Interested in learning more about the League’s 75 year history?

A League of Our Own: New Hampshire and the American Craft Movement, an educational and entertaining DVD, and 75 Years of Handcrafted Excellence, a written history of the League are available for purchase. Get your copy.

The League's History:
Rich with Tradition and Innovation

The League of NH Craftsmen story begins in the Great Depression, when twin sparks in the villages of Sandwich and Wolfeboro ignited a craft movement that swept the state. Mrs. J. Randolph Coolidge, leader of a crafts shop in Center Sandwich and A. Cooper Ballentine, leader of a crafts enterprise started by the Wolfeboro Rotary, saw the value of the crafts movement.

Their cooperative committee obtained help and advice from the Director of the Rhode Island School of Design and from the Russell Sage Foundation, advice that led to establishing the League's founding principles. The group next went to New Hampshire Governor John Winant stressing the need for developing competent community leadership, locating good craft instructors and employing a properly trained and compensated director. In 1932, the Governor established and funded the League of Arts and Crafts, making New Hampshire the first state in the nation to support crafts.

 

 

 

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