NEW YORK –

Nominations are now open for the Martha Stewart American Made program that

spotlights the maker, supports the local and celebrates the handmade. Each of

10 winners will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000 and a trip for two to New

York City to attend the American Made Summit. Last year, Detroit Dirt won.

The program

will culminate on November 7 with the American Made Summit, a networking event

and creative maker lecture series held at the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

headquarters in New York City.

American

Made is a nationally recognized awards program that spotlights the maker,

supports the local and celebrates the handmade. Through American Made, Martha

Stewart and the editors of Martha Stewart Living celebrate the next generation

of makers who have turned their passions for handcrafted, well-designed goods

into small businesses and proudly make their products in America. According to

the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are more than 28.4 million small

businesses in the United States, employing over 56 million workers.

Each year,

Martha and her American Made team honor extraordinary makers, small-business

owners, and creative entrepreneurs in the fields of crafts, design, food, and

style. These makers are recognized for their dedication to creating beautiful,

quality products and building successful business and communities. In addition

to the nine 2015 Martha Stewart American Made honorees selected by the editors,

one Audience Choice Winner will be chosen by our website audience.

Each of the

10 winners will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000, as well as a trip for two

to New York City to attend the American Made Summit, the opportunity to be

featured on MarthaStewart.com and marketing and public relations to help move

their businesses forward. All winners will be announced by October 23.

“I am

delighted to announce the American Made program for the fourth year as an

extension of the Martha Stewart Living brand,” Stewart said. “With American

Made, we honor the country’s makers who are sparking change by creating

beautiful and useful products, pioneering new industries, improving local

communities and changing the way we eat, shop, work and live.”

An extension

of the program, currently supported by eBay, is the Martha Stewart American

Made Market – a marketplace of American made products, handpicked by Martha

Stewart and her American Made team and currently supported by eBay. With

thousands of products, the Martha Stewart American Made Market on eBay is

available to all who want to support and shop the work of American artisans.

Last year’s

program, which honored businesses such as Detroit Dirt, http://detroitdirt.org/theyard/Kalon Studios and Whit, received over 3,500 nominations for Audience Choice and

more than 1.7 million votes to determine the Audience Choice winner.

“The spirit

of innovation is something I have celebrated for over 20 years through my

magazines, products and television and digital programming,” said Stewart. “Now

more than ever, as we continue to see a shift in our culture where creative

entrepreneurs are defining a new American economy, it is crucial to support

this growing population of makers.”

To learn

more about Martha Stewart’s American Made Program click on www.marthastewart.com/americanmade

2015

American Made Key Dates:

Audience

Choice Entry Period – Begins at 9:00:00 AM ET on June 18, 2015 and ends at

11:59:59 PM ET on August 31, 2015.

Finalist

Selection Period – Begins at 9:00:00 AM ET on July 10, 2015 and ends at

11:59:59 PM ET on September 14, 2015.

Public

Voting – Public Voting for the Audience Choice Award Winner begins at 9:00:00

AM ET on September 21, 2015 and ends at 11:59:59 on October 19, 2015.

Winners

Announced -The Audience Choice Award Winner will be announced on or about

October 23, 2015.

The 2015

American Made Summit will be held on Saturday, November 7 at MSLO Headquarters

at 601 West 26th Street.