Work by Fishing Creek Glassworks reflects the creativity and care that small craft businesses bring to their communities, while also highlighting the growing need to prepare for climate-related disruptions.
For many small craft businesses, climate change doesn’t arrive as an abstract headline. It shows up as a power outage before a major order is due, a shipment of materials that never arrives, an outdoor market canceled because of wildfire smoke, or floodwaters inching closer to a studio that has never flooded before.
Creative entrepreneurs-from ceramicists and woodworkers to jewelry makers and weavers–are deeply rooted in their local economies. Yet many operate without contingency plans for extreme weather events or supply chain disruptions which are becoming more frequent and more costly each year.
Hannah Grant, the owner of Fishing Creek Glassworks, didn’t consider her business at risk, as she wasn’t in a flood zone and wildfires felt like a distant reality. Over time, however, small climate-related events translated into lost market days, supply delays, and unexpected business interruptions.
“I didn’t really consider that it had impacted my business,” she reflected. “Until I sat down and started listing all the ways that it had.”
That realization, that risk is often incremental, is becoming common across the craft sector.
Just outside of Asheville, North Carolina, furniture designer Kwadwo Som-Pimpong, Founder of Crafted Glory, experienced Hurricane Helene firsthand. The storm, which resulted in widespread devastation in an area not believed to be “hurricane prone,” taught him an important lesson:
“Art needs to exist always,” he said. “The disasters that happen ought not to shut artist practices down.”
He believes that makers, artisans, and creative entrepreneurs need access to tools and resources to help them develop their resiliency and respond quickly when disaster strikes.
Left: Kwadwo Som-Pimpong of Crafted Glory. Right: Hannah Grant of Fishing Creek Glassworks. Makers across disciplines are navigating climate-related challenges, underscoring the importance of building resilience into creative businesses.
These realities are what led Nest, a nonprofit that supports global artisans, to develop the Climate Academy. The Academy is a free, self-paced learning curriculum designed specifically for US-based makers and creative entrepreneurs. Developed in partnership with Etsy, and with support from Adyen, a global commerce payments platform, the Climate Academy offers practical tools, including risk assessment frameworks, disaster preparedness guides, recovery planning resources, and strategies for operational resilience.
Climate preparedness doesn’t require overhauling business operations overnight. Practically speaking, it means documenting inventory, rethinking material sourcing, diversifying sales channels, and making time for intentional business planning.
Hannah added, “I think that having a resource like Nest’s Climate Academy would have been great prior to these events for me personally. If I just am a little bit more prepared for outdoor markets, or if I’m a little bit more mindful about the materials that I’m using, it could help prevent business loss from climate disasters.”
The craft sector is uniquely vulnerable. Many makers operate as “solopreneurs” or with very small teams, operate studios out of their homes, and often have limited cash reserves. Yet, these businesses are critical to their communities. They preserve craft traditions, generate local employment and economic opportunities, and contribute to vibrant neighborhoods across the country.
The Nest Climate Academy was designed with accessibility in mind. It acknowledges the reality that makers are already stretched thin, which is why it is being offered free and course completion is flexible. The resources are meant to integrate into existing workflows, not add to makers’ burdens.
As climate change becomes our new normal, resilience is no longer optional, especially for small creative businesses. For them, preparation is protection and prosperity.
“The more options that we have that will help us adapt, help us to creatively turn horrible situations into bright opportunities, the better prepared we can be as artists.
The Climate Academy is just that. It’s going to help all of us be more resilient,” Kwadwo concluded.
Makers can learn more about the Climate Academy and enroll today at buildanest.org/climate.
Rebecca van Bergen
Founder + Executive Director of Nest
Rebecca van Bergen is the Founder and Executive Director of Nest, a nonprofit supporting the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan and maker economy to build a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion.
