Cut The Craft » Craft Fairs

Bloomingdale Holiday Market

Tigerflight — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:26:55 +0000

Bloomingdale Holiday Market
Sunday, December 5th, 4-9pm
Big Bear Cafe (1st and R streets NW)

I know you’re thinking of really making this year a handmade holiday right? You’ve probably already gathered your ingredients for all the cookie platters you plan to make for parties, clipped all the necessary recipes from various resources and maaaaybe didn’t look away from the TV while some lady named Martha prattled on about ‘easy table centerpieces’.

But now you’re too tired to knit that hat or solder that pair of earrings right? So where can you find people who have done all the crafty hard work for you?

You’ll find them at the Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market! This annual holiday market returns to the Big Bear Cafe in Washington, DC on Sunday December 5th. 6 top-notch, DC-based crafters have done the work for you and will be selling unique handmade goods from 4-9pm (full disclosure, I am one of them but I assure you, we are the notchiest).

Organized by the artistic husband and wife team of Goshdarnknit’s Rania Hassan and Scenic Artisan’s Sean Hennessey Big Bear Cafe (now with alcohol!) is hosting this event with many things to do. Caroling! Buy a Christmas tree! Have a Bloomingdale photographer snap your holiday portrait! And let’s not forget the spiced rum… let’s never forget the spiced rum.

Other vendor offerings include luxe, one-of-a-kind handmade bags by Eve VanDalsen , the green (as in recycled) jewelry of Figs & Ginger and the kid-centric embroidery of 60 Bugs. And… oh yeah, me! I make plush animals out of recycled sweaters .

The Bloomingdale Holiday Market is Sunday, December 5 from 4-9 pm at Big Bear Cafe located at the corner of 1st and R street NW in the adorable Bloomingdale neighborhood.

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – Tugboat Printshop

Rachel Bone — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:46:03 +0000

Of all the truly inspirational things I could mention about a crafter, I think the best thing to find out about someone is that they love what they do. Spend 5 minutes with Paul Roden & Valerie Lueth of Tugboat Printshop and you’ll not only want to adopt them as your new crafty BFF’s, but you’ll probably be considering quitting your job to start a printmaking business. (Or begging to be their intern, because everything they do seems perpetually interesting).

Roden & Lueth – a husband & wife team as well as a talented print making team – have an enormous 36″ x 52″ Conrad Machine Co. Etching press in the front room of their Pittsburgh home on which they pull wood block prints on archival paper with oilbased inks. A traditional and difficult process they keep alive with the enthusiasm of sports fans. They do every part of the process together from the initial sketches of their original artwork to the final editioned block prints – made from hand carved wood blocks, which they often bring along with their prints to craft fairs to help educate & excite their fellow printers, non-printers & print enthusiasts alike.

Check out Tugboat Printshop in the vendor gallery or in booth #57 at Crafty Bastards tomorrow in Adams Morgan!

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – Fernworks

Rachel Bone — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 01:50:11 +0000

In the land of craft, there is no jewelry shortage. So to be a standout jeweler you have to be particularly impressive, and vendors like Fernworks go above and beyond that. Fernworks is the one-woman company of Faryn Davis (currently of Ashville, NC and formerly of the Pacific Northwest). Inspired by all things nature, fernworks jewelry combines small found treasures such as leaves and twigs with original painting to create magical mini translucent dioramas. Most impressively – each piece is individually painted with toothpicks and tiny brushes before being embedded in layers of resin, then cut and polished into delicate 3-D landscapes.

I love the foggy finish Davis adds to each piece, and as someone with particularly clutsy hands, I’m personally perplexed as to how she gets such beautiful detail without dumping paint all over every piece. Completely smitten with these and can’t wait to see what new tiny surprises have made their way into this year’s collection!

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – Home Sweet

Rachel Bone — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:56:42 +0000

I generally leave a day at Crafty Bastards so exhausted that I can barely lift my fingers to my mouth to enjoy the delicious DC Ethiopian food I look forward to all year. But last year, I left the fair SO excited about finding new vendor Home Sweet (formerly of DC, currently of DE) that my husband had to hear about it the entire car ride home to Baltimore.

Home Sweet is a small textile design company specializing in hand-printed, environmentally friendly fabrics and home goods. their designs, inspired by different eras and interior styles & hand cut into block prints, decorate fabric for anything from pillows to lampshades.

When I managed to wedge my way into their crowded booth last year, shop owner Jennifer Nelson (a trained scientist by degree) took care to explain her ink mixing (custom colors from pigment) and printing (hand cut blocks) processes with enormous enthusiasm. This talented gal loves what she does.

Can’t wait to see what HomeSweet’s been up to all year. In this ever blooming world of indie craft, it’s no longer rare to find a fellow printer… but it’s certainly not every day that I consider forming a fan club! Check her out in Booth #10 at Crafty Bastards on October 2, 2010 or right now in the vendor gallery.

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – Raeburn Ink

Rachel Bone — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:11:20 +0000

Raeburn Ink is based in western Massachusetts and run by Jennifer Cooke and has been around since 1999, but seems to have really only graced the indie craft fair circuit with it’s glory a couple years ago. Cooke’s designs – inspired by everything from indian textiles to security envelopes are detailed drawings, hand printed on comfy apparel, fabric & accessories in bright, bold, attention grabbing (yet surprisingly eye pleasing) hues, often layered atop one another creating blasts and color-bursts. I adore the fluidness of her line drawings, and her attention to tiny details & ornamentation. A unique & beautiful shop, and definitely one to watch!

Jennifer also designs graphics for computer interactives and museum exhibits, as well as various fashion clients. And has recently completed a new book on Tshirt design – Design Your Own Tees published by St. Martin’s Press & available for pre-sale at retailers like Barnes & Noble.

Check out Raeburn Ink in the vendor gallery and on October 2, 2010 at Crafty Bastards!

Vendor Spots Still Available at Fenton Street Market

Christine Ernest — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:26:05 +0000

Fenton Street Market is Silver Spring, Maryland’s reoccurring Saturday craft event showcasing handmade goods as well as antiques and a myriad of arts and music from the local community. If you haven’t applied yet and plan on selling at this year’s market you better get to it because the last Fenton Street Market date is quickly approaching.

And the last two dates of Fenton Street Market, Saturday October 23 and 30, are super special as they are moving to the brand new Veterans Plaza. Next year’s market will take place solely in the new space located at the corner of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Avenue.

Fenton Street Market is a great place for new vendors to the craft show circuit to test the waters in a laid back environment. Plus there is a lot of foot traffic that naturally comes through the Silver Spring area so vendors are bound to have many window shoppers stop by their booths.

Space is still available at each Saturday’s market, although space for the special October 23 and 30 shows are limited and will fill up quickly. Applications are available online here and most questions can be answered on the F.A.Q.

Spread a little Craftiness

Tigerflight — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:02:58 +0000

So perhaps you’ve been to Crafty Bastards and you’ve decided you’d like to try your hand at doing a show. Where do you turn? Well, like pretty much everything else, the internet is a good place to start. There are large, clearing-house type sites like ZAPP where you can sign up for a regular digest email of shows happening all over the country.

Those looking for smaller, indie craft shows, there is IndieCraftShows.com

That’s well and good, you say, but what about locally?

The good folks at DC Conspiracy are putting on their 5th Counter Culture festival. Previously held at Dr. Dremo’s, this year it moves into the city at RFD on 7th street NW. You can see their swell flier (they are comic book artists, after all) here or shoot an email to rhodes@oletheros.com for more information.

New markets and fairs are popping up all the time in this area. If you have information about upcoming local shows, post in the comments and we will be sure to write about them.

Crafty Bastards Vendor Spotlight – Cotton Monster

Rachel Bone — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:49:44 +0000

The squeal heard round the jury-room for Jennifer Strunge’s Cotton Monsters explains why they sell out so quickly in her etsy shop whenever she does an update. The Baltimore seamstress works without patterns to create each and every colorful little beast, and uses almost exclusively recycled materials (except the stuffing, which she buys new). Strunge not only produces her own line of plush monsters, eyeballs, absurdist sea creatures & “Von Katz” (a new breed of kitty shaped monsters), but she also works at a prominent local puppet theatre as well as doing week long puppet-making residencies in a number of Baltimore city middle schools. No doubt inspired by the children she spends much of her time entertaining with hot glue & pom poms, her Cotton Monsters are a constantly evolving and modifying species (or is it a “family” or “genus”? where are those middle schoolers with their science textbooks?). When the world is lucky, Strunge will agree to a gallery show, and a human sized, extra-eyed, multi-limbed treasure is born. But lucky for our wallets, she is able to produce smaller, tamer versions of the beasts so that we all might have one to snuggle.

I can’t seem to stop purchasing these beasts for my own home, and have thus become friends with their maker (and thus rendered myself ineligible from jurying her for Crafty Bastards) & will say this: If the world runs out of color, we needn’t worry. There’s a stockpile of rainbows in Strunge’s utopian Baltimore studio. I’ve seen it firsthand.

Check out Cotton Monsters in the vendor gallery and at Crafty Bastards at October 2, 2010.

2010 Crafty Jury Revealed

Kimberly Dorn — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:47:41 +0000

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:

Rachel Bone

I am a painter & screen printer living in Baltimore, MD. I’ve run my screen printed apparel company Red Prairie Press as my full time job since March of 2006, before which I had job titles like “office manager” and “sales associate.” I like working for myself much more, and hope someday you get to try it out, if you don’t already.

I also paint and draw and show my work all over the country in both galleries & boutiques. I write a daily blog: redprairiepress.blogspot.com about my adventures. You can see the tshirts & paintings I make out of my home studio at www.redprairiepress.com.

As a founding member of the Charm City Craft Mafia & organizer of the Pile Of Craft and Holiday Heap craft fairs in Baltimore, I’m thrilled to be an active member of the craft community and after vending for the last four years, I’m honored to serve as part of the Crafty Bastards Jury.

Sara Dick

I enjoy fresh produce, bumpy yarn, Etsy browsing, craft brews, Frank Zappa and smart people. I make stuff and love to buy handmade.

As 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 Dorn

Kimberly is a crafter and craft fair organizer with a healthy obsession with Hello Kitty, Kokka Fabric, 3mm felt and Lingonberry Juice.

After 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.

Apply Now for Crafty Bastards 2010!

tina seamonster — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:09:16 +0000

We are super excited to announce that applications for Crafty Bastards 2010 are now being accepted. The deadline to apply for booth space is July 4, 2010. Get more info and submit your Crafty Bastards application here.

There is a $10 non-refundable application fee. The jury will review and score all completed entries on various criteria from design and craftsmanship to saleability and alternative subject matter. Applicants will be notified of their status by July 26th. If accepted through the jury process, vendors will pay a $165 booth fee. Both fees are non-refundable. Crafty Bastards will take place Saturday, October 2, 2010 from 10am-5pm.

The application process is a little different this year. Most notably, you will be asked for 5 images, rather than 3. Your 5 images must be 200K max each. Remember to prepare and choose your images well!

In the past we have received around 400 applications for the 100+ spots available at the show. All applicants are strongly encouraged to submit clear images and descriptive work statements. For helpful hints on applying to Crafty Bastards, check out “Wowing a Craft Show Jury” over at Hellocraft.com

Questions? Check out our FAQs or send an email to craftybastards@washingtoncitypaper.com.