Arts and Crafts Community Lets Artisans Join Green Initiative, Plants a Tree for Each New Member

A new arts and crafts community and marketplace launches at www.ArtFire.com, where arts and crafts go green. The company plants a tree for each new member, while artisans take part by choosing the environmentally distressed region where their tree will be planted. Basic artisan trading features no fees.

Tucson, AZ – September 25, 2008 – As an artisan, what could be better than combining arts and crafts, an active and friendly community, and an online marketplace with no fees? How about going green and helping the environment in the process? That’s what Art Fire (www.ArtFire.com), a new artisan community, now offers. Artisans join for free and sell their goods, while arts and crafts lovers signup to buy handmade products. Art Fire takes “community” to a global scale, planting a tree for every new member, allowing members to choose where their tree will be planted.

”Our members are out there trying to make a difference in the world,” says John Jacobs, President of Art Fire. “Going green isn’t just a badge we and our members wear – it’s what we live by. We consider it our company’s responsibility to help artisans work towards the greater good. We work closely with Trees for the Future through our Together, We Grow initiative, where we plant a tree for every new member in areas of the world most devastated by deforestation and climate change.”

Artisans can choose to have their tree planted in Honduras, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal, India, or the Philippines.

Art Fire allows artisans and arts and crafts lovers of all kinds to come together in a free trading environment to sell and buy handmade creations on the Web. Unlike other online marketplaces and auction sites artisans were previously limited by, Art Fire charges no fees per transaction.

“Artisans are often underappreciated in the business world,” says Tony Ford, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Art Fire. “The sheer cost of doing business with some marketplaces is a huge burden that makes it difficult for many artisans to compete with mass market goods. By taking a no-fees approach to selling arts and crafts, we’re giving back to the artist community while putting the power back into their hands. Now they have somewhere to sell where they can set their own prices based on value, rather than simply trying to overcome exorbitant fees"

The community currently offers two membership levels to artisans:
Basic User – Basic members can join for free, sell up to ten items at any given time (with a maximum of four pictures per item listed), and take part in limited community interaction.
Verified User – Verified artisans enjoy total community participation including blogs and trade guilds, have access to all contests and events as well as a customizable online shop, and are able to sell an unlimited number of items (with up to ten pictures per item), all for $20 per month.

About Art Fire, Inc.
Art Fire is an interactive online marketplace and community for artisans where members can sell and buy handmade crafts and goods. The community launched in the summer of 2008 to serve as a free trade business environment for artisans of all kinds. The site offers a free membership level as well as a paid verified user level. Because Art Fire believes in environmentally friendly business, the company plants a tree in honor of each new member to the community.

For more information about Art Fire’s artisan marketplace or green Together, We Grow initiative, please visit www.ArtFire.com or contact Tony Ford at 877-688-2323.

Contact Information

Tony Ford

Executive Vice President of Marketing

www.artfire.com

Contact via E-mail