs. Or people looking for classes to expand their skills or fiber events to meet the animals and feel the fibery goodness.
Why is there a fee to be listed?
We feel that this website provides a valuable service to the fiber arts community, in providing the space to be listed, creating blog posts, profiles, and other content, and aggregating and distributing fiber arts related news and happenings. As might be expected there are expenses in running a website, and working to keep it updated with fresh news and content. We're aware of economic conditions, and we have tried to keep the rates very reasonable. We've added to the list of benefits for each listing tier category to make it even more valuable for you. As a listing-sponsor you will have the opportunity to be profiled, to list your classes and events with links, and be part of the newsletter and happenings notices.
We hope that you will indeed find this service valuable and support this unique effort to bring together the fiber arts community up and down the Hudson River and neighboring regions. Our idealistic, perhaps, idea is that we are working and living within the realm of a creative economy, a community supported economy where we encourage and support each other as we can. We would prefer not to use general internet based ad or crowd funding services. Rather we are reaching out directly to the fiber arts community that we serve. We invite you to come along for the ride. Here's how to apply.
Do I have to be a business to have a listing?
From what we've heard already, we expect that most of the listings will be for businesses, indie makers who want to sell or find outlets for their products, people who provide services, shops, festivals, instructors, and others with an eye towards income production through their activities in the fiber arts. At the same time, we think there may be people who just love the fiber arts and will support what we do.
Can I place an ad for only a short time, like for a month or two?
Yes. We expect that there will be many one-of or short-term events that you would like to promote for a limited time before the event. Of course, you can also place ads for longer time periods. Please contact us for ad rates. Listing-sponsors get a break on ad rates.
Do you accept credit cards or PayPal?
We don't currently accept credit cards or PayPal. This was done to keep startup costs low so we could offer you great rates. This is something we are researching for the future, and if you have shopping cart and merchant account services that you like, please let us know.
Do I have to include my name to sign up for the e-newsletter?
Only the e-mail address where you want the e-newsletter sent is required. You don't have to give your name, unless you want to. With the e-mail service we're using, you can at a later time, unsubscribe or change the information you provide us.
How will you use e-mail addresses?
If you've given us your e-mail address to receive our e-newsletter, that's what we'll use it for. If you've e-mailed us with questions or request for information, then we'll use it to respond to you. We don't give it out, sell, share, or exchange with other parties. If you provide your e-mail address, as well as other information, for a listing, it will be available on the web for visitors to see.
Where does information for the listings come from?
Information for the listings comes from the people or businesses being listed.They are not independently verified. If you feel something is inaccurate, please let us know and we will try to check it out.
Why the Hudson Valley? And how is that defined?
We chose the Hudson Valley for the name of our network for a number of reasons. First, this is where we live and know many people involved in the various aspects of the fiber arts. Most of the people we would visit would be within a three hour drive, so trips could be done in a day.
The Hudson Valley as a region is already well-known and even famous for its beauty and scenery, arts and culture, agriculture, great food, farm-to-table ethic, wineries, breweries, and distilleries, fairs and festivals, outdoor activities, natural resources, and creative spirit. To that milieu, here we're showcasing the role that the thriving fiber arts is playing in this region. In this sense, the greater Hudson Valley region may be considered a state of mind as well as a physical geographic place.
We look at the greater Hudson Valley region in a very broad sense and have deliberately left its borders nebulously defined, or rather not really defined at all. Some people may think of the region more narrowly, like the mid- or lower-Hudson Valley, New York City, or the Southern Adirondack region or capital district. We take a more bird's-eye view.
The Hudson River itself has its source in the Adirondacks, and that's close enough to the Canadian border for us, and the river flows all the way down to New York City, with rivers, streams, and tributaries feeding into it. so, geographically speaking, we can consider the Hudson River Watershed. According to the Hudson Valley Watershed Alliance, the Hudson Valley Watershed is a "13,390-square-mile land mass from which water drains into the Hudson River." This watershed contains all or parts of 25 NYS counties, plus sections of Western Massachusetts, northern New Jersey, and western Connecticut. The NYS counties include: New York, Kings, Queens, the Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Putnam, Sullivan, Greene, Columbia, Schoharie, Albany, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Fulton, Washington, Hamilton, Essex, Warren, and Delaware.
In addition, the Hudson River Watershed borders these other watersheds such as the Mohawk River, Susquehanna River, Ramapo River, Delaware River, Housatonic River, Atlantic Ocean/Long Island Sound, Lake Champlain, Oswego River/Finger Lakes.
If you live in, work in, or visit (as for festivals and teaching) any of these and nearby watershed regions, come join the Hudson Valley Fiber Arts Network. Currently we are focusing our attention on New York State, New England, Pennsylvannia, and New Jersey, but fiber folks from all over are welcome. If there's interest from people from other areas, we can expand our horizon. We'd like to hear from you. Contact information.