We are proud to announce the winner of the first ever Crafty Brewers Award. Drum roll please. The winner is: Brian Bennett with his Wild Yeast IPA.  Congratulations, Brian. Sam Wineka took second place for his Dog Days Pilsner. Mitchell West’s Strawberry Trippel took third.

In addition to beer, the Crafty Food Awards will crown the best preserves and pickles. Join us for the public ‘taste off’ and judging at Crafty Bastards Farm, starting at 3pm this coming Saturday.  Judges will rate on flavor, originality, and responsibility.

Thank you to all who participated in the first-ever Crafty Food Awards. Please make sure to join us Saturday at the Crafty Bastards Farm for the ‘taste-off’ and awards ceremony.

See you at the Fair!

Caitlin from Rebound Designs (Booth #51) has been doing the fair almost as long as I have and I can’t tell you how excited I was to see her add paperback book wallets to her line of book purses. These babies are durable and fun. I have one in my pocket right now!

Wanna know what I always check out first, though? Final Approach (Booth #143). This dude’s cases are so cool. I love to see his booth before anything has sold. It is like a little gallery show.

Shannon at Sweet Pepita (Booth #141) continues to wow me with her upcycled kid’s clothing. Her work is so well made and it is always exciting to see the new stuff she has come up with. She is also the loveliest person you will ever meet. I am not even exaggerating about that!

I am sure serious that if you don’t have a Kristina Bilonick (Booth #106) screen printed scarf this fall, you are totally doomed. I have been waiting for this weather to break just so I could put mine on. No idea if she will have the buffalo print, but dude, that one is ace.

Heidi from My Paper Crane (Booth #31) is the original Crafty Bastard (OG!) if you ask me. The silent loveliness of her Mushroom Terrariums cannot be missed.

Oh, what about me, you say? Well, I am so excited to debut my new line of tote bags in booth #71. Look!

Crafty Bastards is really a great opportunity for makers (new and old) to push themselves to new territory. Supporting real people who make stuff is so fun. Hope you find something awesome this Saturday at the fair!

Projects to make include embroidery projects, duct tape wallets, knitting, make your own buttons, felt fruit plushies, and envelope making.

There will also be giveaways at the booth for a bevy of craft books and a free pass to the 2011 Summit of Awesome!

If you want to take the making with you, kits for sale will include all the materials and instructions to make your own:

• hair pins
• fabric button hair tie
• sidewalk chalk
• owl brooches

The Make Something Awesome area is the traveling create and take space where anyone can use an assortment of supplies to create a fun project or follow directions to make an instructed project.

Interested in learning more about Hello Craft? Please visit hellocraft.com.

Photo courtesy of flickr user Hello Craft.

This year’s crop of Young and Crafty offer a wide range of products. Let’s check them out!

Bicker are sisters Rosemary and Lucy. The girls make headbands and bags out of recycled magazines. Check out their wares at the fair in Booth #156.

Isabella Davies creates large colorful creatures painted with acrylic on wood cut-outs. Her work is lovely! Check her our in Booth #156 at the fair.

The Mighty Shoe Box of Oz makes “companions that save you from your worst enemies and bank robbers.” Check them out in Booth #157 at the fair, unless you are a bank robber, of course!

Spark & Shine make unique collection of original jewelry designs of brooches, decorative hair pins, earrings and necklaces. Be sure to support Booth # 158!

Corey’s Green Gifts makes “friendly and eco-friendly snakes out of old ties and each snake comes named and is one of a kind.” Friendly AND eco-friendly. Sold! Check out Corey in Booth #158 at the fair.

Buttercup’s Garden makes bookmarks from reused Scrabble tiles and Japanese Chiyogami paper. She started making these in first grade after her class studied Japan. Check these out in Booth #157 at the fair.

Young & Crafty is a fantastic opportunity for burgeoning artists to meet other crafty kids, explore a wide range of creative endeavors, showcase their artistic talent, and get hands-on entrepreneurial experience. We hope that visitors to the fair on October 1st check out these young makers and help foster the creative spirit for a new generation!

A rich cast of DC’s noted food “crafters” will take the stage to tell stories that explore the intersection of history, arts, food, and sustainability. Our aim is to inspire and educate, to give the audience the insight, skills and confidence to become food crafters themselves. Which is why we partnered with Union Market, who is in the process of executing an ambitious plans to revive the old warehouse district off New York and Florida Avenue (just west of Gallaudet University) —one of the oldest ‘farmers markets’ in the city.

Here are just a few of the D.I.Y presentations we’ve got on tap:

Barry Koslow – Bread and Butter Pickles

Barry Koslow has helmed the kitchens at some of DC’s best restaurants and was recently named the ‘Chosen Chef’ by Forward Magazine. Barry will share the craft of pickling, an old-world tradition that is now emerging in craft delicatessens across the country.

Jeremy Brosowsky — Composting in the City

Jeremy Brosowsky started Compost Cab in DC last year to make it easy for urbanites to compost. The mission of the business is to create healthier, sustainable, more productive cities through innovative agriculture. He will give a hands-on lecture that digs into the muck of the perfect compost pile.

Robb Duncan — The Art of Gelato

Robb Duncan is the founder of local gelateria Dolcezza. His products feature a bounty of local ingredients, mixing up innovative blends of fruits, herbs, and spices. Robb will teach the essentials to making a cardamom and pistachio gelato.

Join us for this grown-up show and tell (and taste) with some of DC’s best culinary talent and learn more about the exciting new developments at Union Market at the first ever Crafty Bastards Farm.

Ever since the city implemented the plastic bag tax, everyone is snagging up re-usable bags. But who wants a bag branded by a big supermarket? This year, SCRAP(School and Community Reuse Action Project) will be on site designing and building re-usable grocery bags. In the last year alone, SCRAP diverted 108 tons of material from the waste stream and upcycled it into creative products. Those Crafty Bastards!

However, creating great bags from waste material means nothing if future generations don’t know how to fill them with healthy food.  Studies show that exposure to food content leads to healthy food choices. Farm-to-Desk’s mission is to help teachers integrate food into their lessons. At Crafty Bastards, Farm-to-Desk students will be serving up caramel apples and apple pie donated by Toigo Orchards.  But not only that, their teachers are going to write lesson plans on the iconic fruit, uncovering early American history through the trails of Johhny Appleseed.

The third non-profit, DC Greenworks, tackles an issue that has affected DC for years. The Anacostia is one of the most polluted watersheds in the nation. That’s why DC Greenworks works on creative solutions to storm-water management across the city. One of the best solutions: green roofs. DC Greenworks will be on site building a model green roof (on top of a dog house) and teach festival goers how to make one of their own.

We are really excited to highlight these great organizations as part of bringing you the first ever Crafty Bastards Farm.

All you crafty food vendors out there, don’t forget to get your applications in by the end of today, September 6^th.

See you at the Fair!

Since 1972, Washington Area Bicyclist Association has been working hard to make D.C. one of the most bikeable cities in the U.S.  As a long-time friend of Crafty Bastards, as well as bicycle enthusiasts everywhere, WABA has tirelessly advocated for better bicycling conditions, as well as environmentally-friendly transportation choices – which includes their free, bicycle valet they provide at Crafty Bastards every year.

If you’ve ever wanted to say Thank You to WABA for all that they do, or learn more about who they are and how to get involved, their newest event Bike Fest is your chance to support their organization while partying it up, old school carnival-style.

Bike Fest will take place this Saturday in downtown Crystal City. This event is a fantastic opportunity to meet WABA staff, mingle with other bike-minded folks, and get in on all the carnival fun including cycle games, silent auction, sideshow performances, live music and dancing, palm readings, a photo booth, custom bicycle contest and more!

This event is expected to sell out so get your tickets online now. Tickets are $45 each and all proceeds benefit WABA’s advocacy, safety and education programs.

SPECIAL: Get $10 off by using the discount code: cyclechic.
For more information, including all the green ways to get to Bike Fest, visit waba.org.

The largest, DC holiday shopping tradition is back in town! The Downtown Holiday Market will be hosting its annual, outdoor show and sale for 18 days, giving shoppers plenty of opportunity to meet and greet local artisans and pick up one-of-a-kind gifts.

The Market hosts 50 vendors each day, with more that 150 artisans and crafters participating throughout the month. Many past Crafty Bastards vendors will be there selling their handmade wares on various days, including De*Nada Design, Fuzzy Ink, 8th Street Soap Kitchen, Rebound Designs, Catherinette, Jon Wye and many more.

Live musical performances on the main stage aim to keep everyone in the holiday spirit, and local food vendors selling everything from empanadas to crepes will keep your tummy happy while you shop.  The Market is close to Metro and parking and is located directly in front of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, making it east to plan out a full day of art, crafts and holiday shopping fun in the heart of Washington, DC.

For a complete list of exhibitors, entertainment information and site map, go to downtownholidaymarket.com.

Even though the show is over, there are still lots of ways to celebrate Crafty Bastards!

Add your photos to our Crafty Bastards Flickr pool! We wanna see what you bought, what you ate, who you met and how much fun you had.

Is there something that you meant to buy, but just didn’t get back to? You can still shop with our vendors via the Crafty Bastards Vendor Gallery or find stuff you might have missed by checking out our helpful Etsy treasuries.

And remember that there is still time to vote in the Craftiest Bastard contest. The grand prize is an Etsy prize package that includes a $500 Etsy shopping spree, a trip to NYC to visit the Etsy HQ (up to $500 of travel expenses covered) and a feature on Etsy’s blog. Voting ends on Friday, October 8, 2010! Go vote!

Felt headbands from The Candy Thief are the perfect cross between the urge to play dressup, and the urge to function like an adult. Beware the power-boost of positivity you will feel when you get a good look at yourself in the mirror with one on – (Not to mention the steady stream of compliments) – This is the sort of thing you purchase intending to give it as a gift, and then never manage to part with it yourself.

Now, Casey Dwyer (talented proprietress of said enterprise) has added printed headbands (inspired by european folk art & quilts), hand printed bags, pillows and vintage inspired dresses to her growing line. What more could we ask for!?