Hi, I'm Stacey.
I’ve spent more than twenty years alongside the world’s women makers. My new book shares what they can teach us all.
New from Chelsea Green · April 2027
Artisan Economics
Eight principles to craft a more conscious, collaborative, and connected future
The cover art in progress: hand-beaded by artisans in Kenya.
Hardcover · April 20, 2027 · Preorders open
Also at: Barnes & Noble Amazon Chelsea Green
Reader resources for book clubs & classrooms — coming with the book.
The Eight Principles of Artisan Economics
PurposeCreativityDignityResistanceCommunityValueSustainabilityShared Prosperity
300M
people around the world make their living from craft
76%
of artisan businesses are led by women
62%
of artisans live in rural communities, creating jobs where they’re needed most
50+
countries where Stacey has worked with artisan businesses over two decades
Sector data: Powered by People · State of the Handmade Economy
“Artisans and their contributions to society are often hidden in plain sight. With a focus on low-carbon production methods, community-based employment, and handmade work—and on the makers—these contributors and their contributions hold potential answers to some of today’s most wicked economic, social, and environmental problems.”
— Artisan Economics
About
Meet Stacey
CEO, International Folk Art Market · Founder, Global Girlfriend · Co-founder, Trade+Impact · Professor, Leeds School of Business — CU Boulder · PhD, Colorado State University
I came to business through social work — and to economics through the world’s women makers.
In 2003, I took a $2,000 investment and started Global Girlfriend from my basement, creating market access for women artisans worldwide. Seventeen years, 250+ women-led enterprises, and forty countries later, the women I worked with had taught me something bigger: their businesses run on a different economic logic — one built on purpose, dignity, and community. And it works.
I’ve taught social entrepreneurship and impact business to hundreds of students as a professor at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business — and today I lead the International Folk Art Market, the largest juried folk art market in the world. Artisan Economics is everything two decades alongside the world’s makers have taught me — and an invitation to put it to work in your own life, organization, and community.
The Work
Rooted in practice
Leading
International Folk Art Market
Every July in Santa Fe: 150+ master folk artists from 50+ countries, and record-breaking sales that go home with the makers.
Building
Trade+Impact
The trade association I co-founded for women-led social enterprises in Africa and the Middle East — home of the Handmade Futures Summit.
Teaching
Business as a Public Good
Social entrepreneurship, impact business, and business for the public good — taught to hundreds of students and executives.
Researching
Artisan Social Enterprise
Peer-reviewed research on women artisan entrepreneurs and community resilience.
Speaking & Workshops
Keynotes, workshops & facilitation
Twenty years of advocacy — from Fortune-500 leadership forums to a literature festival in the Himalayas — telling one story: the artisan economy, and what it can teach us all.
Speaking at Bhutan Echoes — Drukyul’s Literature & Arts Festival
IFAM Santa FeBhutan EchoesRE/MAXKronosCU BoulderNY NOWTrade+Impact Morocco
Now booking 2027 — keynotes · workshops · book-tour events
Essays & Interviews
Meet the makers
behind the book
I profile the artisans behind Artisan Economics — their craft, their leadership, their communities — in essays and audio on Substack, my free newsletter. Meet them — and more — in the artisan directory →
BeadWORKS · Paiwand Studio · Tsobol Antzetik · CTTC
Also by Stacey
Global Girlfriends
How One Mom Made It Her Business to Help Women in Poverty Worldwide (St. Martin’s Press) — the story of building a fair trade movement from a basement startup.
“An engaging read, upbeat and inspiring.” — Kirkus Reviews
Order from: Barnes & Noble Amazon Apple Books
Artisan Economics, twice a month
Stories of the world’s makers — essays and podcast episodes, twice a month. Join the list and be first to read the opening chapter.
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