Arts & crafts for all

What is Handiwork? We're a community creativity hub. A neighborhood makery. A nifty little shop full of beautiful and useful things.

Our mission is to hold space for people to explore their crafty interests in a low pressure environment and provide a retail platform for local makers to sell their work.

We strive to provide a safe and welcoming space for all. We know that we'll make mistakes, but we'll keep doing our best to make Handiwork a place where everyone is comfortable. Anyone using speech or behavior that makes others feel unwelcome or unsafe will be asked to leave. 

Our guiding principles

  • We believe that the word "creativity" encompasses a wide range of activities and that everyone has a creative spark within.
  • We believe that tapping into creativity is self kindness. Making something with our hands is good for our hearts and minds.
  • We believe that spending time around other people who are making things is good for us, too.
  • We believe that experimentation is important, and a little bit of struggle and problem solving is a necessary part of the creative process.
  • We believe that having access to someone with experience and expertise can decrease the chances we’€™ll get frustrated and give up. 
  • We recognize that existing systems of power grant privilege and access unequally, and we work to create a space that welcomes and encourages everyone to tap into their creative energies. To that end, we prioritize the work of makers who have been historically underrepresented and/or marginalized and we hold ourselves accountable for doing the work to dismantle white supremacy and other forms of privilege that we hold.
  • We recognize that we will make mistakes. We commit to learning from our mistakes. We will keep trying.

Our mission supports our core values:

  • Anti-racism
  • Accessibility
  • Creativity for its own sake
  • Lifelong learning and exploration
  • Environmental sustainability

In order to live into the work, we donate a portion of our sales to organizations fighting for civil rights and human dignity, at home and away: Sister Song, Wayside Food Programs, and Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness.

Additionally, as of February 1st, 2024, more than $3600 has been generated for the Preble Street Teen Center by sales of Charlie Hewitt's Hopeful stickers.

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge that we live, work, and play on the ancestral and unceded traditional territories of the Aucocisco and Abenaki Peoples and the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Indigenous peoples of this land never surrendered lands or resources to the United States.

We acknowledge this not only in thanks to the Indigenous communities who have held relationship with this land for generations but also in recognition of the historical and ongoing legacy of colonialism. Additionally, we acknowledge this as a point of reflection for us all as we work towards dismantling colonial practices, and we thank Native Movement for showing us how to start.