Are you a Native artisan or craftsperson with a successful offline business but haven’t yet found your footing online?
Maybe you’re selling on platforms like Facebook, but not fully tapping into the power of a thriving online marketplace?

If you’re ready to create or grow your online presence—or even just explore whether selling online is right for you—please join us in Fallon for an Information Session on the IDRS Native Artisans Etsy Cohort.

The IDRS Acorn Project offers this unique opportunity for Native artists and makers to expand their market reach and increase income by selling on the Etsy platform. The cohort will be led by IDRS Acorn Project staff, Lynn Wilson and MaryBeth Timothy—both successful Native makers who have grown their businesses through online sales.

Participants selected for the three-month cohort program will receive:

• Personalized support to set up an Etsy store
• Professional graphic design and copywriting assistance
• Hands-on training and guidance
• A $200 grant
• Promotion through the IDRS Acorn Project’s social media channels

This program is designed to help you launch or elevate your online business with the tools and support you need to thrive.

📅 Information Session Details:

Date: Tuesday, June 10th
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM (Pacific)
Location: Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Cultural Center
Address: 2300 W. Line Street, Bishop, CA 93514

To register, please click the “going” button above and complete the form.

All Native artisans, craftspersons, entrepreneurs, and community members are welcome. If you know someone who could benefit from this session, please share the invitation!

Here is a link to a flyer for this event for distribution within your community.

For more information, please contact Paige Sills, IDRS’ Acorn Project Owens Valley Cohort Community Manager at paige.e.sills@gmail.com or at 808-430-0946.  You can also reach out to Lynn Wilson, Microenterprise Development Specialist at the IDRS Acorn Project, at lynn@idrsinc.org.

Program Guide: 

Paige Sills is an enrolled member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe and proudly serves as the Community Guide for the Native Artisans Collective in the Owens Valley region. Born and raised on the Bishop Paiute Tribe Reservation, where she still resides, Paige brings a deep-rooted connection to her community and culture.

In her role as Community Guide, Paige supports fellow Native artisans by sharing resources, encouragement, and guidance as they grow their creative businesses. She helps foster connection and collaboration within the local maker community, drawing on her own experience as a multi-disciplinary artist to inspire and uplift others on their journey into online selling and creative entrepreneurship.

About your presenters:

Lynn Wilson (Cherokee) serves as the Microenterprise Development Specialist for the IDRS Acorn Project. She has championed small businesses and entrepreneurs for 20 years, working with tribal communities across Indian Country. Lynn’s work has focused on entrepreneurial training, business counseling, economic and demographic, and social research related to economic development. For the past four years, she has been on staff at IAIA teaching  Entrepreneurship under the Business and Entrepreneurship certificate program. Lynn received her M.B.A. and Professional Certification in Entrepreneurship from Cameron University and is a certified market research specialist through the National Center for Economic Gardening. She lives in Hulbert, OK, with her husband, Clint.

MaryBeth Timothy is an award-winning Cherokee artist.  MaryBeth and her husband operate MoonHawk Art LLC, an art business in Muskogee Oklahoma that specializes in Native American and wildlife art.

MaryBeth creates new original art and, through sublimation printing, offers her and her husband’s images on a variety of items, such as ceramic decorative tiles, coffee mugs, cuff bracelets, and t-shirts.  While MaryBeth primarily sells through venues such as gift shops and art markets, she has been able to expand and reach a worldwide market through her Etsy store.

This workshop is being funded in part by the Bishop Paiute Tribe, the USDA Rural Development, the US Small Business Administration, the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, and the Elevate Initiative.