Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library

Dedicated to preserving the heritage, teaching the student, inspiring the artist, and promoting a way of life that values the handmade, the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library has its origins in the early years of the Crafts Guild of Manitoba. The Guild was formed in 1928 as a branch of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, and in 1933 that group established both a Permanent Collection and Library.

Over the years, volunteers worked to develop the collection, create exhibits, establish and deliver programming, and to care for the collection according to museum standards.

The Guild also established, in the early 1930s, a library of craft publications and patterns for use in workshops and by craftspeople.

The Library grew steadily over the years, and in 1948 was named the Gladys Chown Memorial Library in memory of a President of the Guild who died while in office. In the early 1990s volunteers worked to institute established library procedures and to develop the library into a more comprehensive resource.

In 1997 the Crafts Guild of Manitoba closed its doors, but the two collections were kept together and are managed by the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library, an independent organization.