I received notice in email today about this new craft market starting up in Portland, Oregon. Since I'm part of the PNW Fiber Arts Ring I though I would post to help let others know.
http://www.craftywonderland.com/
These types of markets seem to be the next big thing. Here in Seattle there is the I Heart Rummage ongoing affair, recently under new leadership. I'm embarrassed to say that I've never been but I'm a huge supporter (does that count? Not really)
I Heart Rummage is actually doing a craft market at this year's Bumbershoot and they are soliciting vendor applications right now in case you are interested.
IHR/Urban Craft Uprising partnering with Bumbershoot We are very excited to announce that Urban Craft Uprising, producer of IHR, has been asked to partner with Bumbershoot. This is HUGE for indie crafts! Check out their partnership announcement: "This year Urban Craft Uprising (producers of I Heart Rummage) will showcase avant-garde crafters and designers in a re-imagined Art Market. With UCU's help, the Bumbershoot Art Market will feature an innovative gathering of progressive designers and independent retailers from across the nation. The new "Indie Market" will feature a colorful and varied display of urban crafts, cutting edge designs and inventive retail style, promising to be one of the most dynamic aspects of the 2006 festival." (For more info go to: www.bumbershoot.com/newDates.html) To download the application (due March 31st) go to: www.bumbershoot.org/apply.html Bumbershoot is pulling out all the stops to bring in as many indie crafters as possible. Here's what's changed and why YOU should do Bumbershoot! Attendance and sales Bumbershoot averages 50,000 people per day! Not just any people but people who get the indie aesthetic. Most craft vendors make between $3,000 and $6,000 during the event and some make over $9,000. This is an amazing opportunity! Reduced booth fees All booth fees have been reduced in an effort to make them more appealing and affordable to the indie crafter. Some booths that were originally $1400 are now $500. Even the prime location booths have come down 15%. Ability to share booths In the past vendors couldn't share booths. Bumbershoot realizes that this may be the first major festival for an indie crafter so they are allowing vendors to share booths. They're going all out trying to make it work for us! Exposure on website Inspired by Urban Craft Uprising's website, all accepted vendors will now have their link on Bumbershoot's website. Not only that but each vendor will be linked to the location of her/his booth at the festival. This means that people can check out your website, get excited about what you sell and then find out where your booth is. Bumbershoot's website gets an insane number of hits before and during the show as people figure out what events they want to attend - this is major exposure for vendors! No more Friday Bumbershoot will now be three days over Labor Day weekend (Saturday through Monday). In previous years the festival started on Friday which meant a slow day for vendors. This was especially tough on vendors who had to travel. Now you can just vend when the action is. The programming money that was previously spent on Friday is now being used to bring in the best talent possible for the other days, which means vendors will see the same number of people in three days that they saw in four days last year. Electricity In the past not all booths had electricity and it was an additional cost. Now the cost of electricity is included in the already reduced booth fee AND every single space will have electricity. This means that all vendors can stay open late to catch the evening concert traffic. More changes at Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is working on making the festival affordable for attendees which will mean more people will come which means more business for us! Bumbershoot is working on integrating their programming like never before - indie arts, literature, music - they're also working on booking our favorite indie, urban, DIY gurus for special events - stay tuned! Urban Craft Uprising and I Heart Rummage will both have booths at Bumbershoot anchoring the Indie Market and promoting our events which is great exposure for all of us. We see this as an amazing opportunity to build the indie, urban craft movement in the Northwest! Don't miss the deadline! Applications are due March 31st. You can download the PDF at: http://www.bumbershoot.org/apply.html |
If you aren't so lucky to have such a cool craft market in your area you can always check out Etsy.com for some very inventive crafts for sale from artists all over the place. Etsy.com makes me smile.
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