The OCC was formed when, in the 1970s, it was evident that there was confusion surrounding the mandates of the two independent provincial craft organizations and overlap of their programming and services.Bennett, 11. From 1973 to 1975, a series of meetings were held to discuss a merger between the Canadian Guild of Crafts and the Ontario Craft Foundation. A new board was formed of twelve board members from each founding organization. In October 1975, the first meeting of the Interim Board of Directors of the Ontario Crafts Council was held, though the organization was not patented until August 1976. The founding president of the board was Toronto philanthropist Joan Chalmers.
