Hurry, hurry! Don’t forget to apply to these great craft shows…

Applications for Craftland 2007 are due tomorrow, August 31st!!! Get to it!

Deadline to apply to Handmade Arcade in Pittsburgh is by midnight this Saturday, September 1st!

Now accepting applications for holiday shows…

Charm City Craft Mafia’s Holiday Heap is scheduled for December 1st in Baltimore. Applications are due October 1st!

BUST’s Holiday Craftacular in NYC is now accepting applications. Show will be December 8th. Deadline to apply is October 15th.

Post a comment and let us know about any shows or deadlines we missed.

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

Tsai-fi for her Birdy Pendant.

Shop the Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place an ad, it’s FREE!

That gigantic super cool craft show is just a month away. What are you doing to prepare? Brainstorming new items? Buying a new tent? Building up stock? Asking your brother to fly 3000 miles to help you man your booth? (Yes, I did this and he is coming.)

Maybe you haven’t even begun to plan and are wondering where to start? My advice is to spend some time with your promotional materials. These are going to be important before, during and after that big show. Think you don’t have time for this? It shouldn’t take long and you will be happy you did it!

Printed materials. Do you have them? If not, get some! There will be so many people who want to remember you or show your stuff to a friend. Afraid of dealing with printers? I understand. There are a number of online companies that will help you design and submit postcards, business cards, fliers, etc. Use their online tools to create a piece or if you have some skillz, download a Photoshop template. I love Vistaprint.com, but be warned if you go with them, be ready to be spammed for the rest of your life. I have friends who swear by Overnightprints.com because you can get those fancy rounded corners on everything. There are many more places to get your materials fast and cheap.

Have you taken a good look at your promotional materials from the standpoint of someone who knows nothing about you? Try to avoid business cards with just text on them. We need to see what you make! I would also say try to avoid business cards in general. I always throw them away. They are too small and look like scraps of trash in my bag. I truly believe the postcard is the way to go.

Think about creating your postcards to double as products. Why not create an art card with a really cool picture of one of your items or perhaps with one of your designs? If you put your shop name on the back of the card, it turns into a freebie rather than an advertisement. I have a postcard from Glitterlimes.com on my wall that has been with me for 3 years. I took it to every new job and now it is on my daughters’ closet door. It is beautiful; like their products, it is art. Make a set of 4 different cards, package them up and sell them, but give one of them away as your promo card. People will want to take something that has value.

LemonCadet made these little felt bean stickers and added them to her postcards. I picked one up because I liked the bean. I promptly put the sticker on the back of my cell phone. There she is. My orange bean reminds me of LemonCadet every time I use my cell. How brilliant is that? Make your customers know that you like them even if they don’t buy something right then. That might be corny, but indie craft is about people. And the more you act like a person and not a used car salesmen, the more people will dig you.

Other things you could be thinking about are overhauling that web shop for post-show shoppers, clearing up your brand identity and oh yeah, making some stuff. These are topics for another post, though. Get to work!

The Crafty Crew is delighted to announce this year’s Crafty Bastards Vendors!

Take a peek at some of the handmade goodness that will be for sale at Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair 2007. See something you like? Leave a comment for the vendor on their profile page (comments are below the photos) and let them know.

This year’s Crafty Bastards is shaping up to be the best ever! Stay tuned for information on the entertainment line up and the on site workshops hosted by Etsy. Join the email list to make sure you don’t miss out on special announcements!

Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 30th and start compiling your shopping lists now!

This Saturday Tina Seamonster and I are participating in the X in DC show at BeBar. The show runs from 6pm-10pm. Come on out and see us!

David, one of the X in DC organizers, was kind enough to answer some questions (below the image). Visit their site to watch the video from July’s event. They’ve got pictures here. Looks like an arty good time!

What is X? How often does the event occur?
Well, the reason it is called ‘X’ is because each month’s result is unique and different, dependent upon the artists, crowd and energy in the room. The event revolves around the equation: Live(Art + Projections + Fashion + Electronica + Performance) + YOU = X. Hence it being different each month. ‘X’ took inspiration from the happenings of the 60’s, with a 21st century twist. Artistically, we’re focused on cutting edge talent and creativity. Each month features music, dance, a graphic design battle, projections and locally made wares.

It is the 3rd Saturday of every month.

Where is it? How do I get there?
BeBar: 1318 9th St., NW. 20001. I like to describe it as being by the ass of the new convention center. So you can take the metro and get off at the convention center, walk or bike…plenty of parking.

Who are you?
I’m a creator, community developer and environmentalist with a passion around cultivating creativity.

Why did you start organizing this event?
The event’s first iteration was about 4 years ago in an abandoned dry cleaners in Silver Spring. We organized a few of these happenings and it was incredible to see/watch what happened. The building was torn down, so that put a stop to that, but eventually I founded 88 (www.eightyeightdc.com) with my good friend Albert and one of our main focuses has been curating multi-media events.

In December of this year, I reached out to Dave G. of Flavoredlayers and Ricardo R. of Nuvo Music who were throwing an inspired event called Eden. I simply wrote to congratulate and thank them for bringing another multi-faceted event to DC. They checked into what we were doing, we chatted and one thing blossomed into another. Before we knew it, we had created this wonderful creative monster called ‘X’.

That was really more of a sequence of events, than a ‘why’ answer. Basically, those of us involved are creativity and technology junkies and wanted to establish a forward thinking event that brought together and would support different facets of the local arts scene.

What 5 words best describe the X ?
Live, Creative, Unique, Hot, Vibrant

How is this event different from other events in the area?
Honestly, I’m not one to brag but there really isn’t anything like this event period. I’m not the most well traveled person, but I’ve lived abroad, traveled and get out of the country a couple times a year and haven’t experienced anything like ‘X’. We bring in artists from all over the US and Canada and each of them has the same reaction.

Any highlights from previous X events you’d like to share?
Seriously, there are a lot. The event really energizes me. Last month, we had Shuhei doing Live digital drawing, which we were projecting in a couple places. One wall we were hitting traversed the length of the stage. At one point, Mavi was dancing to A Drop In Silence’s music and she was in this spot where the eyes of Shuhei’s drawing looked like this incredible tattoo on her back. It was one of those magic moments that happens at every event.

What can people expect to find.
A really diverse crowd with good energy in an environment that will hit all of ones senses. There’s plenty to do, see, listen to, buy and talk about!

Will there be food? Drinks?
No food, but drinks abound!

Parting words?
Please visit www.xindc.tv for more information and updates!

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

Ahpeele for their Hand Screened Shirts.

In case you missed last week’s Craftiest Bastard, we featured Jennifer Strunge for her Cotton Monsters

Shop the Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place an ad, it’s FREE!

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

Lee Gainer for her Estuary Mixed Media Art.

Shop the Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place an ad, it’s FREE!