More than 18,000 professional craft artists from throughout the U.S. and Canada were polled by NICHE magazine, sponsor of the awards program. Criteria for selection included treating artists with courtesy and respect, paying on time, promoting and marketing American crafts, giving back time and energy to the craft community and mentoring emerging artists. Nearly 1,000 galleries, retail stores and museum shops from 50 states and the Virgin Islands were nominated, with 31 states represented in the Top 100 Retailers of American Craft.

"I am honored to present this year's top retailers and nominees," noted Wendy Rosen, publisher of NICHE magazine. "Through their strong commitment to cooperation and partnership, the time honored tradition of American crafts will continue to carry forth the ideals that have made our industry so strong."

The Rosen Group produces the biannual Buyers Market of American Craft, the world's largest wholesale arts event, and publishes both NICHE, the exclusive trade publication for fine American craft retailers, and AmericanStyle, a consumer lifestyle magazine for collectors of American art.

For more information about this retailer, contact:

Nancy Landwehr
The Spirited Hand
The Shoppes at Farmington Valley
110 Albany Tpke., Suite 927
Canton, CT 06019
860-693-3300