Welcome to Association of Artisan Businesses

The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild and Association of Artisan Businesses Reach an Acquisition Agreement

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marrijane Jones (AAB) or Gayle Vrla (HSMG)
AAB Tel. 1-800-542-6183

HSMG Tel.1-866-900-7627
Email: memberservices@artisanbusinesses.org
info@soapguild.org

The Association of Artisan Businesses (AAB) and The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild (HSMG) would like to jointly announce that an agreement has been reached for the HSMG to acquire the AAB.

When Debbie May, President of the AAB, was asked about the industry impact of this acquisition, she stated: "I am excited to be part of this acquisition. This agreement will strengthen the industry by providing streamlined benefits to members of both organizations. The ability to work together on advocacy efforts is a real plus. Overall, we are not a huge industry but standing together as one gives us a much stronger voice in Washington. I have a tremendous amount of confidence that the leadership of the HSMG will treat the members of the AAB well and provide them with top notch benefits. ”

When Leigh O’Donnell, President of the HSMG, was asked about the HSMG acquiring the membership of the AAB, she said: "This is a very positive move for both associations and the HSMG is ready to welcome the members of the AAB. At a time when it is critical for our industry to stand together, this acquisition will strengthen our position. We would like to thank Debbie May, President of the AAB for bringing this opportunity to us.”

The acquisition and transition process will begin immediately and is expected to take 4 weeks to complete. If you are a member of either organization, look for the following changes to occur in the month of September:

Current Members of the AAB:

• HSMG New Member Packet
• Access to member areas of the HSMG website including forum, blog, etc.
• A letter outlining options for Product & Liability Insurance.
• Authorization to use the HSMG logo for branded advertising.
• Discounted access to the HSMG Conference. (May 18-20, 2011 Miami, FL)
• Ability to become a Certified Soapmaker through the HSMG Certification Program
• Subscription to "The Handcrafted Soapmaker” the HSMG’s quarterly e-Zine
• Listing on "Find a Soapmaker” on the HSMG website
• Your renewal date will remain the same and now be your HSMG renewal date.

Current Members of the HSMG:

• A "Fee Free” website at Artisans Online.com
• Free business articles from Artisans Monthly.com

Association of Artisan Businesses was founded in 2008 with the mission of being a national non-partisan, professional organization whose mission is to assist individual artisans in reaching their full business potential while also promoting awareness of the artisan industry to the public, government agencies and elected officials.

The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild was founded in 1998 with the mission of promoting the handcrafted soap industry; act as a center of communication among Soapmakers; and to circulate information beneficial to Soapmakers.