Artist Showcase: Fiber Art

In our artist showcase series, we feature a few makers from each category, who you’ll get to meet in just over a month. We guarantee this little sneak peek will have you counting down the days until Indie Craft Parade!

Today we’re highlighting some of the artists from our Fiber Art category. In this section you’ll find amazing handmade work created with felt, fabric, and yarn. Often the artists are even responsible for making their own patterns, prints, and even the materials themselves. And once again we had a difficult time choosing who to showcase, there are so many talented artists in this category!

Bonnie Christine is a woman of many talents. She runs the blog Going Home to Roost, makes her own fabric designs, illustrations, and patterns. And makes the most amazing products from them all.

Jennifer Lesley Design creates a variety of original home goods and decorations. From hand printed, painted, or dyed fiber and fabric, she makes a one of a kind collection.

Muncle Fred Art is a felt florist. Whether looking for a long lasting arrangement for your living room, a gift for a special occasion, or decorations for you next big event, you're sure to love these creations.

Hey Baby Craft Co. is doing an amazing job of preserving traditional quilting with her own modern twist. We can't wait to see these in person!

Artist Showcase: 3D Fine Art

In our artist showcase series, we feature a few makers from each category, who you’ll get to meet at the festival about a month and a half. We guarantee this little sneak peek will have you counting down the days until Indie Craft Parade!

Today we’re highlighting some of the artists from our 3D Fine Art category. In this section you’ll find amazing handmade work created with wood, glass, metal, and ceramics. And once again we had a difficult time choosing who to showcase, there are so many talented artists in this category!

Bean and Bailey ceramics is a Chattanooga duo producing small-batch functional porcelain pots. They use colored porcelain slip to construct both subtly organic forms, as well as faceted vessels inspired by natural crystals and gems.

Churp Modern combines an interest in bird houses and modern architecture. Matt Estrada uses reclaimed wood to house the yard birds in style.

SLAB creates beautifully function home goods. From the local Greenville mills, they source top quality walnut, cherry, and maple wood and produce serving boards, utensils, and perfectly streamlined furniture.

Pixels and wood combines a love of hand lettering with reclaimed goods. From the workshop in Winston-Salem, they take pride in bringing new life to old things and repurposing them in unexpected ways.

Featured Sponsor: MailChimp

One tool we frequently use that makes our lives easier also happens to be a company who actively supports creative events across the country like Indie Craft Parade. It’s our friends at MailChimp!We like to seek out sponsors whose services are valuable and relevant to our artists and fans. And we also like to share tools we use to make our organization more efficient. MailChimp is both of those.

If you receive our Indie Craft Parade or Makers Summit newsletters, then you’ve seen MailChimp in action. (And if you’re not on the list, you can sign up at the bottom of our sites!). MailChimp makes communicating via email so much easier.

They also provide a set of great Resources for beginners, whether you're selling items online, a nonprofit like us, or just getting started sending emails. For those already familiar with MailChimp, be sure to look into the many ways you can integrate your MailChimp account with other services you use regularly like Facebook, Twitter and some eCommerce platforms!

While you're at it, be sure to let MailChimp know you appreciate their support of events like Indie Craft Parade.

Artist Showcase: 2D Fine Art

It’s time to start one of our favorite blog series. As we get closer to the 2014 festival, we’ll be featuring a few artists from each category. You'll get to meet them all at the festival in just a few short weeks. We guarantee this little sneak peek will have you counting down the days until Indie Craft Parade! 

Let’s start off the series with some makers from our 2D Fine Art category. There are so many talented artists; it’s hard to pick just a few!

Chris Koelleworks on a variety of illustrative, graphic, and design from here in Greenville, SC. You should check out his impressive list of published works. His series of botanical prints and originals will be a feature of his booth at Indie Craft Parade.

ElloLovey creates inspiring and whimsical prints as well as other handmade goods from her home studio. You'll find that her creations are partly inspired by her British heritage as well as the woodland scenery that surrounds Asheville, NC.

Joe Engel is a mixed media artist dividing his time working and living in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Working out of a small studio in the countryside, Joe creates original handmade artwork with a combination of salvaged materials and original designs. 

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 jury: how it works and who's behind it

We're so pleased to announce this year's jury who will be responsible for choosing the 2014 exhibitors for Indie Craft Parade. These people have shaped their artists' communities both at home and abroad, and we know they're going to help us put on a magnificent show. Before presenting the jury, here’s a little insight into the process of how they will choose the participants in our show.

When all of the applications are collected, jury members review them by viewing the submitted photos as well as a brief description of the artist's work. This information is presented anonymously to the jury to level the playing field as much as possible. Each category is juried separately, so although applicants may apply in multiple categories (example: a ceramic artist that also makes screen printed tea towels). Artist's work may be accepted in some categories and declined in others. After reviewing the application, each jury member casts a vote for or against, and the application is accepted, declined, or put on a waiting list.

In previous years, our jury has met together as a group here in Greenville and curated the show in a single (very long) day. To better accommodate these generous folks and allow for a wider variety of jury members, we are moving our entire jurying process online. Our jury will now be able to review applications and cast their votes electronically. This allows us to select future jury members from a much broader area and ensures that Indie Craft Parade will continue to be fresh every year.

So without further ado, here's our jury:

Barb Blair: Owner of Knack Studios

Jon Andrews: Assemblage sculptor and professor

Katie Coston: Native Greenvillian now running a ceramics studio and shop in Oxford, England

Jude Landry: Professor and graphic designer, we love his Makers Gonna Make design

And new to the jury...The Indie Craft Parade team.

To make sure our vision for Indie Craft Parade never wavers, we've decided to claim a single jury vote for ourselves. Until this year, our main role in curating the festival has been to select the jury and facilitate the jurying day. Five years later, we'd like to weigh in. Of course, our collective vote will not count any more than other jury members. (Sorry to disappoint all of you who applicants who were ready to send bribes.) We still want the choosing of exhibitors to be guided by a panel of artists who we trust. But we do want to make sure our voice is represented as well.

So that's how it works. We're so thankful to the jury who takes the time to do a difficult job. All of our amazing applicants don't make their job easy!

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!

Next Event: Bookbinding

Our next event is coming up very soon, and if you've ever wanted to learn more about bookbinding, this is your chance! Cindy Leaders, an Indie Craft Parade alumnus and talented bookmaker will teach us how to create books using reclaimed materials. And what better place to learn about making books than at the library?

Join us at the Downtown Hughes Main Library in Greenville and learn how to make Buttonhole Pocket Books, a simple bookbinding technique that is easy to recreate at home. These little books would be perfect for sketching, journaling or even giving as a gift.

Cindy Leaders, with some of her Useful Books.

Students should bring a pair of needle nosed pliers (curved are preferable). Additional materials and tools will be provided to make three 3” x 4” books. All skill levels are welcome.

When: Saturday, May 3, 2014 from 2 PM – 4 PM Where: Hughes Main Library, 25 Heritage Green Place, Greenville, SC 29601 Cost: $22

Reserve your spot now!

Workshop Recaps

It's hard to believe that there's only a couple of workshops left on the calendar. We've had such an amazing time getting to know all of you who have attended the workshops. We began the monthly workshops to extend our relationships with the community, and we think it's been a great success. I know we've seen some of you at every event--so wonderful! We're also thankful to the instructors who have so kindly shared their talents and knowledge with our participants. Here's a quick look back at the previous two workshops. Also a look ahead at what's on the calendar.

Jivan Dave demonstrating and instructing the best way to use your iPhone for product photography:

Amy Walcher of Urban Digs teaching how to build and maintain a successful terrarium. We had no idea what all went into it--such great information!

A look ahead:

Remaining workshop classes--Bookbinding and Homebrewing Indie Craft Parade applications open on June 1!

The Makers Summit Recap

Wow! What a weekend. It was thrilling to gather with so many new attendees, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and friends. I hope you've been reliving the day through the attendee photos on Instagram. Indie Craft Parade will release our recap video and official photos in the next week or so, but until then, be sure to check out #makerssummit on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also read a really great takeaway from the event from the Brains on Fire Blog. Here are some of our favorite attendee Instagram shots:

Entering The Makers Summit by goinghometoroost.

The main conference hall by bofagram.

The business card guestbook by french_ashley.

Vagabond Barista's pour over bar by theflyformal.

Makers Gonna Make Tattly by tjbreil.

Jude Landry's keynote by indiecraftparade.

Just before dinner by lilyasher.

Menu shot by our presenting sponsor virb.

Party Lounge during The Best Craft Party Ever by michelle_smth.

Goods from all the party stations by onceagainsam.

Sponsor Feature: Frontier Label

Frontier-Logo-blog

We're shouting it from the rooftop: We Love Frontier Label! If you're a maker and want to take your product to the next level, you need to talk to them right away. Frontier specializes in every sort of custom labels. And there's a good chance they've printed labels for companies and products you love.

Fast, efficient, friendly, what more can you ask from a company? Frontier is all these things and more. What amazing products have they done? I'm glad you asked. Just see below.

Liddabit Sweets

Charleston Soap Chef

Knot & Bow

For many more samples of their incredible work, check out their Pinterest page.

One Week away!

Hey Makers Summit Attendees! We'll see you a week from tomorrow. Just to get you excited, here's our video from last year. We're very proud of the 2013 conference, but we think that 2014's will be even bigger and better. It's gonna be a great day!

http://vimeo.com/59165227

Featured Sponsor: Virb

We're only a week and a half out from The Makers Summit. Crazy! We've been planning and working for what seems like months on end, and now it's almost here.

In the short time we have before meeting everyone at the conference, we want to get you pumped up about all the amazing people you'll meet next Saturday. Speakers, sponsors, and attendees alike contribute to make this conference and party memorable, but we really wouldn't be able to provide what we do

without the help of Virb

--an incredible build-your-own website service.

Your website--which tells the world who you are--can make or break your business. That first online impression is so important, and Virb can help you communicate your brand and products in a simple elegant way. This is one product that we'll sing the praises of over and over again.

http://vimeo.com/49684263

Here's some first hand experience from Erin, one of our directors:

I recently used Virb to build a website, and was blown away by how incredibly easy it was to create a beautiful website. My husband is a professional 

illustrator, and had been needing a new website for years. I'm relatively tech-savy, and thought I knew enough to use one of the various website template services. I tried a couple different services, but was so frustrated by the difficulty that I was about to give up, when a friend recommended I try Virb. After tinkering with it for a few minutes, I was hooked. A couple hours later, I had created an amazing website! 

(You can check it out here.)

 Their websites are designed specifically for the creative community, and have all kinds of great features like integrated shops with Big Cartel and Etsy. The templates are so beautifully designed and easily customizable, it was dream to work with. After seeing how easy Virb was to use and how ideal it was for makers, I knew this was a resource we needed to share with the makers community. I reached out to Virb and asked them to partner with us for The Maker Summit, and the rest is history! 

Virb will play a huge role in our event next week. In addition to being the presenting sponsor of

The Best Craft Party Ever

(which is shaping up to be amazing!), Virb is hosting one of our 4 workshops. The lucky people who snagged tickets to the conference will have an opportunity to learn first hand how to make a customized website start to finish.

Whether or not you're attending The Makers Summit, it's worth taking a look at the services Virb has to offer. You'll be amazed at how something so simple will yield such impressive results.

Featured Sponsor: Big Cartel

One of the newest sponsors to join The Makers Summit this year is Big Cartel, another partnership we are really excited about! Big Cartel has been around since 2005, and handles behind the scenes shopping functionality for all kinds of beautiful online shops. One of the biggest benefits Big Cartel offers is the ability to host your shop on your own site, fully customized. They also have very reasonable flat fee pricing, beginning with a free plan that you can try out and see if it works for you and your products.

One of the pieces from The Big Cartel Shop

If you're thinking about opening an online shop soon and want to know what options are out there, you'll definitely want to hear our Makers Summit panel about this very topic. We'll have representatives from Big Cartel, Square Market and ScoutMob discussing various methods of selling online, and answering attendee questions about getting the most out of your shop.

Another reason that we love Big Cartel is their support of independent artists. Initiatives like their Field Guides help artists tackle issues like copyright, taxes, and making your shop better. These efforts are perfectly in line with our plans for The Makers Summit, so we're excited to join forces and tackle these things together next month.

If you haven't already, grab your Makers Summit ticket and come see what else Big Cartel has to offer!

MailChimp: Featured Sponsor

MailChimp has been one of our biggest supporters from day one, and we're pretty big fans of theirs as well. They are a sponsor of the 2014 Makers Summit! A few months ago, we finally had the opportunity to visit their Atlanta offices. One of the first things we saw when we walked in was this amazing embroidered front desk! We knew we were in the right place.

MailChimp has a reputation of supporting creative and small business ventures like ours. So it seemed fitting that their front desk would be a giant example of craftsmanship.

We got to explore the offices with our friend Marco, and meet a few of the people that make MailChimp tick.

We were especially impressed by the 3D printer station for employees!

If you receive our Indie Craft Parade or Makers Summit newsletters, then you've seen MailChimp at work. (And if you're not on the list, you can sign up at the bottom of our sites!). MailChimp makes communicating via email so much easier. And they provide a lot of Resources for beginners. Here are a few to get you started:

MailChimp for Online Sellers MailChimp for NonprofitsMailChimp for Bloggers and even, a coloring book for kids!

We know you'll enjoy working with Freddie just as much as we do!

cheers to 2013: Indie craft parade Year in Review

Thank you all so much for joining us for all the fun of 2013. We've had an amazing year...our best yet. This community is so supportive, and we know we can't succeed without you. Just for fun, as we're standing on the brink of 2014, we wanted to highlight our favorite moments of the past year.

SPRING 2013

School Scholarship We love to give back to our community whenever possible. Here's a look at our School Scholarship recipient from 2013.

The Makers Summit It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year since the initial Makers Summit--so many great sponsors, speakers, and attendees. Be sure to put the upcoming conference on your calendar. For all ticket information and details about the Best Craft Party Ever, check here.

SUMMER 2013

Indie Craft Parade visits NYC This past June, our staff took a trip to Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, which is a huge part of the national arts and craft movement. This adventure also led us to a great partnership with some of this year's sponsors like Etsy and Tattly.

New website! Thanks to the creative genius of Andrew Ramos and Robojuice, we got an amazing online makeover. Remember this old website? Feels like forever ago.

Community Worknight An expanded festival means more garland. We were really happy to give our artists and attendees more room this year, but that required a lot more decorations. Thanks to the help of an amazing team of volunteers, we cranked out hundreds of linear feet of our 6 color garland, one of Indie Craft Parade's trademarks.

FALL 2013

The Festival Every one of the four festivals we've hosted has incredible memories of meeting new friends, discovering new artists, and making an impact on our community. I can't think of this past festival without becoming a little overwhelmed with gratitude for the support shown to us. We had our biggest event yet--a sold out VIP Gala and filled to capacity attendance throughout the weekend.

Recipe for Press workshop Press guru Amy Flurry brought our community a powerful seminar where she shared insight into how to think like an editor.

WINTER 2013

New to Indie Craft Parade: DIY workshops We're immensely thankful for the people in our community who help foster a love for art, craft, and design. So over the past couple of months, we've partnered with some of them to spread new ideas and skills with our followers. So far we've hosted workshops for furniture makeovers, paper crafts, and wreath making. If you missed this classes, don't worry! We've got a great line up of classes for 2014.

The Holiday Fair And to our last favorite moment of 2013...we closed out the year strong with our Holiday Fair, an abbreviated version of the September Festival. We hope that all of your gift recipients enjoyed their handmade holiday as much as we did.

It's hard to believe it, but Indie Craft Parade is entering its 5th year as an organization. Thank you to those who've contributed to our success, and welcome aboard to anyone who's just getting started. Because of all of you, we're anticipating an even better year for 2014.

Merry Christmas!

Just a little note to wish you all a very merry Christmas! We hope your holidays are filled with all things happy and handmade.

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.

What to expect at the Holiday Fair

Tomorrow's the big day! We can't wait to see you all come out to the Indie Craft Parade Holiday Fair. Here are some final details to help make your experience the best it can be.

Where and When is the Holiday Fair?

The Holiday Fair will be located at 1241 Pendleton Street in The Village of West Greenville. The hours are 10 am to 6 pm. Please note, this is NOT the same location as our September festival. If you go to the Huguenot Mill there will not be anyone there.

Who will be there?

We will have 30 artists at the Holiday Fair. This makes it a smaller event than the September Festival, but we've specially picked our vendors who are excellent for Christmas shopping. So bring your list!

What about admission cost? 

We are asking for a $1 donation per person at the door. However, kids 12 and under are free, so please bring the whole family. We want everyone to enjoy the festival.

Will there be a line?

Probably. Last year we had 1,300 attendees throughout the day, and we expect that number to increase. However, there's a lot of other things to do in the Village, so the crowd should be dispersed pretty evenly.

So, what else is there to do in the Village?

It's going to be a neighborhood party! All of the shops and studios will be open. There are some really great staples in the Village like Knack, Crave, and The Flatiron Studios. However, you'll have to check out a couple of holiday pop up shops that will make your trip to the Village complete.

Pop Up Shops?

There's two special limited time shops that will be open this weekend. You've already learned about the LP Pop Up Shop in our guest post earlier this week. You also have to check out our friends at We took to the Woods. This is your stop for specialty foods, hand poured candles, luxury goods, an amazing selection of curated antiques, and so much more.

We Took to the Woods Pop Up

LP Vintage Pop Up

What about food?

We've got some great options for you! In addition to the Greenville's favorite trucks, Asada, Neue Southern, and Thoroughfare, we'll be hosting some of our favorite bakeries, Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery and Upcountry Provisions to serve pastries, sandwiches, and sweet treats. Of course the food scene would not be complete without Vagabond Barista, who will be serving inside the LP Pop Up Shop.

SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW!!

Photos from We Took to the Woods,Milk Moon Vintage, and TOWN.

Holiday Fair: Gift Guides

The Holiday Fair is the perfect place to take care of all your Christmas shopping. You’ll find something for everyone on your list, a one-of-a-kind gift that’s sure to steal the show. Here's a little sneak peek at the handcrafted goods you'll see this Saturday.

ChristmasSpecialties

Stocking Stuffers

Homegoods

Food & Entertaining

Artwork

Gentlemen

Lovely Ladies

Jewelry

Children

NatureInspired

And of course, don't forget to get yourself something special too from the Holiday Fair!