Sponsor Feature: Vagabond Barista

We've got a real treat for any coffee lovers at this year's event. Will Shurtz founder of the Vagabond Barista is setting up his mobile coffee bar as one of our sponsors and food vendors. He'll be donating his services for the VIP Gala event (in case you need yet another reason to attend), and he'll also be among our food vendors on Saturday and Sunday of the event.

After working as a local barista for the past 3 years, Will realized a gap in Greenville's coffee/breakfast culture, namely that precious few places brewed coffee using methods such as siphon and chemex brews, and you certainly wouldn't be able to find anything this specialized at local events. Besides making one seriously good cup of joe, Will is a coffee guru. He has a deep knowledge about the beans he's serving, and he only sources coffees that are top quality from planting to roasting.

Will currently brews for various events about town. You can contact him via Facebook or Twitter if you're interested in having at your next event. Otherwise, you can visit him at Cowork Greenville where he's brewing on a weekly basis. The processes through which he makes cups of coffee are both beautiful and delicious. We're so excited to introduce yet another handcrafted element of Indie Craft Parade.

Behind the scenes of indie craft parade: why greenville?

Within the past decade, there has been a rebirth of the handmade, DIY ethic. Now in cities across the nation you can find huge communities of part-time and professional artists, as well as a population of non-artists willing to support them. Three years ago we saw this trend developing in places like San Francisco, Brooklyn, Austin, and Portland and decided we needed to bring it to Greenville, South Carolina. photo by Mike Burton

Why Greenville? It certainly doesn't have the population of a large city, and South Carolina as a whole doesn't necessarily have the reputation as a trend setting state. Nonetheless, our little city has caught the attention of many outsiders. Within the past year, Greenville has been listed among Forbes' "best downtowns" and CNN's "fastest growing cities." Greenville has even impressed the New York Times,which has taken note of our developments. On top of that, Greenville for many years has boasted a thriving fine art community.

We've lived and worked in Greenville for a number of years, fell in love with the city and all it has to offer, and decided that it would be the perfect location for an Indie art fair--just like all those big creative cities.

We frequently get asked if Indie Craft Parade is part of a franchise or a larger national craft fair. We're so happy to reply--no! Indie Craft Parade is an independent event, created specifically for the city we love. Most of our sponsors and nearly all of our volunteers come from right here in the Upstate. And while we invite people from our surrounding states to visit our event, even our attendees hail mostly from here.

We're so thankful to be going into our third year as Indie Craft Parade--so thankful to the people in our town for supporting us! And we think it's pretty awesome that Indie Craft Parade is making a contribution to the national crafting movement.

"Love Greenville" tee created by Indie Craft Parade vendor Parachute Clothing

VIP Gala tickets now on sale!

Get 'em while they're hot! Your ticket guarantees you an evening of relaxed shopping, great food, and a chance to win gift baskets from our artists. Food and drink will be provided by Chef 360 and the Vagabond Barista. Keep checking back with us to learn more details about this fabulous evening.

Tickets are already going fast, so make sure you reserve your spot! We hope to see you there!

Sponsor Feature: BuySellAds

We're so thankful for all of the companies that donate goods and services to make Indie Craft Parade possible. However, there are a few that go above and beyond in their contributions--one of which we want to introduce today. I'm referring to BuySellAds.com, a company that can help you wade through the confusion of online advertising. BuySellAds is a hassle free way to either increase the amount of people who advertise with you or to find the best means to tell others about your business. Whether you're a small business, a large corporation, a developing blog, or a event (like us!), BuySellAds has a solution for you. Not only does BuySellAds have plans within a variety of price ranges, but also they provide great support for their customers. They're a team of real people ready to answer your questions about where and how to advertise. They also have help topics and fun infographics (like the one below), to help you learn more about the online advertising industry.

Thank you BuySellAds for all you do support the creative community!

Announcing the 2012 VIP Gala!

After the smashing success of last year's VIP Opening Gala, we decided the 2012 event would not be complete without another one. We're so very excited to share all of the details with you.

On Saturday and Sunday, September 8 & 9, Indie Craft Parade is free and open to the public. With the fabulous vendors, great food, and fun atmosphere, those days attract hundreds of people per hour. So we've created an exclusive event that gives a limited number of attendees a first look at the amazing goods for sale. On Friday night, September 7 from 6 to 9 PM, ticket holders will be able to not only enjoy the relaxed shopping atmosphere, but also enjoy complimentary food and drink as well as live music and a chance to win gift baskets provided by participating artists.

We received rave reviews about the event last year, and we believe that this year's party will be even better. Tickets will go on sale August 1--less than 10 days away. We expect  the passes to sell quickly, so be sure to put the sale dates on your calendar. To learn more about the event, see more photos, or be notified of when tickets go on sale, visit the VIP Gala page of our website. We hope to see you there!

Food and Drink will provided by these amazing sponsors!

Some Fine Print from our website:

Tickets will be sold online in a first come, first serve manner beginning August 1st at 10am. At the event, ticket confirmations must be presented at the door.

Tickets include admission for only one person. Children cannot be included on an adult's ticket. Tickets only apply to the Friday night event — Saturday and Sunday are free admission and open to the public.

A selection of wine and beers will be included in the menu. You must be 21 or older and present a valid ID to drink.

Sponsor Feature: MailChimp

The closer we get to the main event, the more we want to tell you about the people who make the festival possible. Today, I want to share all the goodness of MailChimp with you. If you're a business owner, event coordinator, or leader of any group that takes a lot of communication, MailChimp could be an indispensable tool for you.

MailChimp describes themselves as a way to help you: design email newletters, share them on social networks, integrate with services you already use, and track your results. In short, they call themselves "your own personal publishing platform." Besides keeping you and your followers organized, MailChimp provides beautiful design templates, loads of free advice and tutorials, and even ways to manage all of your features on the go. Best of all, you can get most of the MailChimp services for FREE! Their no-nonsence approach to mass communication combined with their fun personality and great design make MailChimp a great tool for anybody.

We at Indie Craft Parade have used MailChimp to organize our newsletters and campaigns for the past few years, and we're so happy to say they've joined forces with us this year. The generous donations of this creative company truly makes it possible for us to continue putting on the high caliber event we give Greenville each year. We're so thankful that MailChimp supports the creative community!

Join us for the Etsy Global Craft Party

We're so excited to be helping again with the local manifestation of Etsy's Global Craft Party. Last year we had so much fun meeting new crafters, sharing our current projects, and learning more about art and craft in Greenville. Well, it's that time of year again. We're partnering with the local Etsy Street Team to bring you this fun (and FREE) event. Even though the party is still over a month away, we want to give you plenty of time to put this on your calendar.

Not sure what the Etsy Craft Party is? Here's what Etsy has to say about it: Craft Party is a time to get to know your neighbors and exercise your creative spirit. Craft Parties take place around the world when communities come together to participate in art, craft, design and DIY in every form. Anyone can organize a Craft Party and anyone can participate — the power is literally in your hands!

So join us for a night of BYO Crafts. It's a perfect time to start, further, or finish a project you haven't been able to get to. Just bring your supplies, and get to work. Or you can participate in the global theme for the night: "Wish You Were Here." Etsy is encouraging everyone to make crafts inspired by their hometowns.

To participate in this one night of crafting awesomeness, simply sign up at Meetup.com. And the sooner you sign up the better. If we have 25 participants committed by August 12, Michael's will donate a box of craft supplies for us to share the night of the party. So don't drag your feet. Get over to the Meetup page and sign up. You can always find updates for the event on our Facebook Page.

Sponsor Feature: Lark Crafts

We've officially entered festival season! Only 9 short weeks and Indie Craft Parade will be here--9 weeks, can you believe it? We've got so much to share with you between now and then: featured vendors, new things to expect this year, details about the VIP Gala...the list goes on and on. But today, we're excited to share with you one of our fabulous sponsors--Lark Crafts--a resource you need to have in your crafty arsenal. From their website: Lark Crafts is a creative publishing group based in the beautiful and artistic mountain town of Asheville, NC. We love showcasing the best the craft world has to offer through how-to projects, comprehensive technique guides, spectacular visual galleries, and everything in between. Lark has been in the business of providing crafters with information and inspiration for 25 years, so we’re steeped in tradition. We’re also enthusiastically engaged in where crafting is going. We’ve been an integral part of how the craft community has grown, changed, and evolved over the last couple of decades—and how it has recently exploded in size and expanded in all kinds of exciting new directions. 

For the 2012 Indie Craft Parade, Lark Crafts is generously sharing from their stores of crafty knowledge by donating over 100 books to the event. That means over the course of the festival we're able to give away all of those books to our attendees, pushing crafty inspiration even further into our community. Just take a look at some of the titles that we have access to!

Making Mini Books

Hand in Hand

Soapmaking the Natural Way

Simple Stitches: Sewing

Paper Cuts

Stash Happy: Felt

Easy Concrete

Doodle Stitching

So, if you didn't already have a million reasons to attend Indie Craft Parade this September, come to win one of these amazing books! Just a note: your chances of winning a book are greater when attending the VIP Gala, so stay tuned to know when tickets become available.

The Jurying is complete!

We had a great weekend with Indie Craft Parade! This past Saturday, we spent the whole day with our prestigious jury, as they sorted through scores and scores of applicants to select this year's vendors. As always, the jury's job was not easy. We had so many good applications, which makes for stiff competition. However, we believe they did a great job (why we picked them to serve on the jury in the first place). And we're thrilled because we'll get to announce the official list of participants in the very near future viewing anonymous application photos on a flat screen TV, keeping in mind the Indie Craft Parade standards

All applicants should receive their status notifications today via email. Once they've sent us confirmation, we'll be able to share with you who's in the show. It's killing us having to wait like this, but we think you'll agree...this year will be an amazing show!

Reminder: Applications close in 3 days!

If you haven't gotten your application for our 2012 festival yet, don't delay! Applications will close promptly at midnight on this Sunday, the 24th, and we don't accept late submissions. You can find out more details about applying on our website, and submit your application using our simple online form. We've received so many wonderful submissions so far, make sure your work is part of the mix!

Felting Workshop

We wanted to let you know about a fun opportunity coming up very soon. A felting workshop will be held next month, July 19 from 4-6 pm, at Greeville's Slow Food Upstate Earth Market. Cassie Larsen, of Little Creek Plantation, will teach you how to make felt with wool from her own sheep, the Navajo-Churro breed. Space is limited, so reserve your spot now by emailing janettewwesley@yahoo.com.

The class is held outdoors in the shade, and water is used for felting; so dress comfortably.

Here are all the details: July 19, 2012, 4–6 pm $70.00 Materials and Class Fee (Limited to 10 participants) 10% discount to Slow Food Members

Confirm Reservations by check to: Little Creek Plantation c/o Earth Market Workshop 1845 Turpentine Still Road Brunson, SC 29911

What are you working on? Local Art and Craft.

We've seen a lot of crafty goodness recently--from people's personal projects to local craft nights to official art shows. We love being a part of this brilliant community, and I've got some fun pictures to share from some recent events. First a round of photos from last weekend at Craft Bar Happy Weekend--the show in Columbia. We had a great time reconnecting with some of the vendors who participated in the 2011 Indie Craft Parade.

Rachel Feece pottery

Shed Labs prints

Owlette Collective children's accessories

Fox to the Opera fabric jewelry

17 Dove Street jewelry

Marisol Spoon fine art

Second, I wanted to show some pictures of the fabric jewelry making class held at Even A Sparrow. Such a fun night!!

The group learning to make yo-yos.

The adorable Anya, showing off her fabric rings and pin.

If you're getting your craft on, we want to know about it! Email pictures to jen@indiecraftparade.com. Or better yet, submit an application to be a vendor at the 2012 Indie Craft Parade!

Crafty Book Giveaway Winners

Alright folks, the moment you've been waiting for. And the winners of the Lark Crafts book giveaway  (as chosen by random.org) are: Congratulations Winners! We'll be contacting you shortly on the details of picking up your books.

Calling all Artists!

Applications are officially open for the third annual Indie Craft Parade! Use our online form to submit your work from now until midnight EST June 24, 2012. The application process is done entirely online and it's simple and easy to use thanks to the quality work of Duo Interactive.

We can't wait to see all the amazing work that comes in!

Happy 1 Year Blogiversary! We're celebrating with a giveaway!

Come celebrate with us! Today, our blog turns 1 year old.  And for the party, we’ve got something for you!  One of our amazing sponsors, Lark Crafts, has donated a number of crafting books for this year's festivities, and today we're giving away 10 copies of a fabulous book to our blog readers! You could win a copy of Doodle Stitching, the Motif Collection. 

From Lark Crafts: This follow-up to the best-selling Doodle Stitching offers fans expanded and updated basics, 400+ embroidery motifs on the page and on a CD sealed in the back of the book, 17 projects, and lots of inspiration. More than a dozen categories include Alphabet, Asian Chic, Baby, Celebrations, Embellishments, Flowers, and Woodland Creatures—and each section includes a motif stitched by the author. 

To enter for a chance to win a copy of Doodle Stitching, all you have to do is leave a comment below answering this question:

What craft projects do you hope to accomplish in the month of June? (answer in the comments below.)

Please, only one entry per person. Random winners will be chosen next Monday, June 4th (at midnight) and announced here on the blog on Tuesday! Also, for shipping reasons, only Greenville area residents are eligible to win. You must be able to pick up your book here in town.

Thank you so much for your support over the last year! We so appreciate our followers and look forward to many blogiversaries to come!

Exciting Weekend Event--Sale from Parachute Clothing!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope your weekend plans include some handmade goodness. I have two events to share with you--one starting tomorrow and the second for the first week of June. First, ever shopped on Fab.com? It's a limited-run deal site that features design-y products from kitchen goods to original artwork. And frequently the site features handmade goods, vintages wares, and well-designed accessories. If you've never looked into the goods on Fab.com, you're really missing some nice work. With that introduction, one of our 2011 Indie Craft Parade vendors, Parachute Clothing, is going to be having a sale on Fab.com this weekend, and we wanted to let you know about it. For the next three days (starting Saturday, Sunday, and Monday), all Parachute items will available on Fab.com for 30% off. All of the shirts are designed and printed by hand here in Greenville, SC. And the guys of Parachute would love to see some hometown support for their sale. Plus, they're going to be releasing a brand new set of tees just for this sale. 

Second, if you're in Columbia next weekend, June 1 or 2, don't forget about Craft Bar Happy Weekend. It looks like it's shaping up to be a fun handmade craft show, and there will also be a handful of Indie Craft Parade vendors present.

Have a great weekend!

Sign up for a Fabric Jewelry Class

Looking to expand your crafty skills? Want to learn to make some new jewelry? Well, there's a fun jewelry class next week that you might be interested in. Jen Moreau, an regular Indie Craft Parade participant, is teaching a fabric jewelry making class at a local boutique, Even a Sparrow. The class will include all of the supplies and instructions to make a fabric ring and a brooch. Plus it will be a great evening of meeting other crafty people in Greenville. So sign up with a friend, and contact Holly at the boutique if you have further questions.

To see a sample of Jen's work and get an idea of what kind of jewelry you'll learn to make, check out this link.

Mini Book Collective Recap

We've mentioned before the Mini Book Collective that's been on display at Art and Light for most of the month April. Well, if you haven't seen it, there's just a few more days left in the month for you to swing by. Besides the Collective on display, the rest of the gallery is curated with everything made from paper and books. Entry way to Art and Light Gallery where it's books, book, books.

Display of Greenville themed books. Jason Wagoner, Christin O'Bryan and Rachael Madeline have new work including lots of handmade journals. The pieces are quite beautiful.

Teresa Roche also has a new collection of mixed media pieces using book jackets. The pages of the books were folded into creative mobiles shown below.

Only a few more days to see these. It's worth the trip!

What are you working on? Art and Craft in Greenville.

I've got some cute handmade goodness to share with you today. More submissions from around Greenville! We have such an awesome crafty community. If you have a craft or art pieces you want to share, please email photos and stories to

jen@indiecraftparade.com

.

First these adorable applique baby tees from Annabelle Carter from

Humdiddly Blog

. She makes them for her boys and also sells them on her Etsy shop.

Owl appliques for both boys and girls.

I love the giraffe!

Second, I want to share these refinished furniture goods from Shan Grech. This London born girl now lives in Greenville, and as a hobby she refinishes cast off furniture with the oh-so-popular chalk paint.

She gives second hand uglies, like this, a fresh life, like these below.

If you want to see more of her work, she has some on display at

Even A Sparrow Boutique

.

Trunk Shows, Craft Shows and More Events you don't want to miss!

It's that time of year--the calendar is filling up with creative events. Can you believe that it's just a little more than a month till applications open for Indie Craft Parade?? We're so excited to see the work of artists and crafters this year. But in the meantime, the final days of April hold a number of events that we just have to share with you. It's already been an awesome month with events like the Mini Book Collective and Illyria Pottery Show. So if you don't already know about these upcoming shows, you want to take note. In two weekends, there are TWO notable crafty events on the same day. (Oh to be in two places at once!!) The first event is here in Greenville. It's the Spring Flea hosted by the Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery. If you've never taken a bike ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, you just don't know what you're missing. It's one of the best ways to be active in Greenville. And local establishments like the Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery just make it that much better. The Cafe and Grocery offers light meals and snacks to hungry trail goers as well as a host of local farm fresh foods.

This past Christmastime, Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery hosted their first Flea Market. A number of Indie Craft Parade vendors, including Parachute Clothing, Red Clay Soap, and Malo, participated in the festivities. The event was a smashing success, and we're expecting no less for their Spring Flea. This is an outdoor event where you can sample great food, find new handmade products, and meet some great artisans who are making a difference in our community.

The second event on April 28 is one we've already told you about, but it's definitely worth the reminder. It's Crafty Feast in Columbia, SC.

This year, Crafty Feast is hosting 67 vendors at the Columbia Convention Center. Admission is $2. If you're a fan of Indie Craft Parade, then you'll be happy to see some familiar faces at the event. Some of our previous exhibitors will have booths at this event.

Besides, these two large festivals, I have a couple of small, but noteworthy events for you to be mindful of. This is short notice, but if you're free this Thursday, April 19, you should stop by local boutique Even A Sparrow for a trunk show. From 5:30 to 8:30 PM, Holly is hosting the Spring Debut Collections of Yellow Elm and  Creative Rumors. Elizabeth Blanton of Yellow Elm creates adorable felt accessories, and Rachel Hrinko and Lauren Runion of Creative Rumors remake cast-off clothing into handmade goodness. It will be a fun evening you don't want to miss.

And last but not least, Deb Potter of Merciful Hearts Farm is teaming up with the Greenville Museum of Art for an educational event. Deb has supplied Indie Craft Parade with gorgeous hand spun yarn for the past two years. And on April 22 at 2:00 PM she'll be demonstrating hands-on coil basketmaking.

Ok, that's it for now, but stay tuned. The season of crafty goodness is just warming up, so we'll have plenty of updates coming soon.