During the Furni­ture Society’s 2018 confer­ence, a member received a stand­ing ovation for her sugges­tion that the Society find ways to make a differ­ence in the cities where we host our confer­ences. The follow­ing year, Craft for a Greater Good (CGG) was launched in conjunc­tion with the Furni­ture Society’s 2019 confer­ence in Milwau­kee as a way to give back to the city. The inau­gural year, CGG part­nered with two local orga­ni­za­tions, HOME GR/OWN and the Milwau­kee Art Museum’s Teen Intern­ship Program, to make benches for Milwaukee’s Victory Over Violence park. Work was started at the confer­ence and contin­ued by the MAM teens through instal­la­tion. Since, CGG has contin­ued to form and grow every year with projects in Asheville and New Orleans. It contin­ues to promote public aware­ness of design and making at the inter­sec­tion of culture, educa­tion, and business.

Comprised of Furni­ture Society members, CGG Resi­dent Fellows, and volun­teers from our part­ner­ing cities and orga­ni­za­tions, CGG is always a collab­o­ra­tion. By truly part­ner­ing with local insti­tu­tions and commu­ni­ties, we can engage with people through the creative problem solving process that comprises the act of making. We are utiliz­ing ​“confer­ence” as a means to host impor­tant conver­sa­tion, to listen, and to turn these conver­sa­tions into mean­ing­ful actions. We are a passion­ate group guided by impact-driven values that help us create real change.

Posi­tion furni­ture and creative problem solving as univer­sal connec­tors
We find value in and around the act of furniture making

Lever­age part­ner­ship for engage­ment
We work hand and hand with part­ners to harness the power of community

Culti­vate an empow­er­ing, inclu­sive culture
We tap into our rich collec­tive skillset to inspire and support each other