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!

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!

Pecha Kucha Night in Greenville

In my opinion, Pecha Kucha Night is one of the most fascinating concepts I've ever come across. "What are you talking about!"...you might be wondering right now. "What on earth is Pecha Kucha?" Well, Pecha Kucha (pronounced pe-CHALK-cha; from the Japanese phrase meaning "chit chat") is a forum that believes that everybody has something interesting to say and should have the opportunity to share it with others. So, four times a year, the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville hosts an evening where people from the community present a topic and a slideshow to the Pecha Kucha audience. Now, to keep the lectures from getting out of hand, Pecha Kucha has a few ground rules. From their website: Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

So within just a few short minutes, you can be educated on a variety of fun topics and have a great time in the process. Those topics can be anything ranging from "Why Bruce Wayne would have made a good architect" to a brief history lesson on "Hipsters." (See Pecha Kucha website for other past topics). Quirky? Absolutely! But this is a great way to know more about the people in your community. And you just need to dive in to enjoy the fun.

Now that you have a general idea of what Pecha Kucha night is, let's get to the details about the event.

Where: Warehouse Theatre When: March 27, 2012, presentations begin at 8:20 Cost: $5 at the door What: Come learn about anything and everything — 6 minutes and 40 seconds at a time. Learn more: http://www.pkngreenville.com/

So you might be wondering what our fascination with Pecha Kucha has to do with Indie Craft Parade. Well, Indie Craft Parade's very own Elizabeth Ramos, co-host of the event, has been heavily involved with Pecha Kucha for the past few years. She's been a presenter before (see presentation below), and this year Indie Craft Parade is actually one of the partners supporting Pecha Kucha night. We believe this event is fun, informative, and a great way to spend a night in Greenville. It's totally worth getting tickets, and who knows what you'll learn by the evening's end!

http://vimeo.com/13962353

Etsy Handmade Portraits

Needing some crafty inspiration? Head over to the Etsy TV page on Vimeo. They have a high quality collection of short films that feature artists and crafters throughout the States and even around the world. Here's one from a textile artist that I've admired for quite a while. She's Heather Moore of Skinny LaMinx in South Africa. Her designs are beautiful, and I think you'll enjoy this as much as I did.

Handmade Portraits: Skinny laMinx from Etsy on Vimeo.

Pinterest as a marketing tool

Do you use Pinterest? It seems like most of the creative types I know do. Pinterest is a fabulous resource for collecting inspiration and finding new resources. It has a simple but lovely interface, and best of all it stores everything in one place. But did you know that some people are using it for much more than just a creative morgue? Pinterest is quickly becoming an effective marketing tool for big and small businesses alike. This creative infographic from MGD Advertising gives a lot of insight into just how powerful Pinterest can be in driving people to you. Granted, the examples given below are for huge corporations. Nonetheless, the information might inspire you to harness the potential of a social media site that you already use and love .

For a better look at this graphic click here.

Just a final note: whether you're new to Pinterest or have been using for some while, please make sure that your usage is professional and above board. And mostly--give credit where credit is due. Pinterest has a good explanation of pin etiquette that is a helpful guide.

Last Chance to Bookmark Artists from the 2011 Indie Craft Parade

The 2nd Annual Indie Craft Parade had amazing vendors. Besides the fact that they are a group of talented artists with fabulous products, they're just great people. So we want to give you one last reminder to support them before we close the links to their websites. We're well under way in planning the 2012 Indie Craft Parade, and it's time to make room for a new lot of artists and crafters. The links on our Participants page will be live through this weekend. We will close them on Monday, January 23. Now is the time to bookmark or pin your favorite artists from the 2011 show.

Here's a little recap of our vendors work.

Letterpress card from Racing Snail Press.

Custom paper dolls from Jordan Grace Owens.

Eco-friendly bears by Pogo Shop.

Sculpture by CME Studios.

Pet clothes and accessories by Tree Parlor.

Pendants by Cameoko.

Thanks again to all of the 2nd Annual Indie Craft Parade participants. We loved having you, and we hope to see you in the future!

2011 Recap

On this last day of 2011, we're looking back on our festival stats for this year. It's always fun to see these numbers in graphic form. This data comes from applications and from a post-show vendor survey, so keep in mind that any of the vendor information is based only on those who responded to the survey. Click on the countdown graphic below to view all of this year's charts on Daytum — including Exhibitors by State, Entries per Category, and more!

Thank you all for your support of Indie Craft Parade this year and of 'our' artists through this holiday season. We'll see you next year!

Giveaway Winner Announced!

Congrats to Summer, commenter #29! You are the winner of the Christmas giveaway as chosen by random.org. We'll be emailing you with instructions on how to claim your prize.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered, we so enjoyed hearing what you love about Greenville. Our city is very lucky to have the support of people like you!

2011 Scholarship Winner

A few months ago, we announced the creation of an Indie Craft Parade scholarship fund. Today, we are pleased to announce that the 2011 winner of the $500 scholarship for art funding is Brook Glenn Elementary School in Taylors, SC.

An art project from students at at Brook Glenn.

While we knew it would be hard to choose just one school, since every art program needs extra funding, the board was impressed by the thorough plan submitted by art teacher Laura Shaw for utilizing the money in her arts curriculum. Laura's passion for inspiring students was very clear, and we're excited to partner with her and her school this coming year! Check back early next year for an update on the school and their program!

To introduce you to Brook Glenn, we wanted to share a few of the art projects the students have been working on and some quotes from their application:

"I believe that visual art is a language, one we encounter on an everyday basis and children need the ability to decipher and communicate through art."

Giant Holiday Card, Brook Glenn 5th Grade Class

"I have seen firsthand the joy and confidence a child receives from creating."

Primary Colors bubble wrap print, by Daniel (Pre-K)

We are excited about this new way that Indie Craft Parade can give back to our community, and we want to encourage each of you to remember your local schools too. Through this process, we were reminded that many art programs are lacking basic supplies and even a small donation of $25 or $50 could help greatly. This need prompted our board to contribute an additional $100 for art supplies to a second school, Gateway Elementary.

We've seen a glimpse of how much need there is for supporting the arts in our schools and while we can't fix everything, there are ways each of us can make a difference. Donate extra craft supplies you might have lying around the house, or encourage your church or workplace to contribute unused paper and supplies to a local art program. If you have more suggestions on how to help art teachers and their programs, add your comments below!

Christmas Giveaway!

Update: This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Summer, the winner! In the spirit of Christmas, we wanted to do something special for you, our wonderful supporters. You know there are two things we love: handmade art and Greenville! So, we put together a lovely basket of handmade goods created by Greenville artists, and some of them inspired by our amazing city. One of you lucky readers will take home this basket of goodies!

Let see what's inside...

Some cozy fingerless gloves made by erin elizabeth

A set of three ceramic pear ornaments created by Crave Studio(photo by Crave Studio)

A box of peppermint bark artisan marshmallows by Malo

The limited edition "What If Greenville" screen-printed poster by Shed Labs(photo by Shed Labs)

A set of six butterfly gift tags created by Royal Buffet

And a "Love Greenville" screen-printed tee shirt by Parachute Clothing(photo by Parachute Clothing) (Winner will specify shirt size)

To enter to win this basket of goodies, leave a comment on this post and tell us something you love about Greenville. A random winner will be chosen and announced Thursday, December 15.

This giveaway is open to anyone in the continental US. If the winner is local, we'll ask them to pick the basket up  in downtown Greenville, SC. If not, we'll ship it to them.

A HUGE thank you to all the wonderful artists listed above, who generously donated these items for the giveaway. Please remember to support your local artists this holiday season. Be good & buy handmade!

Be Good & Buy Handmade

Whether you're a shop owner or a shopper, it's always good to be reminded to seek out handmade. Buying mass produced items may be easy, but seeking out something handmade is better for everyone!

To help us remember this, Cory Godbey created a beautiful graphic for us this holiday season! This phrase was borrowed (with permission!) from Micah Coston and the Illyria Pottery holiday show that took place a few weeks ago. We liked it so much that we've immortalized it in official Indie Craft Parade lettering!

And we created a few easy ways for you to share and enjoy:

You can download this graphic in one of three sizes: Huge: high-resolution image you can print for your home or shop Medium: sized for desktop backgrounds! 2560 x 1440, 1920 x 1200, 1440 x 900,  1280 x 800, 1024 x 768 Tiny: 200 x 200 px badge for adding to your blog or site

There are still a few weeks left until Christmas — plenty of time to be good, buy handmade and encourage others to do the same. We want people to remember artists and makers this time of year, so feel free to share, reblog, or print this for your own personal use. Spread the word and remind people how important it is to support handmade art.

Winners announced!

Congratulations to Stephen Crotts, commenter #2 and Robin Asire, commenter #10! You are the lucky winners of the ad space giveaway, as chosen by our good friend random.org. Check your email for instructions on how to claim your prize! Thanks to all who entered, we loved hearing about the special gifts you've given and received. Even if you didn't win, we'd love to have you as sponsors of the Indie Craft Parade blog. Click here to learn more!

We Are Giving Away Advertising Space!

Our goal for the Indie Craft Parade blog is to bring you useful information all year long, whether you're a buyer, a seller, or just an admirer of all things handmade. Besides our posts, we also have ad spaces for sale. Yes, advertising helps us raise a little bit of money, but hopefully it also keeps you up to date on events and lets you know about great shops and handmade goods outside of our own annual festival. We know that a lot of artists and entrepreneurs are running Christmas sales and that they're figuring out how to get the word out about their shops this time of year. So we have a little holiday special of our own.We're giving away two half-size blog ads for the month of December. All you have to do is leave a comment below for a chance to win.

These two winners will be chosen randomly and announced on November 28th. If you're a winner, keep in mind you will need to give us artwork for your ad by the 30th. We know it's a tight turnaround, but we want to make sure you get the full month of December on the blog!

Please note. This isn't limited to artists. It could be for an event, a business-- anything that you think our readers would like to know about.

To enter to win free ad space, answer this question in the comments below: What is the most meaningful gift you've ever given or received?

It's official! Dates for Indie Craft Parade 2012.

We're quite excited because we recently got confirmation on our dates for the 2012 Indie Craft Parade. The festival will be held Friday, September 7 through Sunday, September 9. For a while we were afraid we might have to change our venue or drastically alter the dates due to renovations on the Huguenot Mill (our location for the last two years). However, our dates are in the clear. We'll be back at the beautiful restored mill, and we're so ready to begin planning our work for next year! Stay tuned. All of the new information for next year will be available on our home page within the near future.

Indie Craft Parade Scholarship

We're so excited to announce the Indie Craft Parade Scholarship Program! Since we started Indie Craft Parade, we've wanted to do more than just put on a great show in Greenville. We want to make a lasting impact on our community. One of our hopes for Indie Craft Parade is that we can inspire another generation of artists by getting involved with the art programs of Greenville County schools. Our hope that this scholarship program will not only help fund a school's art program that is lacking in resources, but also expose students to a greater spectrum of art than is typically available in a classroom setting. For 2011, one scholarship of $500 will be awarded to a school in Greenville County. We want our scholarship to extend beyond just funding. We hope to establish a true partnership with the school that is selected and work together to create opportunities for students and local artists to connect. This may include demonstrations, assemblies or field trips.

Any school located in Greenville County can apply for these art program funds. Applications can be found online, and must be submitted by October 31.  Let your school know about this opportunity! Applications will be selected based on three main criteria, including:

• Educational impact of the scholarship
• Need of the applying school
• Proposed use of the funds

Read all the details about this program at our Scholarship Webpage.

The Indie Craft Parade scholarship is open to all schools, both public and private, in Greenville County. All schools are eligible for funding without discrimination due to race, religion, or socioeconomic status.

Featured Sponsor - Metropolitan Arts Council

If you've been to many art events in Greenville, then you've probably seen the Metropolitan Arts Council logo. MAC is a local organization whose mission is to support every aspect of the art movement in Greenville. Over the past few years, they have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to advance the visual arts in our area. Indie Craft Parade is especially appreciative of MAC--not only for their generous support of all our city's art endeavors but also for their partnership with Indie Craft Parade this year.

MAC's vision from their website:

MAC’s vision is a vision for the community, and MAC will be Greenville County’s trusted and visionary champion of the arts. Our role is to gather support from the community and provide it to member arts organizations - with the outcome being a nationally recognized arts environment enjoyed and patronized by an ever-growing regional audience.

Their vision for Greenville County is quite inspiring, and we can't thank them enough for everything they've done for our community.

Photobooth Galleries

The free photobooth at Indie Craft Parade is always a hit, and this year was no exception. With fun props like mustaches, elephants, flags, and chalkboards, everyone seemed to have a blast in front of the camera. We're so thankful for our generous sponsor, Oh Snap Photobooth, for donating this awesome service! The photobooth galleries are now online, and you can browse them here:

Friday, September 9Saturday, September 10Sunday, September 11

Here's a few of our favorite photo strips!