New products that celebrate the landscapes of the Pennsylvania Wilds will be launching this summer as part of the inaugural PA Wilds Collaborative Series.

Items in the collection of fun and inspired products were developed by local artists and manufacturers and will be available for the first time at the PA Wilds Dinner & Awards on July 24.

The PA Wilds Collaborative Series is a tribute to the creativity and craftsmanship of Pennsylvania’s rural communities.

Designers Ellen Paquette, Julie Mader and Kelsey Kleiner were selected through a competitive application process and each brought different techniques to bear on the project. They teamed up with the creative professionals at Organic Climbing, Laughing Owl Press Co., XtremeWear, and Saint Marys Box Co. to develop a range of products, including prints, postcards, shirts, hats, totes and bags, shipping boxes, and more.

Iconography developed by Kelsey Kleiner is being used on boxes made by St. Marys Box Co.

“These products are perfect for shoppers who value authentic, handcrafted goods. The PA Wilds Collaborative Series offers a collection of products that are locally designed and made. More than just a purchase, each item truly offers a connection to the landscapes, heritage, and creative spirit of this part of rural Pennsylvania — an enduring investment in craftsmanship and community,” said Libby Bloomquist, sustainable commerce director at the PA Wilds Center.

Drawings by Julie Mader were used to develop letterpress prints and postcards by Laughing Owl Press

PA Wilds

The PA Wilds Dinner & Awards on July 24 provides a chance to be one of the first to see the products and also meet the makers behind them.

Taking place at Brass 16823, Bellefonte, the PA Wilds Dinner & Awards will feature vendors and networking from 3-5 p.m., as well as Champion Award presentations, a dinner and an update on the PA Wilds movement from 5-8. The signature event in the PA Wilds, approximately 200 stakeholders attend the event to celebrate Champions and get an update on the effort to grow the region’s nature and heritage economy.

A typeface revived by Kelsey Kleiner for the PA Wilds is used within a design for hat made by Xtreme Wear.

Event registrations are due by July 16 at PAWildsCenter.org/program.

Following the event, the products will be available for purchase at PA Wilds Conservation Shop stores, on the PA Wilds Marketplace via PAWilds.com/collaborative, and select other locations.

The Collaborative Series seeks to invest in rural artists to help them develop and bring to market new PA Wilds branded products to meet growing consumer demand. Participating artists were paid to develop the designs and also received professional development stipends. The Center purchased initial start-up inventory from each manufacturer for the new product lines, supported third-party distribution logistics in conjunction with Elcam in Saint Marys, and is investing in marketing the products and partnerships behind them with other local businesses. All told, each artisan-manufacturer partnership will see a $22,000 investment.

The opportunity was open to Professional Juried Artists in the Wilds Cooperative of PA (WCO) network who specialize in visual arts and graphic design.

As a pilot program, the first year of the Collaborative Series helps establish a benchmark for how larger or more established companies active in the PA Wilds Center’s network can collaborate with cultural artists and newer entrepreneurs.

In addition to direct compensation, the artists, who co-own their designs with PA Wilds Center, each receive an initial run of products that they are able to sell on the PA Wilds Marketplace at Shop.PAWilds.com and other local events and outlets. They will be able to order more wholesale products after the initial run, creating a new revenue stream to compliment their handmade products and other offerings.  The manufacturers, as the official PA Wilds trademark licensees, are able to produce the products and others featuring the iconic PA Wilds trademark.

Abbi Peters, COO at PA Wilds Center, said, “Consumers are looking for products like these, and this program helps artisan businesses and manufacturers tap into the potential market opportunities that come hand in hand with developing a sustainable outdoor recreation destination.”

The Collaborative Series was launched with funding support from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

More information can be found at PAWilds.com/collaborative.