10 2025 GOLDEN SCISSORS AWARDS RECOGNISE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CRAFTS INDUSTRY Craft Industry Alliance today announced the winners of the 2026 Golden Scissors Awards, honouring exceptional achievement and leadership across the crafts industry. The awards were presented live on stage at h+h Americas at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Centre in Rosemont, Illinois, where five outstanding craft professionals were recognised before an audience of industry peers. Spanning global brands and independent makers alike, the craft industry thrives on innovation, creativity, and community. The Golden Scissors Awards celebrate individuals whose work elevates the field and drives it forward. Nominations opened in January and remained open for one month, with finalists subsequently reviewed by a panel of seven judges appointed by the Craft Industry Alliance Board of Advisors. Judges for this year’s awards were Arianna Foulks of the web design and development agency Aeolidia, activist and author Omkari Williams, founder and COO of SewShare Julie Roehm, founder and host of The Quilter on Fire Podcast Brandy Maslowski, crochet designer Brittany Garber, entrepreneur and investor Elizabeth Caven, and the publisher, editor, and designer of UPPERCASE Magazine, Janine Vangool. There were five categories of awards given this year: Emerging Leader, Innovation, Sustainability, Social Impact, and Lifetime Achievement. For Social Impact, the award goes to someone whose work focuses on participation, craft, and collective storytelling. She is the creator of Welcome Blanket, a participatory project where thousands of makers create handmade textiles and messages of welcome for refugees and immigrants. The blankets are exhibited at museums and cultural institutions and then gifted through over 30 partner organisations. She’s also the co-creator of the Pussyhat Project, which helped bring craftivism into the cultural mainstream. The award goes to Jayna Zweiman. For Innovation, the award goes to someone who created a training platform to teach people how to service, maintain, and understand sewing machines. Recognising a growing shortage of qualified sewing machine technicians and limited access to technical training, she created Sewing Doc Academy to make professional-level education accessible to anyone with the curiosity and determination to learn. Before launching the Academy, she operated a professional sewing machine service shop for 15 years in the Atlanta suburbs, where she serviced and restored machines for sewists throughout the region. The award goes to Andi Barney. For Sustainability, the award goes to a non-profit in Nashville that is keeping thousands of pounds of art supplies out of landfills and giving them a second life with artists, teachers, and students ready to create. They offer meaningful work to adults with disabilities, helping them to build job skills, gain confidence, and connect with community, while encouraging everyone to explore their creative side. The award goes to Smart Art and Craft Supplies. For Emerging Leader, the award goes to someone who served as the Executive Director of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, where she supported thousands of quilters in providing comfort to veterans. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director of the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah, Kentucky, where she oversaw and expanded a fiber festival. This is a person who’s passionate about arts education and teaches art at Caldwell County Middle School in Princeton, Kentucky, a role that allows her to inspire the next generation to discover and develop their own artistic voices, fostering creativity and confidence. The award goes to Lexie Millikan. For Lifetime Achievement, the award goes to a nationally recognised fibre artist, curator, and educator who is a 4th generation needleworker based in Goose Creek, South Carolina. She’s dedicated more than two decades to preserving, expanding, and elevating African American textile traditions, particularly Gullah Rag Quilting. She honors the ancestral practice of Gullah Rag Quilting while thoughtfully adapting it to contemporary makers, ensuring its survival as a living tradition. The Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Torreah ‘Cookie’ Washington. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners. Craft Industry Alliance co-founder and president, Abby Glassenberg, says of this year’s awards program, “It’s a privilege to present these awards. In just three years, the program has become a highlight for us. The dedication and effort shown by this year’s winners is remarkable, and each one demonstrates the powerful impact of craft and creativity.” The Golden Scissors Awards will be given annually each spring at h+h americas. Nominations for next year’s awards will open in January 2027.
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