Crafts Industry News 1-30-09
National Crafts Association Out of Business
I WAS VERY LATE IN LEARNING that my business friend, Barbara Arena, founder of the National Crafts Association (NCA), died last summer. As near as I can tell, the only announcement of her death appeared in the online newsletter published by ProfessionalCrafters.com, a group I did not belong to. Surprisingly, no one in my large network of crafts business friends brought her death to my attention. In speaking to one member of the organization that I tracked down this past week, I learned that she did not know of Barbara’s death either, so I can only assume that no one ever notified the entire NCA membership of her death.
I know Barbara’s husband, Mike, was very ill the last time we exchanged emails. She mentioned then that she had a son who was helping her, but she didn’t mention his name, and I gathered that he knew nothing about the operation of her business.
THE NCA WEBSITE IS STILL LIVE, but it’s a mess of pages that obviously have not been updated for a long time. All telephone numbers have been disconnected, and no one appears to be monitoring the email address that appears on the home page because I’ve written twice with no response.
Barbara founded NCA in 1983 and, beginning in 1995, the organization began to serve the online arts and crafts community. I have no idea how Barbara’s death may have affected individual members who were using NCA’s various website and business services, and I find this is a very sad ending for an organization that was so professionally managed by Barbara over the years, and one that I was happy to recommend in all of my books.
BARBARA WAS THE AUTHOR of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Making Money with Your Hobby (2001), and I remember how excited she was to have finally authored a book after all her years of writing for the NCA newsletter. Barbara and I never met personally, but we had many long business and personal telephone conversations over the years, especially when both she and I were trying to take care of business while also being a full-time caregiver for our spouse.
I am saddened by her death and will miss her.
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Comments
Barbara,
That is indeed sad. When one has a life passion and shares it with the world, it just seems right to acknowledge the passing of such a contributor.
On the practical side, it makes sense for a person, in business, to appoint a person to wrap things up for them, when the time comes. Just as a Will, Power of Attorney, and so forth are things that a person gets ready in case of emergency or death, it seems prudent for all businesses to do the same. And, take it from personal experience, it isn’t just needed when one gets older…anything can happen at any time, to anyone, of any age. Perhaps, this is one last thing your friend has been able to remind/teach us.
I am truly sorry for your loss – as well as the crafting community’s loss.
That’s sad. Barbara’s book sits right along-side your own in my library. She had great advice.