Each week we feature an advertiser from the Crafty Bastards Classifieds. This week the honor goes to…

Had Matter for her Web Connections Keyholder.

Shop the Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place an ad, it’s FREE!

Four years ago I did my first craft show in a VFW hall. At the time, I was making jewelry from fishing lures, gumball machine ninja toys and wine corks that I found on the street. I had sold a few on my website and was super excited to show them to the buying public in person at a real craft show!

After a long day of sitting in front of my stuff, I had sold one hot pink glow in the dark fishing lure necklace to a 6-year-old girl. And her mother wasn’t impressed by the purchase. I had also heard not one, but two ladies say, “Yuck,” to my creations. I was crushed. I was horrified. But most of all, I was surprised. Were all craft shows so darn lame? And what would I do with the 45 ninja necklaces that I had made?

Later that year, I pushed aside my fear of the craft show when I heard about the first Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair. I applied and got in! I remember on the way to the show, my husband said to me, “Now, Tina, it is ok if you don’t sell anything,” reminding me of the VFW hall. Little did he know that I would sell nearly everything that day. And the world of indie craft fairs was opened up to me.

Three Crafty Bastards under my belt, a handful of smaller local events and I am ready to take my stuff on the road. Only 8 days from now I will be setting up at the Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia, PA, along with 100 of the coolest makers in the country. What is totally rad about getting into a juried indie craft fair is that odds are at least one person is going to think your stuff is amazing. And if it is a good day, more than one. Maybe 10 or 50 or 100 people will totally love what you do. This makes for a bit of pressure when preparing. I am always asking myself, “What if someone wants this zombie shirt in a 3XL? What if I haven’t made enough of this design in aqua? Will anyone even react to this new shirt?”

So my kitchen table silk screening station is in full production mode with nearly 100 t-shirts to silkscreen with various designs. My aging Print Gocco machine is ready to retire for a lovely new orange model, but not just yet. First she has to get me through these next 8 days. Since I am a mom to twin two-year-olds, I stay up late into the night making things. At around 1 this morning, I wondered how many of the 100 other vendors at Art Star were up right then, making and making and making. What an amazing shared experience we are all having. And lucky for us, with indie craft fairs popping up across the country, we never have to set foot in another VFW hall again.

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com

Welcome our very first guest blogger, Tina the Seamonster!

Tina is a talented local crafter with lots of experience. We’ve learned a lot from her over the years and we hope you do, too. You can read more about Tina’s ongoing life voyage on her personal blog. And don’t forget to check out her shop.

Welcome Tina!

Each week we feature an advertiser from the Crafty Bastards Classifieds. This week the honor goes to…

Charming Vices for her Pink Jacks Earrings.

Shop the Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place an ad, it’s FREE!

Hello Crafty folks! The City Paper is now accepting vendor applications for this year’s Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair. Crafty Bastards will take place on Sunday, Sept. 30th, 10am-5pm, at the Marie Reed Learning Center plaza in Adams Morgan– its home for the last two years. We’re bringing back BIG AWESOME FUN with handmade indie crafts, new exciting entertainment, and a bunch of surprises.

Craft Vendors: Crafty Batstards is a juried fair, and we do receive a whole lotta applications, so be sure to put your best foot, or um, craft forward in your application. You can apply here. Deadline to apply is July 1st.

Questions? We’ll be answering frequently asked questions on this blog, so feel free to post your comments or inquiries about the vendor application process, or you can email craftybastards@washingtoncitypaper.com and we’ll get back to you ASAP

The Crafty Crew extends a hearty welcome to Smash Records, which re-opened it doors under new management at a new location on the 2nd Floor of 2314 18th St., NW in Adams Morgan (across the street from Columbia Station) last month. They’re open from noon to 9pm Monday-Thursday and stay open until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. In addition to music, shoes and vintage clothing, you’ll also find hand-crafted clothing for both the guys and the ladies.

Local craft extraordinaire, Daisy Lacy, has stocked the store with a great selection of clothing from her own line as well as screen-printed items from local artists Kristina Bilonick, SunKim, and Mark Moffatt.

Check out the goods we scored on our first visit. The blue tank with the yellow birdie print has already elicited showers of compliments from my co-workers. Thanks Daisy!