Items to be available at PA Wilds Dinner & Awards, select outlets

New products that celebrate the landscapes of the Pennsylvania Wilds will be launching this summer as part of the inaugural PA Wilds Collaborative Series. The collection of fun and inspired products were developed by local artists and manufacturers and will be available for the first time at the PA Wilds Dinner & Awards on July 24.

The PA Wilds Collaborative Series is a tribute to the creativity and craftsmanship of Pennsylvania’s rural communities. Each product in the collection began with the vision of a local artist, whose designs were then brought to life by skilled regional manufacturers, ensuring that every piece is both inspired by and made in the PA Wilds.

Designers Ellen Paquette, Julie Mader and Kelsey Kleiner were selected through a competitive application process and each brought different techniques to bear on the project. They teamed up with the creative professionals at Organic Climbing, Laughing Owl Press Co., XtremeWear, and Saint Marys Box Co. to develop a range of products, including prints, postcards, shirts, hats, totes and bags, shipping boxes, and more. 

“These products are perfect for shoppers who value authentic, handcrafted goods. The PA Wilds Collaborative Series offers a collection of products that are locally designed and made. More than just a purchase, each item truly offers a connection to the landscapes, heritage, and creative spirit of this part of rural Pennsylvania—an enduring investment in craftsmanship and community,” said Libby Bloomquist, Sustainable Commerce Director at the PA Wilds Center. 

PA WILDS DINNER LAUNCH EVENT

The PA Wilds Dinner & Awards on July 24 provides a chance to be one of the first to see the products and also meet the makers behind them! 

Taking place at Brass 16823, Bellefonte, the PA Wilds Dinner & Awards will feature vendors and networking from 3-5 p.m., as well as Champion Award presentations, a dinner and an update on the PA Wilds movement from 5-8. The signature event in the PA Wilds, approximately 200 stakeholders attend the event to celebrate Champions and get an update on the effort to grow the region’s nature and heritage economy.

Event registrations are due by July 16 at PAWildsCenter.org/program.

Following the event, the products will be available for purchase at PA Wilds Conservation Shop stores, on the PA Wilds Marketplace via PAWilds.com/collaborative, and select other locations.

COLLABORATIVE SERIES BACKGROUND

The Collaborative Series seeks to invest in rural artists to help them develop and bring to market new PA Wilds branded products to meet growing consumer demand. Participating artists were paid to develop the designs and also received professional development stipends. The Center purchased initial start-up inventory from each manufacturer for the new product lines, supported third-party distribution logistics in conjunction with Elcam in Saint Marys, and is investing in marketing the products and partnerships behind them with other local businesses. All told, each artisan-manufacturer partnership will see a $22,000 investment. 

The opportunity was open to Professional Juried Artists in the Wilds Cooperative of PA (WCO) network who specialize in visual arts and graphic design. 

As a pilot program, the first year of the Collaborative Series helps establish a benchmark for how larger or more established companies active in the PA Wilds Center’s network can collaborate with cultural artists and newer entrepreneurs. The program also gives creative entrepreneurs the opportunity to dive deeper into their businesses and become more sustainable and profitable, ultimately helping to build rooted local and regional wealth.

In addition to direct compensation, the artists, who co-own their designs with PA Wilds Center, each receive an initial run of products that they are able to sell on the PA Wilds Marketplace at Shop.PAWilds.com and other local events and outlets. They will be able to order more wholesale products after the initial run, creating a new revenue stream to compliment their handmade products and other offerings.  The manufacturers, as the official PA Wilds trademark licensees, are able to produce the products and others featuring the iconic PA Wilds trademark. As licensed products, a portion of sales will support the PA Wilds Center’s non-profit mission to integrate conservation and economic development in a way that strengthens and inspires communities of the PA Wilds.

“This Collaborative is truly a win-win-win, where our nonprofit was able to invest in these hyper local businesses to create in-demand products that celebrate our region and help people show off their pride of place,” said Abbi Peters, COO at PA Wilds Center. “Consumers are looking for products like these, and this program helps artisan businesses and manufacturers tap into the potential market opportunities that come hand in hand with developing a sustainable outdoor recreation destination.”

The Collaborative Series is one of several social impact investment offerings that has spun out of the Center’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, which supports rural small businesses involved in the region’s tourism and outdoor recreation sectors through professional development, referrals to other service providers, commerce platforms to reach new markets, marketing and branding, and other tools and networks. The ecosystem is tied to a 20-year collaborative effort to grow the region’s nature tourism industry as a way to diversify rural economies, attract investment, inspire stewardship, improve quality of life and retain population. Local, state and federal partners from the public and private sectors are involved in the regional strategy. 

The Collaborative Series was launched with funding support from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission. 

More information can be found at PAWilds.com/collaborative.