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KB the Car-free Crafter presents: Celebrate Earth-Day with Car-Free Thrifting!

Kristina — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:09:15 +0000

Almost any activity can be green-ified if you do it car-free. See, here’s an example:

Thrift Store Shopping: Already Green
Car-free Thrift Store Shopping: Even Greener!!!

Shopping at thrift stores for materials, fashion finds, books & housewares is a great way to give new life to items would otherwise be headed to a landfill. Reclaiming these items to wear, sew, decorate your home with or screen print on makes you feel great. It’s like a treasure hunt! The thrill of thriftstore hunting can be addictive, as most of you already know.

So, what’s better than salvaging items from their doom and using them to make cool stuff? getting there via public transportation!!

Here’s a little list of metro and bus accessible thrift stores in the DC metro area:

Goodwill of Arlington 6136 Arlington Blvd – From Rosslyn Metro (Orange/Blue) Take the 4H bus towards Seven Corners and get off at the Willston Shopping Center (before Seven Corners)

L & N Thrift 1830 14th Street NW – Columbia Heights Metro (Green) or 54 bus

Georgia Avenue Thrift Store 6101 Georgia Ave NW – 70 bus towards Silver Spring (runs up and down Georgia Ave, can be picked up near the Shaw/Howard University stop on the Green Line)

Odd-Even Thrift Shop 3400 Rhode Island Ave – from Rhode Island Ave. Metro (Red) catch the 84 bus towards New Carrolton and get of on 34th Street.

Montgomery County Thrift Shop 7125 Wisconsin Ave – 2 blocks from Bethesda Metro

The Thrift Shop 2622 P St NW – G2 bus, or a nice walk down P from Dupont Circle (walking towards Georgetown)

Opportunity Shop – St. Albans 3001 Wisconsin Ave NW – N4 bus to Wisconsin Ave. & Massachusetts Ave.

Got more thrift stores to add? (like that newish one that just sprung up in Mount Pleasant that I couldn’t find online!)

Please let us know about them (and how to get there) in the comments section!

green and love, xo,
kb the car-free crafter

Kristina Bilonick organizes the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market, which easily reachable without a car by taking Metro to Ballston or bus 38B from Farragut Square.

KB the Car-free Crafter presents: Getting to your next craft show- without owning a car!

Kristina — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:44:39 +0000

In the coming weeks, in honor of Earth Day and every day green living, KB the Car-free Crafter will be sharing her secrets to living car-free as a crafter with a busy agenda.

Flat tire? No wheels to speak of?� Here are some tips to getting to your next craft event if you don’t have your own car to get you there:

Setting up at a craft event is like going camping for the day. First, you�ve got your 10�x10� tent which is a feat in itself to move. Then you have tables, bins of merchandise, chairs, table coverings, racks, mannequins, sales equipment�it�s tiring just writing about it!

So how, pray tell, do I get myself and my gear to all of the shows without owning a car? It�s tough, but in the end it is so much easier than dealing with the hassles of owning a car. And you might get a little extra workout to boot! Here are some tips for those of you who either don�t own a car, or are ready to ditch yours:

Shared cars

Most cities have a shared car system. In the DC Metropolitan Area, shared cars are run by Zipcar, and will run you about $9-$12/hour. They�re located throughout the city, particularly near subway stops and busy intersections. A membership to Zipcar costs $50/year, and all you pay after that is an hourly fee (no gas, insurance, etc). It�s not cost effective to rent these for the entire day of your craft show, but here�s the trick: Locate a shared car near the event you�re going to and rent it for 1-2 hours at the beginning and end of the event.

Before you reserve, figure out how you�ll get to the car. I usually ride my bike or take a bus or Metro. Then reserve your car accordingly, making sure to leave enough time to return the car and set up for the show. The night before the event, pack up everything you need for the show and store it near the doorway of your workspace or apartment to streamline things while on the clock!

This method alleviates any parking issues, and in some cases, you may end up with a VIP spot right in front of the venue!

Carpool

It can be daunting to ask for a ride to a craft show with all your gear. But if you have a friend doing the same show as you who has a big-ass car, ask for a ride!

This can be beneficial for both of you because you can help navigate to a strange location, you can give each other a hand with loading in and out, AND you can help each other get over pre-show jitters by singing along to Carpenters tunes at the top of your lungs, Tommy-Boy style!! (Don�t you remember you told me you loved me, baby!)

Taxi

Hail a cab! Most taxis have huge trunks that fit more than you�d think, and for $10-$15 you can get dropped off right in front of your venue. The best bet is to call ahead and ask for a van or larger cab to come pick you up. There is even a new fleet of �zero impact� taxis out of Arlington called Enviro-Cab, which has rates similar to regular cabs. Bonus!

In some cases, show organizers supply the tent, table and chairs for you. I love these shows because I can lighten my load and go with one of these options:

Bike

I have mastered the art of balancing gi-normous bags from the handlebars of my bike, and you can too! This works only for shows that are a short enough distance that you don�t have to go on any major thoroughfares. The best bags for this method are those giant plaid rice-bags that you can get at import stores (there are lots on Columbia Rd. NW). If you see a store with a bunch of luggage outside and gold watches in the window, you�re in the right place. They cost only $1-$3 and they�re SUPER durbable and actually made from recycled rice sacks. (ding-ding! more points on the green-o-meter!!)

Walking

Lastly, take to the streets ON FOOT! In fact, I walked to the first Crafty Bastards now that I think of it.

If you happen to find a craft event that’s within blocks of your home or studio, consider walking! I�ve managed to load everything onto and hanging from my wheeled clothing rack to get to some shows that are near my studio. Sure I look like a crazy person, and it takes a lot of man power, but it�s worth it! It feels great to get to a show up on foot. You can also haul your stuff using shopping carts, radio flyer wagons, or stack up your gear on a handcart. (This method sometimes requires more than one trip.)

So, the next time you�re getting ready to do a craft show, think about carpooling, using a shared car, or going car-free!

And for the soon-to-be car-free in the DC area, here are some places you can donate your car to for a tax write-off:

Melwood
Teddy Bear Cops
Cars For Kids

Kristina Bilonick organizes the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market and the Ballston Farmers Market in Arlington,VA and gets there by riding her bike to the Potomac River, swimming across and taking the bus from the VA border.

In Search of: Vendors!…a guide to finding vendors for your upcoming indie craft event

Kristina — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:59:43 +0000

Organizing a craft event? You’ve got your venue squared away, and now you’re ready to squeeze in as many vendors as you can..and not just any vendors, RAD vendors that make awesome stuff.

I organize a monthly outdoor craft market and have found some interesting ways to ‘tap into’ the craft community and get a lot of responses to our calls for crafters. Here is a step-by-step guide:

First, you need to have some sort of web site for the event. It’s important to have a place where prospective vendors can easily get information on the show, how to apply, and how to contact you with questions. This can either be a page on your existing web site, or if you don’t have a web site, you can start one easily in minutes using Blogger or Wordpress (both are free!). Here’s an example of a blog my friend Moira of Bookish Lady put together for her Valentine’s Day themed craft event:Crafts and Kisses
Once that’s ready to go, you’re ready to start posting. A great place to start is IndieCraftShows.com. This site is a great, free resource for crafters and organizers alike. It’s easy to create a login and start posting the call for everyone to see.
Trade publications are another way to go. There are hundreds of magazines that focus on the craft industry. One that I’ve had luck with is The Crafts Report. For $25 you can list your show in their online ‘craft show finder’ and reach vendors on a national level.

Looking mostly for local artists? Here are some more easy (and free!) ways to find artists in your area:

Craigslist…ahh, the neverending free resource that now reaches people in all nooks/crannies in the US and beyond! On Craigslist there are a couple of categories you could post your call in. Post in the ‘Artists’ section of the community bulletin board, or under ‘Creative Gigs’ in the employment section. Craigslist now allows for pictures and hyperlinks so you can really trick out your call and make it look appealing.
Your local paper: A lot of local rags offer free or very affordable classified advertising for arts and events. Check out your favorite
local newspaper and see about their online and print classifieds. If you’re in the DC area, the City Paper has their Crafty Bastards classifieds section which is free and has become a ‘go-to’ place for crafters and craft show organizers alike.
and my new favorite way to find vendors in my region is Etsy. Etsy now has a ’shop local’ feature that allows you to search for artists by city + state. For my upcoming craft event, I did searches for DC, MD and VA and then contacted artists who had work I liked. You need to have an Etsy account to contact the crafters, but it’s free and easy to set up.

By following these steps you’re mailbox will be flooded with tons of applications from near and far, and your indie craft event is sure to be packed with cool vendors selling the hottest handmade products!!

Here are some of the vendors I found for my market using these ‘tactics’…(I’m gonna be broke by the end of the summer):

For the full list of 2008 Ballston Arts & Crafts vendors (which just posted yesterday!) check out our blog: ballstonarts-craftsmarket.blogspot.com.

If you build it, they will come!!

xo, kristina

kristina bilonick is a dc native and fellow craft-addict, cooking up only the finest from her downtown dc studio. www.kristinabilonick.etsy.com