2010 Crafty Jury Revealed
With the 7th annual Crafty Bastards fast approaching in 3 months, the Crafty Jury is in full effect, rating our pool of applicants to see who will be selected as our official 2010 vendors! Now in Day 2 of the Crafty Jury process, the 7 members of the Crafty Jury are half way through determining which crafters, out of the record 450+ applicants, will have one of the 150 available booth spaces this year.
The Crafty Jury process has been in place since the first year of the fair 7 years ago, with a new mix of jurors each year. Over the course of two full days, the each member of the Jury rates each individual applicant through a unique system that keeps the vendor selection process fair for all. We’re excited to share our Jury process with you, and please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.
How long does the Jury process take?
The Crafty Jury meets for two days, approx. 10 hours per day. How are the applications judged? Each application is reviewed one by one, with special attention paid to the 3 photos and vendor statement. From there, each juror rates the applicant on 9 craftigories; the first 8 craftigories receive a score of 1-10. The last craftigory is an Overall score, which is worth 20 points. So the best possible score for an applicant would be 100 craftaculous points! The lowest is 10. All of the applicants’ ratings are then compiled and each applicant is given a total score based on the average score from all 7 jurors. At the end of the jury process, those applicants with a score of 75 or higher are automatically accepted into the fair. We then take a look at the categories of craft that we might be missing, and try to fill in the gaps from there. For example, if there are 5 spaces left in the fair, and we have not accepted any ceramic artists, we will take a look at the highest rated potter applicant and may decide to accept them into the fair. This process allows for an excellent shopping experience for our attendees, and a profitable day for our vendors.
What are the Craftigories?
1.) Craftsmanship/Skill How well-made are the crafts? We keep in mind some things are meant to look rough or undone. 2.) Inventive use of materials? Does the crafter use pre-manufactured materials or do they make their stuff from scratch? 3.) Labor/Time Investment Does it look like there was time invested in the concept/design/product? 4.) Physical Design – How much thought was put into the aesthetics/function of the work? 5.) Alternative Subject Matter/Vision? 6.) Rarity/Singularity – How unique are the products? 7.) Excitability – Would we buy this or recommend it to someone? 8.) Appeal – Does this vendor appeal to a large group of shoppers, or would their products only appeal to a very niche group? 9.) Overall (worth 20 points)
Why do you use this rating system?
This rating system provides an equal opportunity for all crafters to have a chance to vend at the fair. Where some applicants might get a high score in the uniqueness of their work, others may get a higher score in how well their products are made.
Is there a wait list?
Yes. We usually pick a small number of applicants with scores closest to 75 to be on our Pending List. Those on the Pending List will be notified of any booth space that may open up for various reasons.
Who is on the Jury?
This year’s Crafty Jury is comprised of an award-winning, local talent which includes local shop owner Joshua Tiktin from local DC Dekka, Rachel Bone from the Charm City Craft Mafia, Liz Ecktein — one of the original, founding directors of Crafty Bastards, and Pete Morelecitz — past Washington City Paper Art Director and crafter extraordinairre, as well as 3 Directors from Hello Craft — the non-profit which is powers Crafty Bastards alongside Washington City Paper.
Meet 2010 Crafty Jury:
Sara DickAs a crafter, I’ve sold my work at Renegade Brooklyn, Handmade Arcade in Pittsburgh, Holiday Heap and Pile of Craft in Baltimore, Crafty Bastards and a handful of smaller shows in the DC area.
I’ve helped organize and curate Crafty Bastard since 2004, putting the number of CB vendor submissions I’ve reviewed somewhere in the thousands. The past two years I’ve worked with DC’s Craft Mutiny to produce the Holiday Booty Market and most recently, curated Hello Craft’s Show of Awesome.
As a handmade shopper, I am proud to have supported artisans (and filled my apartment) with purchases at craft shows like Renegade Chicago, Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colassal Holiday Show in Portland, Bust’s Spring Craftacular and all the shows of which I’ve been a participant. Can’t wait to see what I’ll be buying this year!
Kimberly DornAfter serving on the Crafty Jury for the last 6 years, she’s found a deep appreciation for crafters that successfully combine cute with functionality. While on the Jury, Kimberly is looking for crafters that take an innovative approach to whatever they do. Her favorite category to review is Housewares, because she likes to see how design ideas fuse with functional pieces.
Her background in crafting started with a BFA in Sculpture from SUNY Albany, which eventually turned into printmaking, which led to photography, and now also includes knitting, paper arts, making hair accessories, silk screening, and leaving trails of yarn, felt, fabric and other craft bits all over her house.
As one of the Festival Directors behind the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair and the Handmade Mart, as well as being the Executive Director of Hello Craft, I’m excited to once again serve on the Crafty Jury.
Pete Morelewicz
Pete is the former art director of City Paper and currently designs several magazines you’ve never heard of. You may have seen him at Crafty Bastards’ in the past, whether squishing Crafty Bastards pennies, selling his paintings of Bob Ross, schlepping tables in the pre-dawn darkness, or just generally harassing the vendors. This is the fifth year Pete has had the honor of sitting on the Crafty Bastards jury, offering another opportunity to write of himself in the third person.
Kelly Rand
Kelly covers visual arts in and around Washington, DC for DCist and is editor of Crafting a Green World. Kelly has also been published by Bust Magazine and you can find her byline at Indie Fixx and Etsy’s Storque and has taught in Etsy’s virtual lab on the topic of green crafting.
Kelly helps organize Crafty Bastards: Arts and Crafts Fair, one of the largest indie craft fairs on the East coast and has served on the Craft Bastard’s jury since 2007. Kelly is also co-founder of Hello Craft and her responsibilities as a Director of the organization include programming for the Summit of Awesome and coordinator of the membership program. Kelly resides in Washington, D.C. and believes that handmade will save the world.
Joshua Tiktin
I am just a dude. A Husband, a father, and a guy trying to create the best possible life I can. Throughout my life you would find me either in the DC or Miami area, except when I spent 6 great years in Atlanta or when I went on vacation. In those cities I would be working on music and art, in one form or another. I am the owner of DEKKA, which is a Fashion + Art + Music Collective space in DC and we just opened our 2nd location near Miami, FL.
My most successful art projects are the Obama (recycled) Vinyl Record pieces which were created during the inauguration. 100’s of one of a kind units were sold and placed by their owners in about 10 countries, 4 continents, and in the White House as well. They were also featured in Nylon Magazine, Thrillist, and Artomatic. An earlier project was an ancient Bible code made in graffiti and sold in originals and prints. 500 units were purchased by the Kabbalah Centre and sold internationally. Madonna, Monica Lewinski, and Argentine actress Reyna Reech are a few of the celebrity owners of this work.
