An Open Letter To Rachel Maddow

This is an open letter to one of the people I admire most in the world. Thank you for your insights and your humor. I hope that you see this.




Dear Ms. Maddow,


I am writing this open letter to respectfully request a favor from you. This is a really big favor! I would like to ask you to turn your keen eye and brilliant mind to a segment of our population that is so marginalized that nobody ever thinks of us.


We are the micro businesses who have no other options for selling our products than the internet. Sometimes our options are limited by geography but in the 10 years I've been selling online the most repeated reasons that people sell the things they make online is because of the limitations of poor health or health issues and/or poverty.


In this economy it may seem like a luxury to spend a little more to buy handmade items, but ordinary, everyday items that are made one at a time by hand or made in small batches in a micro factory are generally so superior to mass produced that they end up costing less to the consumer than replacing the mass manufactured items in the same time space.


It would be so beneficial for a huge group of people if you would simply say something on your show about supporting our little businesses. For some of us that kind of exposure would mean that we could pay our bills next month, for others it means they get to take their medicines this month.


I sell on a site called ArtFire.com that is a small family owned and operated business as well. They have a small staff, a small budget and a huge hearts. They have worked so unbelievably hard to help us, most of whom are simply artists/artisans/crafters who have no business acumen, become at least a little bit adept at selling our items. There is so much more that needs to be done to sell a handmade items than simply making a great item, and these lovely people have given us all a great educational resource, so if I could ask one more favor it would be to give a shout out to our amazing staff.


Thank you so much for your time, 


Margaret Crow