Crafters:Applications for Bust’s Spring Fling Craftacular are due tomorrow!

Tina posted application and vendor info here. The show is Sunday April 27th in Brooklyn and will feature talented crafters, an all day dance party with an open bar and an entire room set aside for dancing and mingling. Visit the Craftacular site for more info and to apply.

Fiber addicts: Get your fix tomorrow afternoon from 2pm-6pm in Takoma Park at the Homespun Yarn Party.

Visit the Yarn Party blog for more pictures and interviews with the spinners, dyers and other vendors.

The Charm City Craft Mafia is accepting applications for the 2nd annual Pile of Craft. The show will be held in Baltimore, MD on Saturday, June 21st from 10am-5pm.

Non-refundable application fee is $10. If accepted, vendor fee is an additional $55. Vendor spaces are 8 ft. in. length. Chairs and an 8 ft table will be provided. The deadline to apply is May 1st, 2008.

Applications and more details can be found on the Charm City Craft Mafia web site.

You can read the review and see the pictures we took at last year’s Pile of Craft. Plus, watch Kim Dorn’s video interview with Pile of Craft organizer Rachel Bone to learn more about Charm City Craft Mafia and get the walk through experience:

That’s right, folks! To celebrate the 5th year of Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair, the City Paper is bringing TWO Crafty Bastards fairs to the DC Metro area!

Get your craft on twice with Crafty Bastards at the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan on September 28th, AND now Crafty Bastards at Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring on June 28th!

We are excited to bring the Crafty Bastards festivities to Silver Spring and equally enthusiastic to be working with Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, a non-profit contemporary gallery and interactive arts center on Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring, MD. This show will have a focus on learning, an emphasis on craft workshops, and highlight up-and-coming artists, and those newer to the indie craft scene.

We will be accepting vendor applications soon. Join the email list (go here, scroll down and look left) and we’ll let you know when it’s time to apply. For now, save the dates!

June 28: Crafty Bastards in Silver Spring, MD
Sept. 28: Crafty Bastards in Adams Morgan, DC

Seriously, Crafty Bastard veteran Rania of goshdarnknit is everywhere this week!

There’s a thoughtful review of the American Craft Council show in Balimore she posted here earlier this week. Her Moleskine notebooks were Tuesday’s Daily Candy. Plus, check out all the photos of Rania’s knit paintings featured in the current issue of Venus Zine:

Congratulations, Rania!

Don’t like the New Wave label? Here’s your chance to help define and shape the future of the handmade movement. You may recall my excitement last April after attending the first ever Craft Congress in Pittsburgh, PA. Craft Congress is back and will take place in craft-friendly San Francisco! From CraftCon.org:

We’d like to invite you to attend Craft Con 2008, a business development conference for the craft community. This remarkable gathering of leaders and organizers in the evolving craft and design movement will be held in San Francisco April 4-6. Last year’s Craft Congress was the first event of its kind, bringing together an amazing group of craft promoters from all over the country and as far away as England to network, share ideas, and discuss the future of the resurging movement.

Craft Con 2008 heralds huge growth for the project, bringing together event promoters, internet entrepreneurs, authors, store owners, craft teachers, and businesspeople to network, talk about the future of craft, and strengthen the community’s voice. With the explosive popularity of countless craft-related business ventures, the crafting world is poised to keep getting bigger and better – the question is, where do we want to go from here? This is our chance to help shape the future of the handmade movement and its place in society – we hope you’ll join us!

The cost of attending the event is $150/person, which includes a tour of San Francisco April 4th, meals and sessions April 5th and 6th, and a gala event the evening of April 5th where conference attendees will get to experience the unique culture of the San Francisco arts scene.

Hurry up and fill out an application to attend before the 250 seats available for Craft Con 2008 are filled!

Join the Crafty Bastards 2007 Photo Pool!
Go here and click “Join this group”. Upload your Crafty photos to your Flickr account and mark them Public. Go to the page of each photo you want to add to the pool, and click “Send to group”. Select “Crafty Bastards 2007″.

See the photos already in the Crafty Bastards Flickr pool here.

Crafty Bastards was crazy fun! Huge thanks to all the amazing vendors for their hard work and fabulous craftertise!

The Washington City Paper would also like to thank Marie Reed Learning Center, the fabulous entertainers, the generous sponsors- Scion, Stitch DC, Adobe, Paper Source, Whole Foods, Avatar Wellness, Pinz-N-Needlez, The Dog Spot, the yummy food vendors- Carmen’s Italian Ice, Cake Love, and Sticky Fingers and the dedicated City Paper staff that made the day such a success.

Big yummy thanks goes to Craft Magazine for providing the sweet treats for all our crafty vendors. CRAFT is dedicated to the renaissance that is occurring within the world of crafts, and carries the torch of the DIY spirit by sharing stories and resources from the exciting independent crafting community.

Huge thanks as well to Etsy which hosted how-to workshops all day long at Crafty Bastards. ETSY is THE place for DIY makers and shakers to buy and sell handmade goods, and network within the ever-growing indie craft community. Check out ETSY for all your shopping needs this holiday season, and get in the crafty-know with The Storque.

Gladys Makes Things. Lots of things. Like meticulously hand-embroidered t-shirts and sweatshirts. She makes “Assume a New Identity” kits and archival-quality, hand-bound flip books as well.

But, her name isn’t Gladys. It’s Meg.

Check out all the wonderful things Gladys, er, um, Meg, makes this Sunday. Booth #67. Keep reading for her answers to our vendor questions.

1. How long have you been making things?
Oh, gosh. I’ve been embroidering shirts for about three years now, but I’ve been making stuff for as long as I can remember. The first time I sold crafts was in middle school when I hocked friendship bracelets at my mom’s table at a craft fair.

2. What is your earliest/favorite crafting memory?
My earliest crafting memory might be when I collaged a book about myself under the guidance of my friend’s mom. I believe the text said something like this: “My name is Meg. I’m three. I like dogs.”

3. Why do you make things?
My generic answer is that I’m fidgety. I can’t sit still for long, and I really like having something to do with my hands while watching TV. I also love knowing that if I want something to exist, I can just make it exist. Whenever I come up with a new shirt design, it’s usually because I want that shirt myself.

4. What sort of things do you make?
Mostly I embroider shirts, but I also do a lot of collaging, knitting, and so forth.

5. Any success stories you’d care to share?
Somewhat inexplicably, one of my shirts was featured in Philadelphia Style magazine this spring. Seeing as that’s a legitimate, glossy fashion mag, I continue to find this amusing.

6. Inspirations?
Humor!

7. Craft supplies you can’t live without?
A good pair of scissors.

8. Describe your work area.
Because I mostly do embroidery, I can take it anywhere! I’m going to send you a picture of me embroidering outside. See? ANYWHERE!

9. Family? Pets? Plants?
I have a jade plant in my window that I occasionally remember to water. Based on my inability to keep that fed, I haven’t gotten a pet yet. I do dream of having a kitty though. I also have a boyfriend, who thankfully feeds himself.

10. Favorite color or pattern?
I find myself drawn to crafting with bright blue, even though I don’t wear it much.

11. Have you been a Crafty Bastard before?
No! It’s my first time, and I’m really excited!

12. Tell us about other crafters you love and your favorite handmade purchases.
My three favorite purchases at the last event I did were a big flower choker from the Candy Thief, a little bird wall hanging from Dead Bird, and a hilarious shirt of a man looking into a microwave from Family Dinner for One.

13. What is one thing everyone should know how to do themselves?
Cook!

Thought I’d take a break from the vendor Q&A to show off some of the wonderful plushies that will be at Crafty. This is just a taste. Arrive early and experience the full flavor this Sunday.

Squid by Sewing Stars

One of Cleo Dee’s Squids

Smashed Sea plushie by Tsai-Fi

Damned Dollies!

Cherrybox’s Plush Kill Forest Collection.

Spooky Bunnies by Spooky Daddy

Culture Dolls by MaVa

Pile of Cotton Monsters by Cotton Monster

Friends and Foes from Friend or Foe

Magpie DC’s AstroNOT

Missing Monsters!

T-Bone from Mr. Pickles

Strawberries by My Paper Crane
Yes, she made the Tampon Dolls at the 1st Crafty Bastards.

Something missing? Tell us about your favorite plush makers in the comments section.

Know what you need? A fuzzy blue monster laptop sleeve. Get one Sunday from Barry’s Farm.

Barry’s Farm is cultivated by Barry and Katie, who love monsters, peanut butter and Eugene Levy (and his eyebrows!). Barry’s got a knack for t-shirt design and Katie’s sews up the cutest bags.

Stop by booth #69 on Sunday to see their fuzzy laptops sleeves and witty tees. Keep reading for Katie’s responses to our vendor questions.

1. How long have you been making things?
My mom is an artist, so I would say, probably about as long as I had control of motor functions! I really started sewing and crafting regularly in 2006.

2. What is your earliest/favorite crafting memory?
My favorite crafting memory was the summer after 1st or 2nd grade. My mom bought a bunch of blank tshirts and we got to tie-dye them all! I remember how cool it was that you could rubber band certain parts of the fabric to make hearts and stars. It was totally rad!

3. Why do you make things?
I feel like if I’m not doing something with my hands, then I’m going to turn into a mindless tv addict! I guess that was passed down from my parents who renovated their house from top to bottom without outside help, and who spend nearly every weekend building something new and amazing.

4. What sort of things do you make?
I love to sew! Right now, its all about sewing bags and laptop sleeves, but I would love to start sewing clothes more. I dabble in knitting and making stuff out of pretty paper, also, but my main focus is sewing!

5. Any success stories you’d care to share?
Our laptop sleeves have been on tv twice! Once on “Attack of the Show” on G4 and another time on a “Business Week Weekend” in New York. It was so awesome seeing people comment on our monster sleeves! Definitely a proud moment for us!

6. Inspirations?
I’m inspired by both modern and whimsical, childlike aestethics. I love clean lines, but I’m all about making objects that are both fun and functional, including ones covered in monster fur!

7. Craft supplies you can’t live without?
Lots of types of glue, a chopstick (for poking corners!), pearl snaps, hole punches, rainbow felt, needle-nose pliers, and yarn.

8. Describe your work area.
I’m so lucky to have my own room devoted to sewing and crafting. We live in an old apartment building with amazing hardwood floors and an abundance of windows. It also boasts the oldest elevator (gate style)in the area! To the right, is my sewing area (looking relatively clean!):

Below is my fabric stash/random craft stuff storage (looking not so organized!).

9. Family? Pets? Plants?
I’m the youngest of 2, and Barry is the oldest of 3. We both grew up in a small town in Illinois and have been dating since high school. We have one betta fish named fishtopher, but are hoping to add a couple of puppies to the mix in the future.

10. Favorite color or pattern?
Definitely polka dots! You can increase the cute factor of any object by 500% if there are polka dots involved!

11. Have you been a Crafty Bastard before?
Nope, this is our first time at Crafty Bastards and first time in DC.

12. Tell us about other crafters you love and your favorite handmade purchases.
Right now I’m really into the beautiful, sarcastic stationery from 16 Sparrows. I also adore the lovely prints from The Black Apple and I cant get enough of the plush from My Paper Crane.

13. What is one thing everyone should know how to do themselves?
I think everyone should know how to make a simple pattern. I sew everything from patterns I created myself and I think that that is the best way to create a unique product. If you create your own patterns, you learn what works and what doesn’t and often, one pattern can lead you to another.