Extra FUN at the 2019 Indie Craft Parade

In addition to our lineup of amazing artists, we've added a few extras this year to celebrate our 10th birthday. Gather your friends and family and come celebrate handmade with us at Furman University. Below is our list of everything that will be happening!

All Weekend
· Relax in our new lounge area provided by the folks behind The NESS Fest
· A new baby changing area and Mother's Room outfitted by BabyQuip
· Free photobooth – it's basically tradition at this point
· Food trucks every day!

Friday, September 13, 6pm - 9pm
First Dibs Party – Remaining Tickets are only $25!
· Free cake (sponsored by Brains on Fire) and ice cream from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
· A special collaboration beer from 13 Stripes Brewery
· Giveaways! Twenty-five baskets of handmade goods (with an average value of $185) will be headed home with our ticket holders that evening.
· And, of course, you get first dibs on the handmade goods!

Saturday, September 14, 9am - 6pm
$6 admission at the door
· The Children's Museum of the Upstate will be on site with a fun kid’s craft
· Face Painting and henna artwork by Transformation Face & Body Art for adults and kids alike!
· Have your group portrait taken ($75) by Bryan Hiott Studio, a local tintype photographer.

Sunday, September 15, 11am - 5pm
$6 admission at the door
· More kid's crafting with The Children's Museum of the Upstate
· Face Painting and henna artwork by Transformation Face & Body Art for adults and kids alike

We’ll see you this weekend!

TEN YEARS – MORE SPACE

Indie Craft Parade turns 10 this year, and we have big news! We're moving the location of the festival to give everyone more room. 

Since the beginning of the festival our attendees have asked us "when will you move to a bigger space?" And for the past 2 years this has been an issue we've tried to solve. Last year we moved the festival to the Taylors Mill to offer artists more room to exhibit. However, the issue of long lines for our 7000+ attendees remained. 

To accommodate our desire to grow the festival and make it a more convenient experience for attendees and artists alike, we are moving the festival to Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University. 

In this new home we will have room to not only offer large exhibitor booths, but also give attendees a more comfortable environment to shop, connect with artists, and linger at the event. When you come to the 2019 Indie Craft Parade, you can expect to see old, favorite attractions such as the free Photobooth. But now we also have space to include additional partner opportunities, a larger section for emerging artists, and most importantly, reduce the chance of a line. 

Illustrated Map by Karen Schipper

We're sure our attendees have questions: Will Indie Craft Parade keep moving to new venues? Will there be convenient parking at the new location? Will the event still have a great vibe even though it's leaving a beautiful historic venue?

To answer the first question, we truly believe Indie Craft Parade has found its permanent home. Our artists and attendees have been so faithful as we've moved over the last year, and we want you to confidently know what to expect year after year. 

What about amenities and convenience? Timmons Arena has plenty of both! Parking will be very easy and there are facilities in abundance.

As to the vibe of the event, the very heart of the festival is found in the community of amazing artists that Indie Craft Parade brings together each year, and they aren't going anywhere. They are the reason the festival is special; a charming venue is a bonus. That being said, the campus of Furman is stunning and conveniently located. It's merely 10 minutes from downtown Greenville and 5 from downtown Travelers Rest. The Swamp Rabbit Trail runs through the campus, and you could spend the rest of the day picnicking on the grounds after visiting the festival.

We're confident that year 10 will be our best one yet. 

Mark your calendar for September 13-15, 2019! Come see all that we've been working on, explore a new area of Greenville, and support the newest collection of makers and artists that make Indie Craft Parade so special. See you in September!

Holiday Fair Gift Guide: Part 1

If you're looking for unique and one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts this year, our Indie Craft Parade Holiday Fair can help! Featuring handmade goods from 29 artists, there's something for everyone. Starting with stocking stuffers and gifts for the little ones on your list, let us make a few suggestions to get you started!

Stocking stuffers clockwise from top left: handkerchief/scarf from Dapper Ink / Leather keychain from Billiam Jeans / Recipe cards from Ink Meets Paper / Sketchbook from Shed Labs / Ceramic cloud magnet from Crave Studio / Soaps from The Herb Garden

Gifts for the Little Ones clockwise from top left: Canvas crown from Lovelane Designs / Not-so-magic wands from Slab. / Boy's necktie from Cordial Churchman / Baby spoon from Block & Hammer / Baby booties from Pogoshop /

5 Year Posters with The Printshop

For this year’s festival, we wanted to make a special poster to commemorate our fifth year. We worked with the folks at The Printshop, Greenville’s newest makerspace, to create silkscreened posters for our event. We spent an evening at The Printshop with Andrew (husband of our co-founder, Lib Ramos) and Jeremy to print our 2014 posters. They walked us through each step of the process — from burning a screen to registering inks and we took pictures along the way.

It was so much fun to take our design from a computer screen to a final printed product and be reminded of all the work that goes into screenprinted art. As we often tell others, learning a new skill is one of the best ways to foster appreciation for it. Here are some of our behind the scenes photos.

Mixing inks to get the perfect shade.

Jeremy shows us how to pull a print.

The first color on drying racks.

Burnt screen for color number two.

Adding the second color.

Final prints drying in a row.

Fun fact: The Printshop founders were introduced at last year's Indie Craft Parade. In less than a year's time, they ran a successfully funded Kickstarter and opened the doors to our city's first community print shop. The Printshop is offering classes along with studio space and access to equipment for all kinds of printing processes like silkscreen, etching, letterpress, lithography and more.

Be on the lookout for more partnerships between Indie Craft Parade and The Printshop down the road — for example we're hosting a modern calligraphy workshop in their space mid-January!

Thank you for an amazing festival!

In case you're still reliving the amazing festival weekend, we don't blame you. We just want to say a huge thank you to our 7,000 attendees, 80 artists, 42 volunteers, 20 sponsors, 10 staff volunteers, and 6 food vendors who make Indie Craft Parade possible. One of our favorite things about the festival is all the photos that came out of it. If you haven't seen it, check out the great #indiecraftparade hashtag stream here.

Here's a look at some of our favorites. We love you all! See you at our next event!

Image via SavannahMaieDae.

Image via Lindsey George.

Image via Going Home to Roost.

Image via Swamp Rabbit Cafe.

Image via Eleanor.XVI.

Image via Strawberry Moth.

2014 VIP Tickets now on sale

It’s already that time of year again…VIP Gala tickets are on sale as of today! This kickoff party will begin our favorite weekend celebrating handmade goods.

If you’ve never been before, here are a few things you need to know that make the VIP Gala special:Lighter crowds: The opening night is your best chance to get to know the artists and get first dibs on their work. We sell a limited number of VIP tickets to make that evening special and allow ticket holders to avoid the crowds of Saturday and Sunday.

Giveaways: Our artists always go above and beyond in donating work to our giveaway baskets. We usually have 12-15 baskets worth over $100 each. Each basket will find their way home with a VIP ticket holder.

Free Food and Drink: Catered this year by Chef Peter and his team at Chef 360 Catering, the food is going to be out of this world. And in keeping with the theme of buying fine local craft products, we’ll be serving locally produced beverages including coffee from Greenville's newest coffee shop, Methodical Coffee, house blended teas and lemonade from Tealoha, and a selection of South Carolina made beers and ciders.

Live Music: And to top it all off, there's live music! This year we're excited to have local band Pioneer Fires playing for us during the VIP event. Their sound will be the perfect backdrop to the party. You won’t want to miss it!

The 2014 VIP Gala will be held on Friday, September 12 from 6 to 9 pm at the Huguenot Mill in downtown Greenville, SC. This ticketed event kicks off the festival weekend, and helps support our artists and the mission of Indie Craft Parade. Check out the full details on our website and get your tickets here!

2014 Artists Announced

We are excited to announce the 2014 list of Indie Craft Parade participants! Our fifth annual festival will feature 80 artists — 33 new and 47 returning. Mark your calendars for September 12-14 and come see us at the Huguenot Mill at the Peace Center. We know you can't wait to start shopping, so go check out the complete list on our website, and start making those wishlists!

2014 Call for Entries: Last Chance

This is it! Sunday, June 22 at midnight EST is your last chance to apply for this year's Indie Craft Parade. We do not consider late or incomplete applications, so if you've started an application but haven't finished yet, this weekend is your last opportunity to finish and submit!

For those who aren't applying, but know an artist who should submit their work, we've made it easy for you to send out an email introduction to Indie Craft Parade. Help us find the best handmade goods in the South!

Applications Now Open!

The long wait is over! Applications for Indie Craft Parade are now open. Put together your best product photos and send them our way through our online application. We can't wait to see who all comes in this year!

If you're not a maker but you know someone who is (and who you think should be a part of our festival), tell them to apply. We've made it easier than ever to recommend applying to Indie Craft Parade. Check out this automatic message here, and send it to your crafty friends.

Thanks to all our friends and supporters who attend each festival. We'll see you in 103 days!

Indie Craft Parade + The Children's Museum

 Next Saturday we're going to have a station at the Kids' Maker Fest--a special event with The Children's Museum of the Upstate. The whole day is dedicated to teaching kids about the value of making and the different avenues that people use to incorporate making into their lives.

From The Children's Museum:A maker is a do-it-yourself kind of person, who engages their creativity and knowledge doing hands-on projects. Some makers are science and technology oriented while others are more crafty. All makers share a passion for creating, and believe that if something can be imagined it can be made!

Highlights from the day include:

• --Make and launch your own paper rockets
• --A hovercraft demonstration & make a mini hovercraft
• --Coder demonstrations on SCRATCH and STARLOGO
• --Use your imagination and build with MAKEDO cardboard projects
• --Playdough circuit activities
• --Make a bristlebot
• --Play with large robots
• --Designing stamps with the Indie Craft Parade
• --Trebuchet launch

If you've never taken the kids in your life to The Children's Museum, this is the perfect opportunity. Not only will you get to see their amazing regular exhibits, but also kids have access to all the stations available with The Maker Fest. Participation in The Maker Fest is free with general admission.

We hope to see you there! It's going to be a great day.

Holiday Fair Recap

Thanks so much to everyone that came out to the Holiday Fair! We had such a great Saturday. Although it was a bit chilly, we were so excited to see the neighborhood full with Greenville's art enthusiasts. To recap the numbers, this past Saturday the festival was made possible by 30 artists, 10 volunteers, 5 food vendors, 1 great neighborhood, and over 1,600 attendees!

If you were unable to make it to the Holiday Fair, you did miss out. However, be of good cheer. Indie Craft Parade will be hosting events all throughout the year. Make sure you check out our Calendar of Events to see what we've got planned next!

Thanks again for supporting Indie Craft Parade and our artists! We're so thankful for everyone who buys handmade.

If you'd like to see more photos from the event, check out our Instagram feed. You can also search the hashtag #indiecraftparade to see shots from attendees.

2013 Holiday Fair

It's hard to believe that it's already time to think about Christmas gifts, but we're less than a month away from our Indie Craft Parade Holiday Fair! Mark your calendar for this one-day event on Saturday, December 7th in The Village. Once again, it will be a neighborhood affair, with open studios, food trucks and much more!

Our Holiday Fair will be in a brand new space, with room for over 30 previous Indie Craft Parade participants. See a sneak peek of their handmade goods below and keep reading for a full list of artists.

Here are all the details.

What: Indie Craft Parade Holiday Fair When: Saturday December 7, 10 am – 6 pm Where: Midtown Artery, 1241 Pendleton Street 29611 Admission: $1 suggested donation, children 12 and under are free

2DCory Godbey Emily Jeffords Handprinted by The Matt Butler Shed Labs

3D Gypsy RakuPhoenixfire

Fiber by erin elizabeth Heartfeltlovelane Merciful Hearts Farm

To Wear Audrey LaineAuspicious Miss Billiam Jeans

Cordial Churchman

Dapper InkFlytrap

Olivia de SoriaSpectrum

Paper Ink Meets PaperThe Paper RabbitQuill and Arrrow

Everything Elsecanoojuxtaposition The Paper Posy Mercy Verity Oh Kay Annie Koelle Sweeteeth

The Tee Pee Co.Whispering Willow

Xenia Hospitality and Home Decor

Thank You for another great show!

This past weekend was a blur, and it's still hard to believe another Indie Craft Parade has come and gone! With 6,500+ attendees throughout the weekend, we think it was our best show yet! In case you missed it, one of our sponsors, Sam Windell, put together a really fun event video for us!

Things that were new this year: · More space! For the first time, we had two floors of artists.

· A fitting room. (not pictured) · Our giant logo sign. Which inadvertently became a fun photo backdrop.

· New food and drink vendors. · Sponsors on-site. We were so excited to have both Etsy and Spoonflower join us at the show this year. They sponsored a special Meet & Greet party just for our artists! And we had a special guest show up from MailChimp.

And as always, our show wouldn't be possible without our talented artists, our volunteers, our sponsors, and the fans of handmade who patiently wait for their turn to see what we've all been working on for the past few months. Thank you all so much for another great year!

What was your favorite part? Handcrafted popsicles? The free photobooth? Tattly tattoos? Handmade goods as far as the eye could see? And don't forget to check out #indiecraftparade on Instagram to see what people loved most.

Indie Craft Parade Visits NYC

As many of you know from our Facebook page or Instagram feeds, the staff at Indie Craft Parade took a brief hiatus last weekend to the big city. For a long time now we've been watching the success of long standing craft shows like Renegade Craft, so we decided to attend the fair hosted in Brooklyn. We're always fans of people or organizations who contribute to the modern craft scene, and we try to attend shows whenever possible. Our treks have been fairly local, however---Atlanta, Columbia, Asheville, etc.---so the prospect of attending a huge festival was quite exciting. Showing our excitement in the Renegade Photo Booth.

So, with a date on the calendar we saved up our pennies, begged a couple days off work, kissed our husbands goodbye, and made the most of our time in New York. Although the trip centered on visiting the artists at Renegade, we did have a couple of days on either side of the festival...and did we ever fill them with the most wonderful things. Our game plan was to visit or learn about as many arts and craft locations as possible. We wanted to know how other people organize their festivals, storefronts, or studios with hopes of making our endeavors here in Greenville even better.

We'd like to share with you a little bit about our trip---highlights of who we visited, what we saw, and how we're planning on making the Indie Craft Events better than ever!

Day 1: We hit the ground running as soon as we landed. After checking into a cute apartment in Greenpoint Brooklyn, we headed to Manhattan to check out studios and supply stores. The highlight of the day, by far, was getting a tour of the Lower Eastside Printshop. This is a collaborative space where artists can either learn new mediums or rent studio equipment to further their own body of work.

One of two giant communal studios.

The printmaking equipment, particularly the screen printing setup is some of the best we've ever seen.

Day 2: Renegade Craft Fair! In the very warm summer sun we perused 300 artists along with 20,000 other people for 6 very long hours. We took our time and saw EVERYTHING. We only stopped to cool ourselves with frozen treats and make new friends from the awesome website Kollabora. If you don't know this site, then you really should. It's a community based site that's meant to find or share crafting projects. Here you can post what you're working on, learn new skills that will make your projects easier, and connect with other makers you share your passion. It's a super great resource.

Getting ready to enter the fair.

A single row of tents.

Checking out an embroidery artist.

Day 3: We headed back to Manhattan. Since most offices and studios were closed for the weekend, we spent the day wandering the coolest shops in New York. Two of our favorite stops were Best Made Company and Purl Soho.

Best Made...the home of wonderfully handcrafted or in-house designed goods for men...and where we picked up treats for the husbands.

Purl Soho...yarn, felt, and fabric heaven.

We found a Hugo lookalike project!

Day 4: After finding a pie shop for breakfast (this was an amazing food trip, by the way), we headed to the corporate office of Etsy. We got a tour of the offices and Etsy Labs and were delighted to find that the Etsy office was basically one giant DIY project--everything from vertical pocket gardens to crocheted ventilation pipes to quilted room dividers and even a tech conference room that looks like a space station.

Our last big stop before heading home was at Tattly, an innovative company that produces design-y temporary tattoos. We had a great meeting with the staff, and we've got a fun collaboration coming up...details to follow.

Well, that's a brief look at our trip. Thanks for joining us! We're back in Greenville and more excited than ever for the upcoming festival!

All the applications are in, which means this weekend our jury has the heavy task of deciding who will be in the show. Check back in next week to see the vendors. We can guarantee you're going to be excited about who'll be there.

Applications are Now Open!

We are officially accepting applications for the 2013 Indie Craft Parade!

Applications must be submitted before midnight EST on June 23, 2013 so tell all your creative friends and family members. If you have any questions about who can apply or what kind of handmade goods we're looking for, check out our Participant FAQs and then apply here!

Studio Tour: White Whale Studios and Gallery

Today we're taking you on a tour of one of Greenville's most unique artist co-op spaces, White Whale Studios and Gallery. Caroline George Lott is the owner of White Whale, a large house-turned-studios located about a mile from The Pendleton Street Art District. We asked her to share the story behind White Whale with our readers.

Indie Craft: When was White Whale founded, and was it always a dream of yours?

Caroline: Our Grand opening was October 2nd, 2009. Being an active part of the local artistic community was always a dream of mine. Owning and operating a studio was something that became a reality when we purchased a historical house in the Monaghan Mill community. We did not want to "ruin" the house by turning it into a multi-family house or just rent it out. We wanted to to have it live on as a place to serve the community.

One of the White Whale artists hard at work in his studio.

Indie Craft: We love that you turned a house into a group of artist studios. How many artists call White Whale home right now?Caroline: We currently have 7 fabulous artists. Most of the artists are full-time professional artists.

Common gallery spaces are located throughout the house.

Indie Craft: This big white house is such a beautiful and inspiring place. Do you know much of its history?Caroline: Yes, it was built circa 1890, even before the textile mill that is right down the street. It started out as a teacher's boarding house, and has been used in many different ways since. Anything from a boxing training facility to a bed and breakfast.

Indie Craft: What is the significance of the White Whale name?Caroline: The studio's name harkens back to Melville's infamous tale of a determined white whale (Moby Dick) outwitting the relentless Captain Ahab, just as the artists, within the walls of this old white house, battle the odds to pursue their work and life's calling.

You can visit White Whale Studios and Gallery during Greenville Open Studios.

The good news is that White Whale does have an available studio at the moment! If you're an artist in need of working space, you can email your portfolio to whitewhalestudios@gmail.com or visit the White Whale site to learn more about their mission in Greenville.

Available studio: 12 ft ceilings and plenty of natural light.

Also, be sure to follow White Whale on Facebook to keep up with their resident artists and find out about upcoming art shows.

Holiday Event you don't want to miss: December First Fridays, Kid Art show, and Joey Bradley Heirloom and ornament show

If you're weren't able to attend our Holiday Fair (or even if you did), here are a couple of great art events that are taking place this weekend. Tomorrow is the first Friday of the month, which means it's another great night for an art crawl. Studios up and down the streets of West Greenville will be open to the public, and two of our food favorites---Neue Southern and Asada---will be there to make it a party! In conjunction with the December First Fridays is a fabulous show (AND GIVEAWAY) by one of our long time artist friends--Joey Bradley. Joey has exhibited at Indie Craft Parade for the past two years, and we're continually amazed with the beauty of his work. At this event he'll be doing two giveaways, so be sure to check out the details on his Facebook page and attend the event for a chance to win some amazing fine art.

And to finish things off for tomorrow evening on Pendleton Street, you have to check out a show that will steal your heart. It's the annual Kid Art Show, featuring 5 young artists. The show will be hosted at the photography studio of Jeff Hall, Aaron Green, and Christine LeGrand. Here is a video from last year's show!

http://vimeo.com/14185061

Edit: Another great event we almost forgot to mention is the Art Bomb Luminary Christmas Show! The Art Bomb is a shared artist studio located just down the road from Joey Bradley and the Kid Art Show, at 1320 Pendleton Street. To find it, just follow the luminaries lining Pendleton Street. You can't miss it!

Indie Craft Parade Holiday Fair: The official details

What: Indie Craft Parade Holiday Fair When: Saturday December 1, 10 am – 5 pm Where: A smaller, more intimate venue in the Pendleton Street Arts District Artisan Traders, 1274 Pendleton Street, Greenville, SC 29611

We're less than a month away from our first annual Christmas event, and we're getting ready to celebrate a handmade holiday! Please share the word with friends, family, and anyone else you know who would love Indie Craft Parade.

New Venue! For our smaller, one day event, please note the change in venue from the Huguenot Mill. Here's a map to the new location.

We're so excited about all of the artists who are on board for the show. Here they are!

2D

Emily Jeffords Cory Godbey Shed Labs Chris Koelle

3D

Rachel Feece Pottery

Fiber Arts

Heather Keew Merciful Hearts Farm Once Again Sam Teri Goddard Handweaving Heartfelt

To Wear

17 Dove Street found*ling Hand Printed by Matt Butler Fox to the Opera Parachute The Cordial Churchman Audrey Laine Jewelry 

Paper Goods

Quill and Arrow Press The Gilded Fete Royal Buffet

Everything Else

canoo juxtaposition The Herb Garden The Chubby Cupcake Annie Koelle

**We're not joking about helping us spread the word. We've got stacks of postcards ready to share. Please email jen@indiecraftparade.com if you'd like some to put out at your work, school, local coffee shop or anywhere else.

Greenville Open Studios 2012 this weekend

Many of you probably work or live right around the corner from a Greenville artist, and you don’t even know it. Local artists don’t always work out of galleries or official studios, which is why you should take advantage of Greenville’s annual Open Studios. This event not only gives the community a chance to meet more of Greenville’s artists but also to tour their work spaces, to get to know their processes, and to connect on a more personal level. Open Studios is THIS WEEKEND! Saturday, November 3, 10am – 6pm & Sunday, November 4, Noon – 6pm. A few artists are even open on Friday evening.

About Greenville Open Studios from the Metropolitan Arts Council: Now in its eleventh year, Greenville Open Studios began as an idea cast about during a casual conversation between a small group of artists several years ago; they discussed doing something to raise awareness in the greater community of the tremendous creative energy in the area. The idea has evolved into a full-fledged annual event.

The 2012 self-guided tour will feature 140 artists and their studios this year.  Studio locations vary throughout a 15-mile radius of downtown Greenville with Easley, Greer, Travelers Rest and Dacusville included. Catalogues are available at MAC as well as at each artist’s studio. 

Open Studios even has a smart phone app that you can use to guide you to the artists and tell you about their work. Check it out at greenvilleopenstudios.com.