On any given weekend, there is an arts festival somewhere, displaying thousands of items created by local and national artists. Event organizers blow into small town and big city, USA, set up booths for the weekend, and then disappear until the following year.

But Tom Reidy, founder of Best American Artists and Artisans, Inc., believed there was a need to make these American-made products accessible year-long, so he developed the Web site www.BestAmericanArts.com.  

“For years, my wife Vicky and I would go to arts festivals and gift shops featuring American artisan goods. We have enjoyed learning about the crafts, and our family and friends seemed excited to get unique gifts,” Reidy says. “In starting Best American Arts, we wanted to share this excitement of discovery.”

Launched in July 2007 and headquartered near downtown Columbus, Best American Arts is a family-owned business devoted to exposing artists to the cyber marketplace and providing a place for crafts customers to conveniently purchase their work—year round. Featured products are created from different mediums, such as glass, ceramic, wood, fiber, metal and leather. The Web site is unique in that it promotes only American artists.

“American artisans are losing their retail market through gift shops, as many shops are filling their shelves with imports while continuing to advertise themselves as American artisan galleries,” says Reidy. “We didn't think this was fair to the American artisans or consumer, so we decided to do something about it."

Such dedication by Reidy and the team at Best American Arts is what earned the company nominations for three awards from NICHE magazine, including Best Web site, Best New Store, and Top Retailer. The magazine polled more than 10,000 professional craft artists throughout the country to conclude its nominees.

“I did not expect we would be noticed by so many artisans so quickly,” Reidy says. “I guess they recognize the importance of access to American art.”

Nicole Bennett is a contributing writer for CityScene.