Welcome to the web site for the Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association (MAFA). MAFA is a non-profit organization whose objectives are to promote education in the fiber arts, to plan, organize, and conduct conferences, and to facilitate communication among member guilds.
MAFA represents nearly 60 guilds from 8 states and the District of Columbia in the Mid-Atlantic region. Our member guilds are located in NY, PA, MD, VA, NJ, DE, DC, NC, and WV. Individuals become automatic members through membership in a participating guild.
Associate membership is open to commercial enterprises, institutions, organizations, schools and individuals not in affiliated guilds. Associate members have the same status as guilds, with the exception of voting.
Any organized guild of handweavers or related fiber activities located
in the Mid-Atlantic region may be considered for membership in
MAFA. Membership consists of timely payment of annual dues and
entitles members to participation in the biennial conference,
the MAFA newsletter, and the opportunity to apply for grants,
which support mini-conference venues.
Each guild is allowed one representative and one alternate representative to send to the two annual general meetings held in October and May.
Guilds, individuals, or organizations wishing to join MAFA should go to the Joining MAFA page for further information.
MAFA Conference 2013 Catalog is now online
HERE (corrected version)
Class Availability Information--final availability list.
Late Registration closes Monday May 20!
MAFA Membership Renewal Forms and Dues are now due for 2012-2014. Go to the Joining MAFA page to download your form!
The mini-Grant program is now active and ready for applications. Click HERE for complete information.
President's Message
MAFA Reps met at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Some very exciting things came up.
Carol Ireland of Harmony Weavers in Delaware wanted to put out to the member guilds a project they are very familiar with. When the guild has excess funds they have made donations various charities. This year they want to support CERF+ with their donations going to fiber artists. They were told that to designate where the moneys went a donation of $2000 needed to be made to have a restricted fund. She s asking that if member guilds were able and willing to make a donation to this cause. Check the web site for details (see folllowing article).
The Reps voted to change the By Laws wording from “audit” to financial review. Our Treasurer will start this at the end of physical year after our biennial Conference year. Not only will this save us not only funds but will have our financial records taken care of by the first of the next calendar year.
Scholarship for MAFA Conference: The Scholarship Committee will determine the number scholarships and the amount of funds available.
Reports must be in by September 1st of the Conference year. If not sent in, the award is null. Reading carefully from the Conference Brochure you will notice that the presentation does not need to be competed by that time but rather the report of what the recipient will do. If there is a question, just get in touch with me and I will try to explain why the change is necessary.
As the minutes show, we are looking for a new venue for the Fall Reps meeting. Rhinebeck has made it very clear that they do not wish to let us meet there. If you know of some kind of a fiber festival taking place in the Fall, please let us know. We would like to have the Reps meeting the same time as something else is going on so we might have a good representation of the guilds.
Again, we are asking the guilds to make “goodies” for the MAFA bags. As before, what ever your guild can do is appreciated. We have no set number for each guild to supply. Your choice! Again, Morgantown will be coordinating the “stuffing”. More information will be coming as we get closer to Conference time.
The Conference is scheduled for June 20-24, 2013 at the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA. It is just off of I-81. it is easy to get to. The Conference Brochure will be available on line December 1, 2012 with registration beginning January 2, 2013. Again we will be keeping the classes small so register early. Last time, I think some of the classes were at capacity very early on.
We voted at the Rhinebeck meeting last year to try to get our Grants program started again. Three very nice ladies stepped forward to be on the committee. They have done a marvelous job of outlining what the requirements should be, how it should be managed, and the criteria for being selected. In the due course of time this will be on the web site so guilds can see if this is something they might like to apply for.
These three ladies have agreed to stay together until we have everything ready for the web site AND get us through at least the first time of awarding grants. Keep checking the web site for more information and and application form.
The last item on our agenda was about the next President of MAFA. Long story short, I have been President since August 2006. We came from losing money for two Conferences, not having one in 2003. We have come a very long way since then. We are more than just solvent, we have a very good reputation among the instructors and students.
I will be retiring as of September 30, 2013. I have done my part and it is time for someone else to step forward. My thought is that someone would volunteer to “shadow” for the rest of this term and past the Conference. I feel that it would be absolutely unfair to have someone who has not worked with the Board come in with no preparation and be able to carry on.
In any event, I will retire after the next Conference. This does not mean by any way that MAFA is folding. There are other people on the Board to carry on. We just need a leader. I know that someone out there can do it with a little encouragement. You can contact me at president2011@mafafiber.org. That being said, I really wish you
Happy weaving, spinning or whatever you do,
Mickie Schneider
President
MAFA
Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+)
The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) was founded on a single simple premise: people caring for one another during tough times. Building upon the grassroots gesture of passing the hat at craft shows for artists dealing with emergency situations, CERF+ created an ongoing pool of funds that are available to professional craft artists when they suffer career-threatening emergencies. In addition to the financial assistance, they help acquire donated goods and services for beneficiaries from individuals, organizations and businesses. CERF+ also provides resources for artists, including a new tool just announced: The Business Insurance Guidebook for Artists distills the key points of business property, liability, and disaster insurance into a pocket-sized booklet.
Why share this with MAFA? The Harmony Weavers Guild (Delaware) has had some surplus funds the last several years, mainly from the sale of our library, but also from some successful workshops and inexpensive programs. As a result, we have made modest donations to various non-profits such as Mayan Hands, The Textile Museum, and this year, CERF+. We had wanted to designate our gift specifically for fiber artists, but were told that a minimum of $2000 was needed to establish a restricted fund. We made our donation unrestricted, but thought we'd reach out to MAFA, in case other guilds were motivated to help support fellow fiber aritsts who might find themselves faced with a career-threatening emergency.
If your guild, or you personally, would like to make a donation towards a CERF+ Fiber Arts Fund, please contact Carol Ireland (302-995-9658 or spinningbiker "at" comcast.net -- replace "at" with @ when sending an email).
Just for your information, an anonymous donor has agreed to match any donation from a MAFA guild/individual, dollar for dollar, to ensure the $2000 goal is met. I was planning to send an email out to the MAFA reps around now, with essentially the information below, and send a followup late summer, mentioning the matching donor info. I assume most guilds are less active during the summer, so this is something that could be on guild agendas in the fall.
This comes from Carol Ireland of the Fiber Guild of Delaware. It is a project that is near and dear to this guild. Each guild and individual should discuss this and do what they wish.
Mickie Schneider
MAFA By-Laws May 2012 (pdf version)
