The Austin Craft Mafia™ established the Craft Mafia™ site and network to link and cross promote sister groups in other cities, share web traffic, and provide helpful information to other professional craft designers and groups.

The Craft Mafia™ is an organization of independent business owners who represent multiple creative disciplines in fashion, jewelry, handmade goods, fine art, writing and craft design. The Craft Mafia™ serves as a model for independent business owners to assemble with other entrepreneurs in their own communities to amplify their individual vision through the power of a collective. The Craft Mafia™ offers resources for small businesses through their website, books and television.books and television.The Craft Mafia™ website represents and links to all affiliated groups that have adopted the Craft Mafia™ name.

Since it's development in Austin, other Mafias have popped up across the globe, check them out!

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Q:Hey! I want to get my own resourceful group of DIY folks together in my town. Do you mind if we called ourselves The Poughkeepsie Craft Mafia?

A:We're so flattered you asked! We would love it if you formed a familia.
We've had many requests like this, and that's why we started www.CraftMafia.com.

Interest in starting Craft Mafias is booming. Because of this we here at the Austin Craft Mafia have refined the guidelines to starting your own Craft Mafia so that we could maintain the highest standards of performance possible amongst our Mafias. We all represent each other so we thought there should be a little bit of uniformity in the groups.

New and fantastic Craft mafia Guidelines (recap):
Go to Craft Mafia Application

First, if you'd like to start a Craft Mafia in your own town please let us know right away. Once you alert us of your intent to form a family you have 30 days to work out the details, get a website up and running and gather members. After that time we will just make a quick check that you've met our few simple requirements and then you'll be able to use the Craft Mafia name too.We do ask that each group sign a licensing agreement which protects your group and gives you the rights to use and spread your Craft Mafia name worldwide. There is also a one-time $50 start-up fee to cover all administrative costs on our end. Before you are officially accepted we ask that you do not use the Craft Mafia name in press, on Myspace, Flickr, on a publicized website or in any other public forum. However, once you're officially accepted we want you to run out and tell the world about your group.

Each Craft Mafia must represent a single city and not a region. We have so many Craft Mafias popping up that it's just not fair to have a Craft Mafia that covers an entire region. We also never want more than one Craft Mafia per city — we don't want any familia feuds! Even if your town has a population of 215 it can have a Craft Mafia of its very own — don't be shy!

We ask that every mafia starts up with at least three members representing three different craft-related businesses. We just want to make sure that once you claim the name you've already got your membership growing.

You'll need a website of your own so everyone can find you! Please create an independently run website (no one likes pop-up ads!) and that the URL has the name of your mafia in the title (example: dentoncraftmafia.com).

We want to make sure everyone can find you. Make sure that on the website there is a link to each member's website, as well as information about your Craft Mafia, if you are open to membership, hold meetings that others can attend...you get the idea!

Tell us you exist! Pending our approval we will add you to our map to let people know if there is a Craft Mafia in their area. And, keep us informed with your events, press and happenings so we can help spread the word. Email this info here: info@austincraftmafia.com

Link to http://www.CraftMafia.com and http://www.AustinCraftMafia.com from your website. We will link back to you!

If your mafia receives any press, please make it known that you are part of a larger familia, the CraftMafia.com, and provide our web address with any press releases or interviews. 

We have a yahoogroups address and a Flickr account for Craft Mafia members to help you and your members navigate your way through the adventures your Craft Mafia will have and to show off your latest work and events. You can network there, trade swag or even plan crafting events together! Every member of every Craft Mafia is invited to join these groups. We hope that you'll find them a valuable resource.

We also have a blog that all Craft Mafias are asked to contribute to.

Our newsletter features articles and tips from all Craft Mafia members. We encourage people to share their knowledge and submit your writing in an effort to better promote their talents.

We ask that every Craft Mafia member who is interested allow us to list them on our shopping page. Here members' websites are organized by the type of crafts they sell, so your customers can find exactly who and what they're looking for.

If you do any print advertising, please include a little www.CraftMafia.com somewhere and you'll help promote all the Mafias in the network!

And one more thing, we ask that no one sell merchandise with our copyrighted CraftMafia.com logo on it. However, we encourage you to spread the word about YOUR local Craft Mafia through swag distribution and merchandise sales using your own logo and Craft Mafia name. Go for it!! 

There are annual dues for each Craft Mafia. We collect $250 every June. This money goes directly back into supporting the Craft Mafia through international advertising, Craft Mafia conventions and of course administrative costs. We purchase large-scale advertising in publications such as Bust, Venus, Adorn, Readymade and Craft. We're always searching out new venues for advertising, and ads are only purchased once a Craft Mafia-wide vote is held. We want our advertising to help each and every member.

Once you adopt the Craft Mafia name we ask that you maintain an active and fully functioning organization. The Craft Mafia is a growing thriving community. If every member participates every member will benefit. If you do decide to eventually close down your chapter please notify us immediately. We just want to make sure that we're not talking up a Craft Mafia that's not around anymore.

Why do we ask all this? The Austin Craft Mafia is the original craft mafia, and has served as a model group for others. We would like to maintain certain standards of operation among those who'd like to share the widely-recognized Craft Mafia name.

To recap:

1. Let us know you'd like to form a Craft Mafia, you have 30 days to get crackin'!
2. Start with a minimum of 3 members representing 3 different businesses.
3. Designate your city or town- not an entire region or state.
4. Create a website, your own logo and use: mytowncraftmafia.com/net/org for the url.
5. Link back to CraftMafia.com and AustinCraftMafia.com AND We'll link back to you .
6. Link to each member's website on your Craft Mafia website.
7. Tell people where you got the bright idea in any press you do!
8. (optional) Consider including 'member craftmafia.com' in any print ads.
9. Once you approved as an official Craft Mafia you are free to use your Craft Mafia name online and in print!

Sound good? Thank you for asking, and fuhgedabouddit!