Those whose work is selected by a jury of museum curators, collectors, dealers, and respected authors are entitled to display the Directory logo in their advertisements and identify their work with a Direcotry hangtag. Those awarded for the 2008 Directory are shown here.

Those selected for the Directory are allowed to display hangtags (shown at left) on the products they offer for sale. The rules of the Directory competition require that artisans offer items comparable to those selected by the judging. In addition, the items judged must represent the artisan's current work.

Artists selected for the Directory are also allowed to display a small logo (like the one shown at right) in their advertisements. The rules permit the artisan to display this logo for only two years after they have been selected.

These are your assurance that the work not only meets the highest standards of skill in its making but also has historical integrity. It is true to the period it represents. Artists are allowed to display the Directory identification for only two years following their selection to assure you that their current work maintains the high standards set by the Directory jurors.

In addition to being an honor for the artists, the Directory is also a buying guide. It presents to you a selection of the best historically informed handwork in America today. The Directory will help you select the best furniture, pottery, ironwork, decorative objects, and more for period-correct decorating, collecting, or movie-making. 

An artist who has been selected for the Directory has had his or her work thoroughly evaluated by a panel of experts. They have graded the artist's work as showing a mastery of the chosen craft, a mastery that represents the top of its individual field and may even be suitable for museum display. (Click here to find out more about how we judge the Directory.) This jurying assures you not only of the top-notch skill involved in making the work but also its historic integrity. The work included in the Directory is either an accurate reproduction of historic work or an original interpretation of a historic style that is entirely consistent with its historic roots.  But to assure this high-quality work is not mistaken for an actual antique, the Directory requires all work to be hallmarked. (Click here to find out more about this policy.)