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CAROL
SEDESTROM ROSS PRESENTED CODA SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD
 The
Special Recognition Award presented to Carol Sedestrom
Ross with George Little Management, LLC for long-term
dedication to the development of and service to the
crafts field, began a new tradition during the annual
Craft Organization Development Association conference
held In Portland, Oregon, June 2006. Carol’s leadership
skills are accompanied by her straight-forwardness,
humor, honesty, caring, and ability to bring people
together. CODA is among the many organizations and
individuals who have benefited from her vast expertise
and the support of George Little Management, LLC.
Colvin English accepted the award on behalf of Ms. Ross
and George Little Management.
Carol
Sedestrom Ross has been instrumental in the development
of craft over the last several decades, and is
undoubtedly one the most admired and respected figures
in the American and International Craft movement. She
has a long and colorful history, often orange for those
of you who know her. Working first as a crafter and then
as an advocate for better market training and higher
profile placement of Craft in our culture, she continues
to be an ombudsman for Craft and Craftspeople the world
over.
Carol
began her career as a craftsperson negotiating the world
of wholesale and retail markets. There she found a
tremendous need for market training for craftspeople and
better venues for them to both educate the public and
sell their works. It is at this time she joined the ACC
and began to grow and nurture the ACE show in Rhinebeck,
NY. Under Carol’s leadership the show expanded to
include venues across the country. ACC still offers the
preeminent Craft Showcase for American Craft Gallery
Artists.
In the
early 1990’s, Carol decided to expand her influence and
joined with George Little Management, LLC. GLM is the
largest producer of wholesale gift shows in the US.
Carol helped to nurture, define and expand the Handmade
Divisions of GLM markets. These shows offer the best in
Craft from the world over to a wholesale market. Her
years working with Craftspeople in all parts of the
continent had shown her the problems they face are not
unique, and she soon found her expertise was needed far
beyond the continental borders. Carol traveled around
the globe spreading the wealth of her knowledge to an
ever-expanding group of students, who all
enthusiastically welcomed her and her experience. With
her efforts, Handmade has become one of the largest and
strongest divisions in GLM.
After
focusing for all these years on the macro side of
Crafting and Craft-Marketing, Carol and husband, Adrian
have “retired” to Mexico where they have connected with
new friends and reconnected with old friends, many of
whom share their love and passion for all things Craft.
While she hasn’t slowed down too much, and she continues
to travel and lecture on Craft, you will occasionally
now find her with knitting needles in hand, and a
margarita nearby, chatting with friends under the shade
of an ancient bougainvillea.
CODA
will continue the Special Recognition Award next year
when the conference will be held in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada June 13-17, 2007, to honor an individual whose
outstanding service, creative thinking and leadership
have had a significant impact on the crafts field. Each
year CODA holds an annual conference in a different
location to give participants an opportunity to network
with peers learning about national trends and issues,
and to experience local craft/art projects and venues as
well as hearing from national speakers. Reports,
notes and presentations of this year’s conference
including the Keynote address “Redefining Craft” will be
available on the CODA website along with more
information on future CODA conferences, membership, job
announcements, economic impact survey summary and other
resources:
www.codacraft.org, or contact CODA, P.O. Box 51,
Onia, AR 72663, 870-746-5159,
info@codacraft.org.
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