Guild Charter

fyi - I got a very good message from our gentle Queen Judith:

The Guild Charter is approved!

Dragons Needle Embroidery Guild – Guild Charter

1. Purpose

The purpose of the Guild is to encourage historic embroidery and fibre arts and to promote the art and enjoyment of historical needlework within the context of the SCA.

2. Membership

Membership to the Guild is open to every person who is interested in embroidery and/or fibre arts regardless of skill or level and who is willing to support the Guild’s purpose. Members should, in general, live inside the borders of the Kingdom of Drachenwald, but because of the history of our kingdom everyone who has a relationship to Drachenwald may join the Guild. Membership in the Guild is strictly voluntary.

2.1. Start of Membership
A person indicates their willingness to join the Guild by sending a request to the Guild Head or the regional Guild Head (who will forward the request to the Guild Head) and by providing following information:
- mundane name:
- SCA name:
- SCA group:
- SCA region:
- SCA membership-number:
- contact information:
- optional information - your embroidery techniques:
- optional information - homepage/blog:
The membership starts with the confirmation by the Guild Head and will be posted at the Dragon’s Embroidery Workshop Blog (label: ‘Guild Member-List’).

2.2. End of Membership
The membership ends when a member indicates their willingness to leave the Guild. In cases of serious breaches of conduct the membership of a member may also be ended by the Guild Head.

3. Guild Badge

Every member of the Dragon’s Needle Embroidery Guild has the right to wear the registered Guild Badge: “(Fieldless) On a dragon passant coward sable a needle palewise Or.”

4. Guild Structure

4.1. Kingdom / Guild Head
The Guild Head shall guide the Guild, support the Guild’s purpose, and represents the Guild in all matters concerning the Guild and the SCA. The Guild Head oversees the activities of the Guild and reports semi-annual to the Kingdom Minister of Arts & Sciences - the reports are due May 15 and November 15. New deputies may be created if and when required in the discretion of the Guild Head.
When the officiating Guild Head wants to retire, the Guild Head may appoint a volunteer for this position. If this is not possible, the Regional Guild Heads may choose a Guild Head among the members of the Guild, if a vote is necessary the person with the majority of votes will become the new head. As soon as new Guild Head is chosen, the Kingdom Minister of Arts & Sciences must be informed. The position of the Guild Head is restricted to members of the Guild.

4.2. Regional / Regional Guild Heads
The Guild Head encourages the regions to work as independently as possible to ensure the regional needs are met. Therefore the regions are encouraged to choose a Regional Guild Head among their own members or appoint a volunteer for this position. The Regional Guild Heads (also called Local Guild Heads) oversee the activities of the regional Guilds and report to the Guild Head. If the members of a region choose a Regional Guild Head or the Regional Guild Head changes, the change must be reported immediately to the Guild Head. If a region has no Regional Guild Head, the Guild Head oversees the activities of the region. The position of the Regional Guild Head is restricted to members of the Guild.

4.3. Local / Local Guilds & Interest Groups
Local guilds and Interest Groups should be encouraged. Affiliation with the Kingdom Guild is not required, but strongly encouraged. Regional Guild Heads should offer all possible assistance to Local Guilds & Interest Groups.

5. Guild Charter

The purpose of the Guild Charter is to contain the rules/statutes for the most important points concerning the Guild and its members and must be kept as simple and uncomplicated as possible. Copies of the Guild Charter which the Guild operates under are available from the Guild Head.

5.1 Guild Charter changes
Proposals for changes or additions concerning the Guild Charter may be submitted to the Guild Head by all members.
Changes or additions to the Guild Charter may be created if and when required in the discretion of the Guild Head. The Kingdom Minister of Arts & Sciences and the Guild members must be informed about every change to the Guild Charter immediately.

6. Guild Program

Guild Programs may be established by the Guild Head to encourage study and development of needlework skills, and shall offer a forum for those who wish to measure their progress and skill in a self-paced non-competitive environment.
When established, the Guild Programs will be available from the Guild Head as stand alone appendix to the Guild Charter.

6.1 Guild Program members
The Guild Program participation is restricted to members of the Guild. A member indicates their willingness to join the Guild Programs by sending a request to the Guild Head. Membership starts with confirmation by the Guild Head.

6.2 Guild Program changes & additions
The Guild Head oversees the Guild Programs. Changes or additions to the Guild Program may be created if and when required in the discretion of the Guild Head and must be reported to the Guild Program members as soon as possible.

6.3 End of Guild Program membership
The membership ends when a member indicates their willingness to leave the Guild Program.

7. Guild Challenges & Projects

Annual challenges and projects should be encouraged. To serve the guild's purpose the challenges & projects should be also open to all SCA members, if this is possible because of the challenge/project theme.

8. A&S and Guild Displays

The members of the guild are encouraged to display their work at A&S and Guild Displays. Whenever possible, the person responsible for the Guild Display should cooperate with the person responsible for the A&S Display.

I want to thank Mistress Jaelle for her great help concerning the content of the Guild Charter and also our gentle Queen Judith de Northumbria and our gentle King Gerhardt von Wustenburg for the fast approval.

Next step - writing down the document to get it signed by our Majesties at University! :)