Craft In America

What Craft In America does

Craft In America is a nonprofit educational media organization that produces documentary content exploring American craft arts, cultural identity, and their intersection with national history. Its core product is a library of themed documentary episodes, the most recent being DEMOCRACY, which premiered on PBS on December 11, 2020 and features contributions from Smithsonian museum curators, Native American artists, veteran craftspeople, calligraphers, and educators at institutions such as Berea College and the Veterans History Project.

The organization's production model is event-driven, centered on themed documentary episodes that aggregate content from premier cultural institutions, including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Distribution is anchored by a national PBS broadcast partnership, supplemented by an organizational website (craftinamerica.org) that provides episode information and on-demand content access for arts and culture audiences across the United States.

The business model is built on PBS broadcast licensing (royalties) and supporting digital channels. There is no publicly disclosed pricing, advertising, or subscription product; the organization functions as a nonprofit producer dependent on institutional partnerships and broadcast relationships rather than direct consumer monetization. Customer-facing reach is concentrated on general public viewers interested in American craft, art history, and cultural heritage.

Name

Craft In America

Legal name

Craft In America

Website

https://craftinamerica.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Craft In America is a nonprofit educational media organization producing documentary episodes about American craft arts, distributed nationally through PBS broadcast and its organizational website to arts, culture, and heritage audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Documentary Media

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Documentaries (MPADADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries (MPADADAG), Media Arts & Film/Photography Nonprofits (BPAGAHAJ)

Keywords

• Arts documentary production
• Cultural education media
• American craft heritage
• Public television content
• Nonprofit arts broadcasting

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. PBS Broadcast Licensing: Craft In America produces documentary content that is licensed for broadcast on PBS, reaching national audiences across the United States. The DEMOCRACY episode premiered on PBS on December 11, 2020.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Craft In America produces and distributes documentary episodes about American craft arts and their cultural significance. Its flagship offering is the DEMOCRACY documentary episode, which premiered on PBS on December 11, 2020, exploring how craft intersects with American democratic principles through partnerships with Smithsonian institutions, Americans for the Arts, veteran artists, and educators. The organization also maintains an organizational website for on-demand content access and community engagement around American craft traditions.

Product overview

Craft In America is an organization that produces documentary episodes about American craft arts. Their portfolio includes the DEMOCRACY episode, a PBS broadcast exploring craft's connection to American democratic principles. The DEMOCRACY documentary features various cultural institutions, artists, and educators discussing craft traditions across different communities including African-American, Native American, and Appalachian craft.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DEMOCRACY A PBS broadcast documentary episode that premiered December 11, 2020, exploring how craft is intertwined with America's defining principles and democratic values. Features interviews with curators, artists, and educators discussing craft's role in U.S. history, the African-American experience, Native American art, veteran artists, and Appalachian craft traditions. Targeted at general public viewers, art enthusiasts, and educational audiences interested in American cultural heritage.

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• PBScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 December 2020PBS served as the broadcast partner for the DEMOCRACY episode, premiering the documentary on December 11, 2020. PBS provides national distribution reach for Craft In America's documentary content.
• Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured the Hearts of Our People exhibition showcasing Native American women's art. The Smithsonian partnership provides institutional credibility and access to premier exhibition spaces.
• National Museum of African American History and CulturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurator Joanne Hyppolite, Ph.D. appears in the DEMOCRACY episode discussing the role of craft in the African-American experience and legacy of racial injustice.
• National Museum of the American IndiancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome to the National Native American Veterans Memorial designed by Cheyenne Peace Chief Harvey Pratt, featured in the DEMOCRACY documentary.
• Americans for the ArtsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresident Robert L. Lynch appears in the DEMOCRACY episode providing insight on craft in U.S. history and government role in arts.
• Veterans History ProjectsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in DEMOCRACY episode, showcasing veteran artists who express themselves through craft, connecting military service with artistic tradition.
• Berea CollegesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured institution where traditional Appalachian craft is kept alive through innovative programs and diverse student body. Represents craft preservation in educational context.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Independent Lens (ITVS): Independent Lens is a PBS documentary anthology series produced by the Independent Television Service. It shares Craft In America's PBS premiere slot, episodic documentary model, and mission-driven nonprofit production approach for socially engaged storytelling.
• Florentine Films (Ken Burns): Florentine Films is Ken Burns's documentary production company, producing long-form PBS history and culture documentaries. Comparable to Craft In America in PBS-centric production model and American-history/culture subject matter, though at a far larger scale.
• PBS American Masters: American Masters is a long-running PBS documentary series profiling cultural figures and movements. It shares Craft In America's PBS distribution channel, episodic documentary format, and arts-culture subject area, competing for the same public-television arts audience.
• Art21: Art21 is a nonprofit that produces PBS-broadcast documentary series on contemporary art and artists. It mirrors Craft In America's model of PBS-licensed art documentary content with a comparable national distribution footprint and educational mission.
• POV (American Documentary): POV is a long-running PBS documentary showcase and nonprofit producer. It overlaps with Craft In America on PBS distribution, episodic feature-length docs, and nonprofit-driven content addressing American culture and identity.

Broad incumbents

• Participant Media: Participant Media produces socially conscious films and documentaries spanning many genres and platforms. It shares Craft In America's mission-driven, social-issue framing but operates at significantly larger scale across theatrical and streaming distribution.
• National Geographic Documentary Films: National Geographic Documentary Films produces premium cultural and heritage documentaries distributed globally. Comparable in documentary format and cultural storytelling, but at a vastly larger commercial scale and broader geographic reach than Craft In America's nonprofit PBS model.
• Smithsonian Channel: Smithsonian Channel is a cable/streaming network producing documentary content tied to Smithsonian museums. It shares Craft In America's institutional Smithsonian ties and cultural-heritage subject area but operates as a broader, year-round production entity rather than a single-themed nonprofit.

Emerging players

• Appalshop: Appalshop is an Appalachian media-arts nonprofit producing films and documentaries on regional culture and craft traditions. Comparable to Craft In America's craft-preservation mission and nonprofit documentary model, with particular overlap in Appalachian craft storytelling such as the Berea College segment.
• The Great American History Tour: Independent cultural-heritage documentary and media projects covering American craft, folk traditions, and regional history. Comparable subject matter and educational-mission framing, though distributed primarily through digital and event channels rather than PBS broadcast.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CraftinAmerica
• Facebookfacebook.com/CraftinAmerica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/craft-in-america

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Craft In America