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

The rumors are true and it’s finally official. There will indeed be an Artomatic in 2008.

May 9–June 15, 2008, right in the middle of DC, steps away from the New York Avenue metro, and in a brand new building. With 800 artists on eight floors of the Capitol Plaza 1 building at 1st and M Streets, NE, this year’s event promises to be bigger than ever before.

So, what is Artomatic? Artomatic is a five week non-juried event that brings together artists, musicians, performers, and an audience of over 50,000 people. From the artomatic web site: Artomatic provides a forum for all of our area’s artists to convene, perform and exhibit, strengthening the visibility, cohesion, and marketplace of Washington’s arts community.

The event opens in just seven weeks! And registration is moments away. But what do you do now?

1. Visit artomatic.org and sign up for email updates!
2. Start making stuff!
3. Want to help organize the event? Join a committee!

And of course, watch the Artomatic web site for details on registration.

Like any unjuried event, there’s good, there’s bad, and there’s downright creepy. But I’m not here to judge. Here are some pics from the last event in 2007, I hope you’ll decide to participate this year!

Photos by Sean Hennessey. See more at his Artomatic 2007 set on flickr.

Rania Hassan once coated herself in baby oil and rolled in cheeto dust. Imagine if she’d lost the bet! See the results at goshdarnknit.com.

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

Congrats to Crafty Bastard artist and Dirtfarm creator Ben Claassen III, and all of the artists who participated in the art toy show Vinylmore, this past Friday, at Atomic Pop in Baltimore, MD.

Vinylmore had more than 50 (mostly) Baltimore comic artists, designers, fine artists, tattooists, photographers, collectors and more, design their own creations from blank toys such as Qees, Munnies and a host of others. The result was a show packed with politics, humor, horror, and crazy good design. Painting and transferring images on these blank vinyl toys isn’t easy, but all the artists (with a few exceptions) showed off their art and graffiti skills with complex ideas, vivid imagery and intricate details in each piece.

And, I can say that I am now the proud owner of Oui Marcel, created by Jordan Jeffries.

I live about 3 blocks away from Atomic Pop, the toy store sister of Atomic Books. Both Atomic shops are located on “The Avenue” in Hamden in Baltimore; if you’ve only come up to Balimore to explore Fells Point and the Inner Habor, your shopping, eating and drinking senses will be blown away by the eclectic selection of stores, restaurants and bars in Hampden.

Atomic Pop hosts book signings and art openings that are all worth checking out. The free drinks at shows, good prices on their merchandise, and a nice selection of craft and art books makes this place a must-see when in B’more.

Vinylmore runs through March 31st at Atomic Pop (3620 Falls Rd., Baltimore, MD).

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!

Paula Woolarina alerted us to an upcoming local event for yarn lovers!

What: Yarn Party! Check out local yarn vendors, sit and knit, meet new people!

Who: All your favorite local yarn dyers and spinners, plus some extra crafty goodness! And all our knitting/crocheting/spinning friends (you!) of course!!

Where: 7500 Maple Avenue | Takoma Park, MD | 20912 — Metro accessible, plenty of parking!

When: March 30, 2008 - 2 PM to 6 PM

Check out http://homespunyarnparty.blogspot.com/ for more information, including a list of vendors.

The Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia is now accepting vendor applications. This year’s show will have 50 more vendors than last year and a new venue!

Who: 150 artists
What: Affordable, unique, and high quality art and crafts
When: Saturday, May 31st from 11-7pm & Sunday, June 1st from 11-5pm
Where: Penn’s Landing Great Plaza - on Columbus Boulevard between Walnut Street and Market Street

The application deadline is April 8th and accepted vendors will be notified of acceptance by Saturday, April 12th. You can either apply online or mail your application to them (see instructions). The booth fee is $150 and includes a 10’ x 10’ space, 2 chairs, and a 6’ long table. The event is held outside.

For more information, check out the Art Star web site. You can also read my report from last year’s Art Star to learn more about last year’s show.

BUST Magazine is now accepting vendor applications for the first ever Spring Fling Craftacular set to take place on Sunday April 27, 2008, from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. at The Warsaw in Brooklyn. This Springtime craft fair and ’90s themed dance will have 50 vendors, DJs, dancing, and drinks. How rad will you and your handmade goodies be if you get in?

You must fill out the online vendor application by March 30, 2008. There is a non-refundable $10 application and processing fee. If you are accepted as a vendor, your deposit will go towards the full booth fee of $225 due by April 11, 2008. That sounds like a pretty high fee for a craft fair, but the Bust Magazine crew know how to pack a show with shoppers. I was lucky to sell at their holiday show this past December and the line to get into the show went around the block for most of the day. My only problem with that show was that it had 200 vendors. This was really overwhelming for both vendor and shopper, so I think that this 50 person show sounds like more fun. But it will likely be way more difficult to get accepted, so don’t be a sad panda if you don’t get in! There is way more going on this spring in the world of indie craft, so stay tuned!

Hey crafters! You can’t hide inside with your knitting and C-SPAN for much longer. Winter will be over soon and you will need a tent and sunscreen and it will be time to go out into the world and sell your wares. With that in mind, it is time to start applying for spring/summer shows. The first local opportunity that should be on your radar is the Ballston Arts + Crafts Market.

The need to know info:
Second Saturdays, May through October
Ballston Arts + Crafts Market
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Welburn Square, across from the Ballston Metro station.

I like this market because of the Metro accessible location, easy load in and out areas and nice neighborhood with really close smoothies and lunch options. It really is almost hassle-free. You will need a tent, though, so keep that in mind.

To apply to sell your items at the market, please download the 2008 Arts+Crafts Market application here, and be sure to note the guidelines and eligibility before applying. There is no application fee, and applications can be sent via mail or email as outlined on the application.

This year’s deadline for the first round of jurying is March 3, 2008. Applications received after 3/3 will be reviewed on a space-available basis. If you are selected, you can pick to sell your wares at some or all of the dates, which makes it really convenient.

For more information on this market, check out their blog at http://www.ballstonarts-craftsmarket.blogspot.com/