Some of the Hello Craft/Crafty Bastards crew will be in the Etsy Virtual Labs today at 5 p.m. for a workshop on applying to craft fairs. What some extra tips on applying to Crafty Bastards? Join us today, June 25! Just go to the Etsy Virtual Labs and log in.

The Crafty Bastards deadline is approaching! Don’t forget to apply. We wanna see what you’ve been making!

Saturday, June 20th

Baltimore, MD

This weekend, Charm City Craft Mafia is presenting their annual Pile of Craft. Shop handmade and have fun at this year’s Pile of Craft, a DIY art and craft show. There will be over 50 amazing, local, crafty vendors showing off their astounding apparel, jewelry, accessories, ceramics, paper goods, fine art and so much more!

Saturday, June 20th, 2009
10am - 5pm
@ Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
(Inside St John’s Church)

Drinks and snacks will be available from Red Emma’s.

Check out the vendor list here.

Screw your Facebook event invite. The rock poster is alive and kicking here in D.C., and poster maker and Crafty Bastards veteran, Anthony Dihle wants you to know about it.

Civilian Art Projects is presents its second exhibition of music-based posters following last summer’s Screams & Screens exhibition of artists from across the country. PAPER JAM: The Art and Grime of the East Coast Rock Poster includes the works of 27 artists from the East Coast. The exhibition will open to the public on Friday, June 12, 2009 and will be on view through June 27, 2009. Public exhibition hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 12 to 6 p.m. There will be an opening reception for the artists on Friday, June 12, 2009 from 7pm to 9pm.

James Heimer

Paper Jam features a cross-section of artists, designers, and printmakers who make music posters. The exhibition is limited to East Coast postermakers, ranging from New Jersey to Virginia, and is intended to shine the spotlight on what is going on here, in our own backyard, in a world increasingly de-emphasizing local focus. Organized by artist Anthony Dihle, the exhibition stages the most fun, interesting, and experimental work from the area.

Ana Benaroya

According to Dihle, “both well-established and newly emerging artists are featured. Their methods of production range from high-end offset lithography to silkscreen to Xerox, and their styles are equally varied, from the rock poster standbys of skulls-n-babes to experimentation where text and form are pushed to convey music using symbols and abstraction. Bands represented extend from internationally known acts to garage bands making their debut show. Most of the work is home-brewed, by the artist, and merges the illustration of sound and lyrics with the requisite need for a poster to simultaneously advertise a show and commemorate it.”

Triggered largely by a renewed interest in live music and analog sound, the recent revival of poster art is being made possible by the availability of imaging software, adaptability of silkscreen to at-home methods, and a burgeoning community of postermakers who share ideas, resources, viewing spaces, and markets for their prints.

Artists in Paper Jam include, Ana Benaroya, Jordan Bernier, Rick Bowman, Chris Cernoch, Kate Crosgrove, Anthony Dihle (Dirty Pictures), Jefferey Everett (El Jefe Design), JP Flexner, John Foster (Bad People Good Things), Jeff Fry, Tim Gibbon (Dynamite Printworks), James Heimer, Adam Juresko, Edward Kelley, Daniel Kent, Chris Kline, Nick Kulp (Undercover Zero), Large Mammal, Robb Leef, Drew Liverman, Magick Outlaw, Nick Pimentel (Planaria Design), Gregory Pizzoli, Post Typography, Brian Potash (Devilish Ink), Public Domain, and Warm.

Tim Gibbon

There is a really great gallery of the work presented at this show over at the Civilian Art Projects web site.

The Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts is a really helpful organization who “supports artistic expression and innovation by serving the legal needs of Washington, Maryland and Virginia’s arts and cultural communities”. Below you will find their May and June workshop and clinic schedule.

On the evening of May 21st, join the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts for their workshop “The Basics of Starting a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization” at host law firm DLA Piper. The workshop is geared toward artists. The workshop is free for WALA members, $30 for non-members. Please email legalservices@thewala.org to register (required).

On June 11th, artists can meet with a volunteer WALA attorney at the WALA’s Artomatic booth (see www.artomatic.org) to ask questions about their legal issues. While there will be attorneys available for walk-ups, they ask that to ensure you will have an appointment you register by emailing legalservices@thewala.org. Please include your legal inquiry, and let them know if you are already a WALA member. Clinics are free for WALA members.

On the evening of June 19th, join the WALA for their workshop “The Basics of Copyright for Musicians and Webcasters: How to Protect, Publish, and License your Musical Compositions and How to License Others’ Works” at host law firm Finnegan Henderson. The workshop is free for WALA members, $30 for non-members. Please email legalservices@thewala.org to register (required).

I am always amazed by something that Heidi Kenney is making, but when I checked in at her blog yesterday, I found something that kinda blew me away. Take a look.

It is Luke in the dead Tauntaun from Star Wars. She writes that this piece is for a show later this summer called Stitch Wars .

Is it just me, or doesn’t this piece need blood? I guess that is kinda what I like about it. I think it is interesting that she leaves the blood out.

Check out Heidi’s blog for more photos of this amazing piece.

Debbie and Kim at Handmade Mart are having a Vendor/Volunteer Party at the Pyramid Atlantic Store (924 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring) on May 21 (this Thursday) from 7 pm to 9 pm where you’ll get to mingle with cool, crafty folks, have a drink, sign up for shifts, tour the event site, get more info, and (THE FUN PART) screenprint your very own Handmade Mart tee shirt! The design will be printed with red ink, so bring a light-colored shirt for the best results.

If you interested in volunteering, you can totally show up to this event. If not, be sure to check out the Handmade Mart on May 31st from 10am to 5pm in Downtown Silver Spring. Many many Crafty Bastards veterans will be on hand.

There are so many local craft shows going on in May, I’m not sure how you will pick!

SquidFire’s 2009 Spring Art Mart
Kicking off the season this Saturday, May 9 from 11-6pm is SquidFire’s 2009 Spring Art Mart in lovely Baltimore, MD. Join over 50 of the best local and regional crafters and artists as they display their handmade wares in the most beautiful park in the city. The event goes on rain or shine. Check out the vendor list.

Saturday May 9, 11-6pm
Mt. Vernon Square (Between Charles and Cathedral Streets)
Baltimore, MD 21201

Ballston Arts and Crafts Market

On the other side of DC, the Ballston Arts and Crafts Market will kick off the season on May 9 in Wellburn Square across from the Ballston Metro, from 10am to 4pm. Check out http://www.ballstonarts-craftsmarket.blogspot.com/ for more information.

Handmade Mart

The Handmade Mart will take place on May 31 from 10am-5pm in Downtown Silver Spring. Created by Debbie Lee (Director of Rock n ‘Romp), and Kimberly Dorn (Director of the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair and Hello Craft), and powered by the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, the Handmade Mart will host 50+ independent crafters for a unique shopping experience along the bustling Ellsworth Drive in Downtown Silver Spring.

Along with an awesome array of vendors, the Handmade Mart will also feature a full day of live indie rock, and hands-on workshops at the Pyramid Atlantic Store.

Handmade Mart
May 31, 2009, 10am-5pm
Ellsworth Drive (Between Fenton Ave. and Georgia Ave.)
Downtown Silver Spring

The vendor list is coming soon.

Did I miss something for May? Totally leave me a note in the comments!

Crafty Bastards 2009 planning is underway and vendor applications will be availble soon!  Please forgive the outdated info on the site.  We are working to get everything updated.  A couple notes about Crafty Bastards 2009.

There will not be a Crafty Bastards show in Silver Spring, MD in June. However, the folks at Pyramid Atlantic have paired up with Party Hat Rodeo (aka Kimberly Dorn) and 60Bugs (aka Debbie Lee) to produce the first ever Handmade Mart in Silver Spring.  Vendor applications are being accepted through April 30th.  Read more here.

The fall showing of Crafty Bastards is scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 from 10am-5pm in Washington, DC.  For 2009, the City Paper has joined forces with Hello Craft and promises another awesome showing of handmade goods you won’t find anywhere else in the area.

Applications for Crafty Bastards 2009 will be online soon!  We will announce when applications are ready on the blog and to the Crafty Bastards email list.  Stay tuned so you don’t miss out!

On Saturday, May 2nd from 8pm-11pm, Hello Craft will host a Show of Awesome in the back room at Miss Pixies (1626 14th St, NW, Washington, DC 20009). Come party with the craftiest folks in DC! There will be music by Jason Hutto and Shelby Cinca, late night vintage shopping at Miss Pixie’s, a free wine tasting hosted by Dixie Liquors and yummy Cakelove treats. And oh, crafty shopping!

Shop for crafty goods from these awesome Summit speakers:

• Jenny Hart- Sublime Stitching
• Jaime Zollars
• Rhonda & Elijah Wyman - Figs & Ginger
• Joetta Maue - Little Yellow Bird
• Shauna Alterio & Stephen Loidolt - Something’s Hiding In Here
• Jamie Chan & Blas Hererra - Urban Fauna Studio
• Christy Petterson - abardis
• Kasey and Kelly Evick - Biggs and Featherbelle
• Becky Streipe - Glue and Glitter
• Craftland organizers:  DA Metals, If’n Books + Marks, Sewing Stars, Heatherjeany Greetings, Bright Lights Little City and Rainbow Sugar

Plus get info from the organizers of these great indie craft markets:

• Bizarre Bazaar SF
• Brooklyn Indie Market
• Craftland!
• Handmade Arcade
• Indie Craft Experience

Hello Craft’s first craft party is free and open to the public. Check out their web site if you are interested in registering for the Summit of Awesome weekend of seminars and workshops.

This post originally ran on the Etsy Storque.

Five years ago I totally didn’t have any crafty friends. I toiled away in my living room each night, making stuff without any clue what I would do with it. And when I finished something, I stored it in our extra bedroom until the spare bed became this weird pile of strange stuff. I felt like my making had no purpose and I had absolutely no one to talk to about this. There were no support groups for the likes of me: people who were addicted to making with no real end game for the products. I remember being obsessed with picking up trash to make into collage art, stealing rubber fishing lures from my dad to make into necklaces, looking at a seat belt from a junked car as if it were a prize. I was upcycling before I had a word for it, and to my non-crafty friends, I was just a little wonky.

I had no idea then that my life would totally change, and that not only would I meet someone like me, but that my life would end up full of friends like me. These are not just acquaintances, but real, amazing friends: collaborators and co-conspirators and comrades and colleagues. The importance of these friends to my craft is one thing. I love that I know who to ask when I can’t find Gocco supplies or where to go if I need advice on a craft show application. I love that my friend Beth knows just want to do with an old sweater and that my friend Sara knits me the best scarves with bumpy yarn every year.

But it is the importance of these friends to my actual life that has taken me so by surprise. When my family recently went through a tough medical diagnosis, my crafty friends were delivering groceries and stopping by to teach my twins to sew and sending me encouraging text messages. I never imagined it, but I have found myself surrounded by community, and that is the most fabulous part of the handmade revolution for me. I’m not just a weirdo making things while I watch TV anymore. I’m one of many weirdos making things while we watch TV.

And this is why I am so excited about the Summit of Awesome, my latest project with Hello Craft. After years selling at and organizing craft shows, I wanted to help create an event that is about more than just gathering to sell our wares. It seemed to me that selling at craft shows leaves little time to actually socialize, forge friendships and learn from each other. And my attempts at gathering crafty friends to just “hang out” always seemed to be foiled by the business of real life. I am so excited that I get to help provide other people with the venue to infuse their lives with new crafty friends; to hang out with neat people, while learning from some of the most inspiring speakers in the crafting community.

The Craftnotes with Sublime Stitching’s Jenny Hart and Etsy’s CEO Maria Thomas are in themselves exciting, but we also have 30 more speakers lined up for seminars, workshops and demos. And if you can’t make the event, the Etsy Virtual Labs will be covering several of our seminars. We’ve also just added single day passes if you cannot make the whole weekend of awesome.

Here are the details:
Hello Craft’s Summit of Awesome will take place in Washington, D.C., May 1-3. The Summit is designed for artists and crafters, from dabblers to business owners, and includes the D.C. premiere of the Indie Craft Documentary, Handmade Nation. We also have fun social “making areas” planned, as well as the first ever Handmade White Elephant Gift Exchange and Swap! You can check out the complete line-up of speakers and register online at hellocraft.com.

I can’t stress enough the importance of gathering together to learn and share in the same space; how I think these types of events will help deepen the bond of the crafting community and spark new and innovative ideas on the direction of the handmade movement. And dude, you need more cool friends, right?