R E M E M B R A N C E
Carol
Sedesftrom
u
/
J im а
Л
/7
I
n
Ross
1938-2010
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)
C a r o l S e d e A r o m R o s s , w h o , a s th e fo u n d e r a n d c h i e f e x e c u tiv e
o ffic e r o f A m e r ic a n C r a ft E n te r p r is e s u n d e r th e a e g is o ft h e
A m e r ic a n C r a ft C o u n c il, c r e a te d th e m o d e l f o r th e p r o fe s s io n a l
m a r k e tin g o f co n tem p o ra ry cra fts, d ie d on J u n e 14 in H o u sto n .
A n art educator, Ross first connected to the
Council’s Northeast Craft Fair in 1972 as an
exhibitor. In 1975, under her direction, the fair,
now based in Rhinebeck,
N T,
became an indepen-
dent subsidiary of the Council. It was renamed
American Craft Enterprises in 1977, the same
year Ross initiated the Winter Market in Balti-
more, establishing crafts as a year-round— not
just summer
—
commodity. Ross left the Council
in 1992 to join George Little Management as
director o f craft marketing. For 15years she
developed the firm's Handmade division at the
New ‘Fork International Gift Fair and other
shows across the country. A craft consultant to
the
N E A
and other governmental agencies, Ross
also served on the board o f A id to Artisans.
A s chair of the Craft Organization Directors
Association, she spearheaded the first survey
to measure the impact o f crafts on the economy.
David Bacharach, a metalsmith and vet-
eran Council show exhibitor, recounts Ross’s
momentous firstforay into the world o f craft
fair organization.
It was 1972. The American Craft Coun-
cil’s Northeast Craft Fair had, after six
years in Vermont, outgrown the facilities
of a school in Stowe, a ski lodge at Mount
Snow and a high school in Bennington.
The fair’s volunteer leadership had initiated
a search for a larger facility to house the
rapidly growing show.
Carol, a new partner in her friend
JoAnn Brown’s studio clothing business,
was working her first fair that summer.
Exhibiting at Bennington, both women
experienced the problems of the facility
and learned of the Northeast Craft Fair’s
search for a new space. Carol, living at the
time in New Paltz, NY, realized that the
perfect solution just might be a site up the
road from Brown’s studio in Rhinebeck.
The Dutchess County Fair Grounds had
two new cow barns, as well as three horse
stables, all buildings Carol felt would be
perfect for craftspeople requiring the up-
grade to “indoor” exhibition space. There
was ample room for exhibition tents, park-
ing, camping facilities and two colleges
nearby for exhibitor housing. Most impor-
tant, Carol recognized that Rhinebeck,
unlike Bennington, offered direct access
to the buying public of New York City
and its suburbs.
Carol excitedly broached her idea to
the Bennington fair’s volunteer director,
who advised her to speak to officials at
the Dutchess County Fair Grounds, gauge
their reactions and report back. Carol made
an appointment with the fairground direc-
tor, Sam Lloyd, and she showed up for the
meeting in sandals, shorts and a T-shirt,
with her ponytail swinging behind her. Sam
listened to her, imagining what Carol was
proposing to bring to his fairground. (It
was, after all, only three years since a near-
by New York town had held a concert and
craft fair to be known forever as Wood-
stock.) Sam pictured long-haired, grass-
smoking hippies—much like, he supposed,
the woman making the presentation
to him—invading and devastating his fair-
ground. When she had finished, Sam re-
fused to have anything to do with Carol or
the Northeast fair and bid a hasty goodbye.
Quick on her feet and never one to take
no for an answer, especially when she had
what she believed to be the perfect idea,
Carol proposed a deal: If she could persuade
the board of the Dutchess County Fair
Grounds (then mostly farmers) to agree
to her proposal, would Sam allow the fair
to use the site? Feeling certain his board
would never agree, Sam consented.
Several days later, Carol met with the
board. Dressed this time in a brown suit and
heels, her hair coiffed, carrying photos of
the best crafts and most respectable-looking
exhibitors, Carol made her pitch. An hour
later, the board was convinced. This young,
local, presentable wife of a university pro-
fessor and her craft fair buddies would be,
they felt, a perfect fit for their fairground.
That first Rhinebeck show, in 1973, sur-
vived, despite many problems, and would
evolve into the iconic Rhinebeck fair, the
flagship of the Council’s fair program. Carol
was hired as director, the fair’s first paid
employee, and would go on to direct
a c e .
Carol was a woman brimming with ideas
who also possessed the energy, personality
and ability to bring those ideas to fruition.
To me, she was always a valued colleague
and friend. She will be missed. +
08
am erican craft oct/nov io
Illustration Elisabeth Moch.
