Have you heard about the Hello Craft Summit of Awesome? Have you seen the line-up? Keep reading and prepare to be wowed!

Hello Craft’s Summit of Awesome is 3-days (May 1-3) filled with business seminars for artists and crafters, hands-on workshops, the D.C. premiere of the Indie Craft Documentary, Handmade Nation, and a Saturday night party. Through a partnership with the MidCity Business Association, all Summit seminars and workshops will take place in the wondrous and vibrant independent businesses in MidCity (14th and U Streets NW).

The Summit is a great mix of learning and crafting from discussions to hands on workshops, with a little something for everyone.
Special Craftnote Speakers:

• Maria Thomas, Etsy.com CEO
• Jenny Hart – Sublime Stitching

Demos/Workshops:  Learn a new technique or make something awesome with guidance from our amazing speakers.

• Fun with Duct Tape with Kristina Bilonick
• Simple Mold Making with Adam Maron – Pearson Maron
• Fiber Demo with Jamie Chan and Blas Herrera – Urban Fauna Studio
• Embroidery Demo with Jenny Hart – Sublime Stitching
• How to Photograph your Work with Sherry – Dandelion Blu
• Sew a Felt Broach with Beth Baldwin – Tiger Flight
• Make a Snow Globe with Esti Gerson
• Plate Breaking Demo with Juliet Ames – The Broken Plate
• Sewing Demo with DC Threads
• Make a Small Book with Esti Gerson
• Screen Printing Demo with Christy Petterson

Learning Sessions:  The main part of the weekend is to learn and grow your crafty endeavors. Visit Hello Craft for a full list of speakers.  Session topics include:

• Am I a Business? How and when to form a business for your crafty endeavors
• Tax Implications of Starting a Business
• Developing a Product Line. Deciding what to make and sell
• Branding and Identity
• Copyright and Tradmarks, How to protect yourself and your work
• Customer Service. Crafting with a Smile
• Selling Successfully Online 
• Craft Fair Booth Set up and Displays
• Selling in a Brick and Mortar
• The Ins and Outs of Trade Shows
• What’s a Social Network and How to use it for Good
• Street Teams. Why you should connect and collaborate
• Crafting a Green Craft
• Consumption and Sustainability. How DIY will Save the World
• Navagating the Art world with Craft
• Going out on a Limb
• Organizing a Craft Fair
• Event Sponsorship

Also in store for the weekend, you’ll have access to a screening of the D.C. premier of Handmade Nation, a make something awesome crafting area and the first even Handmade White Elephant gift exchange and swap!

Register by this Friday to get the discounted price of $150. After Friday, the cost will be $180. Discounts available for groups and craft collectives. Email hellocraftinfo@gmail.com for group rates.

On Friday, May 1st, Hello Craft will host its first ever Summit of Awesome in the heart of the Nation’s Capital.

Geared specifically for independent artists and crafters, the Summit of Awesome is 3 full days of seminars and hands-on workshops, which will provide business and technical educatation for those in the handmade arts communtiy. The Summit also includes the D.C. premiere showing of the Indie Craft Documentary film, Handmade Nation – A highly anticipated film that captures the superstars of the indie crafting world, and documents how the handmade community began and took it’s current shape.

The entire Summit of Awesome will take place in the independent shops, restaurants and bars in the MidCity area of D.C., along 14th and U Streets NW. The film screening of Handmade Nation will be hosted at the DCJCC’s Theatre J.

Seminar topics include Business Identity and Branding, How to Green Your Craft, Small Business Basics, The Ins and Outs of Trade Shows, and many more. An exciting line up of speakers who are leaders in their field include Maria Thomas, Chief Operating Officer of Etsy.com, Laura and Allison from DC Threads, and the founders of Cosa Verde, Liz Grotyohann and Jeff Fein-Worton, just to name a few. A complete list of speakers and topics will be posted soon. There will be hands on demos and workshops from some of your favorite indie crafters (wanna see Juliet Ames break a plate?!). But best of all, you will get to meet and hang out with artists and crafters just like you. People who love to make and learn.

Registration includes all programming from Friday through Sunday and is open now.