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!

Learn to Knit

The next workshop in this year's series of events is Learn to Knit with Deb Potter. You may remember Deb and her beautiful yarn from our festival, or from our About video, where she gives us a tour of her farm.

If you've always wanted to learn how to knit, or maybe you're just a bit rusty, this is for you! And in the spirit of all things warm and cozy, what could be a better location for this class than a tea room?

WHEN: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 from 7 PM – 10 PM WHERE: Tealoha, 131 E McBee Ave Greenville, SC 29601 COST: $25

DETAILS: Come for an evening of fun where you'll learn the basics of knitting. Create a cup cozy using a skein of Deb's handpainted wool yarn and go home with a finished product at the end of the night. All supplies are included in the cost of the workshop.

Class size is limited, so grab your friends and register here.

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.

Gift idea help

If you're still in need of a last minute gift idea for the creative person in your life, we might be able to help! Reserve a ticket for The Makers Summit or The Best Craft Party Ever (or both!) in time to give for Christmas.

 I If you're not familiar with The Maker's Summit, here's a quick overview:

The conference takes place Saturday March 1, 2014 from 9am - 5pm. Tickets include a light breakfast, lunch, keynote sessions, panel discussions, and one-on-one sessions with experts. The day is designed to connect fellow creatives while learning how to start or grow your creative business.

While the conference is geared toward creative entrepreneurs, the after party is open to anyone who loves great food, and making alongside others. The goal here is to simply celebrate the fun of making and meeting other makers. Learn more here.

There are 3 gift options to choose from:

· An all-access pass for both the conference and after party for $150.

· The conference day pass for $100.

· The Best Craft Party Ever evening pass for $50.

Reserve your gift ticket this week!

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!

Workshop: Winter Wreath

We’re getting giddy about our upcoming DIY class with the fabulous Julie Dodds of Willow Florals. Her distinctive floral styling is a feast for the eyes, and she's ready to share her tips and tricks with you! Julie will guide the class in making an incredible winter wreath from fresh pine branches and other natural elements. All the supplies will be provided, and at the end of the night you'll leave with a big beautiful wreath to take home and enjoy!

Update! The first class sold out so quickly, we added a second one!

WHAT:Winter Wreath

WHEN: Class # 1: SOLD OUT! Tuesday, December 3 from 7 – 10 pmClass # 2: Thursday, December 5  from 7 – 10 pm

WHERE: White Whale Studios, 401 Smythe St, Greenville, SC 29611

COST: $45 REGISTER HERE

DETAILS: Construct an evergreen wreath with Willow Florals that you can use all season long. There will be more than enough fresh boughs to go around as well as some foraged materials from the mountains of North Carolina. A wire wreath form as well as greens, cones and berries will be provided, and you can feel free to bring any special accoutrements to personalize your wreath.

Join us for this grand wreath-making party! Grab your friends and register here.

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

Workshop: Paper Ornaments with Mollie Greene

We're so excited for our upcoming crafting class with the amazing Mollie Greene of Royal Buffet and Sweet Paper Crafts. Mollie's fanciful paper lovelies never fail to delight, and now she's going to show you how to create wonderful ornaments for holiday gift giving, tree decorating, or present topping. All the supplies will be provided (vintage papers! glass glitter! and more!), just bring your own pair of scissors. Mollie has nearly 20 different ornament styles ready for you to create, see how many you can make!

WHAT: Paper Ornaments WHEN: Thursday, November 14 from 7 – 10 pm WHERE: Cowork, 1040 W. Washington Street, Greenville SC 29601 COST: $25 REGISTER HERE

DETAILS:Come for a fun evening of handcrafting original paper ornaments using vintage and antique papers, German glass glitter, tinsel, crepe paper, string, and more. Each participant will leave with the ornaments they create throughout the evening, and their own set of templates to take home for more holiday paper merrymaking.  All paper finery and other supplies will be provided, but we suggest bringing your own sharp scissors along with you. Mollie will be guiding you through the ornament making process as well as offering paper crafting tips and tricks along the way.

Here's a little peek at just a few of the ornament styles you'll learn to make:

These paper ornaments are so much fun to make and even more fun to give. They make the perfect gift for teachers too!

You don't want to miss this crafty evening with Mollie, it's going to be swell. Grab your friends and register here!

It's time to make stuff!

Our first few workshops have been a fabulous success! Here's what's coming up next...

Paper Ornamentswith Mollie Greene of Royal BuffetThursday, November 14 from 7 - 10 pm

Winter Wreathwith Julie Dodds of Willow FloralsTuesday, December 3 from 7 - 10 pm

Learn to Knit with Deb Potter of Merciful Hearts FarmThursday, February 6, 2014 from 7 - 10 pm

iPhone Photographywith Jivan Dave March 2014, more details to come

Succulent Terrariumwith Amy Walchers of Urban Digs Tuesday, April 8, 2014 from 7 - 10 pm

Bookbindingwith Cindy Leaders of Useful Books May 2014, more details to come

Homebrewing 101with Ben Alier and Grape and GrainsJuly 2014, more details to come

These classes fill up quickly, so register before it's too late!

Indie Craft Parade + Anthropologie workshop recap

Last week Indie Craft Parade teamed up with the Greenville Anthropologie to host a holiday garland workshop. The evening was a smashing success with nearly 60 people gathering for a night of crafting and merriment. Attendees helped create yards and yards of garland that will deck the Anthro windows this upcoming Christmas season. There was also a station where people could create their own garlands to take home. We had such a fun time meeting some new makers in our community, and we know everyone was excited to amp up their DIY skills. Setting up for the event. Notice how nicely our garland fits into the store!

The best part of the evening...we all got a sneak peek into the fantastic world of those famous Anthropologie displays. We learned that the visual director might spend months at a time planning storewide displays, and actually making the pieces can take hundreds of hours. The girls who work this store are serious about creating.

Which brings me to something that we really do love about Anthropologie. We're thankful that they purposefully employ artists and creatives in their stores. As we learned last week, many of the Greenville Anthro employees are painters, photographers, paper artists, or current art students. Some of them have Etsy shops or home studios where they're pursuing their own work. We also appreciate the work that Anthro Events has done to bring people who want to make new things into the same place. This is a primary goal for Indie Craft Parade, but we don't always have the network to reach new people. Last week, 60 people came together for communal crafting...most of whom we had never met. Anthropologie helped us make these new connections.

Lately, there has been a lot of criticism thrown at the corporate world of art and decor, especially in light of the Cody Foster debacle. While our first choice is to support artists directly, we are also happy to support big retailers, including Anthropologie, who stand up for the independent arts community.

The theme for the garland making was pretty great as well--creating displays from everyday materials and recycled paper. We don't usually like the word "upcycled," but I have to say that watching trash turned into creative materials was inspiring in itself.

Some finished beads made of straws and magazine pages.

If this is  your first time hearing of the local Anthro Events (or if you tried to sign up, but the class was full), don't be disheartened. Turns out Anthro Events take place throughout the year, and you just need to stay tuned through email to find out details for the next one.

Thanks again Greenville Anthro staff. You guys are inspiring, talented, and doing a great job building community here in Greenville.

Holiday Display Workshop with Anthropologie

We're excited to announce another fun Greenville event coming up very soon! We've teamed up with our Anthropologie store to spread some early holiday cheer in our community! Keep reading for more details.

More about the evening from Anthropologie:

Join Indie Craft Parade and the Anthropologie visual team to prepare shimmery baubles and paper festoons in preparation for the holidays. Each workshop attendee will help to craft a store display as well as a handmade treat to take home. We'll craft garland and ornaments from magazines, cardboard, caps, tassels and straws, all in the spirit of creating the extraordinary out of the ordinary.

Learn about Anthropologie's unique aesthetic vision, handmade craft and what's in store for the holidays! All materials and tools will be provided.

The event is free, but you do need to RSVP because space is limited! Email anthroevents@anthropologie.com to reserve a spot.

Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 Place: Anthropologie: 1 North Main Street, Greenville, SC 29601 Time: 6-9 pm Cost: Free, but RSVP is required

Recipe for Press Workshop Recap

This past weekend, we hosted the first of our 2013-2014 event series, a DIY PR workshop with Amy Flurry. We met Amy at last year's Makers Summit and it didn't take us long to realize that artists and small business owners need to hear what she has to say. We were excited to bring her back to Greenville for this event.

Amy wrote a book called Recipe for Press and gave our group insight into how to think like an editor, sharing habits of people who get press. She also introduced a very cool tool called the Pitch Wheel to help keep track of when to send material to editors who are typically planning content months ahead.

photo by Miss Wyolene

One of our favorite quotes from Amy's workshop: "If you only pitch, but don't follow up, you've only done half the job."

Be sure to like the Recipe for Press Facebook page for more tips from Amy and check out the next few events in our lineup so you don't miss any of these great educational opportunities.

Workshop: Furniture Refinishing

Today we're detailing the next workshop on the schedule, Furniture Refinishing with Barb Blair. You should be familiar with Barb and her work by now, she is the creator of Knack Studios and author of the bestselling book Furniture Makeovers. This workshop is a hands-on class with the master herself! You'll get to take home an amazing piece of furniture, refinished by you with Barb's help and guidance.

WHAT: Furniture Refinishing workshop with Barb Blair

WHEN: Saturday, October 19, 2013 from 6 - 10 pm

WHERE: Knack Studios, 11 Lois Avenue, Greenville SC 29611

COST: $250 This fee covers all the tools and supplies necessary to refinish your piece, including specialty paint, knobs, decorative papers, etc.

THE DETAILS: Come ready to roll up your sleeves and learn the basics of painting furniture! Wear clothes that you are not afraid to get dirty, and prepare to have a great time sanding, painting, and transforming. We will be covering sanding and prep, painting, staining, papering, lining drawers, applying new hardware, and so much more! You will get to go home with a brand new piece of furniture and all of your new painting tools as well. Barb will be working closely with each participant, so space is very limited. Sign up now!

THE PROJECT:The piece of furniture you will be refinishing is a small side table or nightstand. You are responsible for providing this piece of furniture, that way you get to choose a piece that works best with your personal style. You can select a piece you already own, or follow Barb's tips for rescuing a piece from thrift stores or estate sales. Check out the photos in this post for inspiration and examples of what types of furniture pieces are appropriate.

THE PLAN:

1. Sign up here!

2. You'll get an email with more class details. Each participant will also get an individual design consultation with Barb via email to make sure the right piece of furniture is selected, prepped appropriately, and to plan the furniture makeover.

3. Required Reading: Furniture Makeovers - Barb's book contains a wealth of information, covering everything from refinishing techniques to style inspiration. By reading the book beforehand, you'll come to the class familiar with the techniques and ready to get to work. You can grab a copy of Furniture Makeovers at Chronicle Books (psst! on sale right now for 25% off with free shipping!), or anywhere books are sold.

4. Select your piece of furniture, have your design consultation with Barb, and prep the piece if necessary.

5. Show up to the class! You'll be sanding and painting, applying decorative papers, new hardware, the whole deal. It's going to be an amazing evening of working with Barb, and the one-on-one attention and teaching she'll be providing is invaluable. At the end of the night, you'll leave with your amazing refinished piece! Armed with your new skills and experience, you'll be ready to tackle more furniture projects on your own.

What are you waiting for? Get over here and grab a spot before they're gone!

We recently announced our upcoming workshops; we've got a whole year of fabulous events and classes for you to enjoy! If you missed the details about the first class, Recipe for Press: DIY Marketing, check it out here.

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.

Featured Sponsor: Etsy

We're so glad to have Etsy as an Indie Craft Parade sponsor this year! The Handmade Marketplace has been helping designers and makers sell their goods online since 2005. Their site has also been extremely instrumental in helping the handmade movement gain traction. Earlier this year, our team got to visit their Brooklyn headquarters and it was just as awesome as we expected. Outside Etsy headquarters.

Etsy shares our love for artists, so this weekend, they will join us alongside Spoonflower as a co-sponsor of our Artist Meet & Greet Breakfast. Etsy staff will be on hand throughout the weekend to conduct shop reviews and host a special educational workshop for our artists!

If you're not familiar with Etsy, be sure to spend some time looking around their site. They offer quite a few resources and tools to help artists and to make it easier for people to find handmade goods. Some of our favorites are Shop Local, the Seller Handbook, and their blogs.

Many of our participants sell their handmade goods on Etsy and we use a few of the Etsy tools (like treasuries) to share their items before the show.

One of this year's Indie Craft Parade treasuries.

If you want to know more about Etsy or get involved locally, be sure to check out the South Carolina Etsy Team. This is a great support group if you’re an Etsy seller or would like to be. Online, the team posts great tips for selling and getting the most out of Etsy. You can join this team if you’re an artisan “living in South Carolina who maintain an Etsy shop containing a minimum of 5 items…and who participate in group discussions and/or activities” Visit their page for more details.

Introducing The Indie Craft Parade Year of Workshops/Partnering with Amy Flurry.

Anyone who has followed Indie Craft Parade for even a short amount of time knows that we have two main objectives: 1) bring handmade awareness to our community and 2) assist artists and creatives in growing their businesses. Well, we're super excited to announce that over the next year we have even bigger and better plans to make that happen. Of course, we'll be again hosting The Makers Summit and the Holiday Fair. But additionally we will be having once-a-month workshops or meet-ups to further encourage either hand-making or small creative business success. We've planned an assortment of events where attendees could learn a new skill they've always wanted to try, further connect with other makers in our community, and develop valuable tools for growing their trades.

The full details of these events will be available at the festival in a few weeks. However, we wanted to introduce our first workshop right away. It's an extremely valuable tool, and we want as many people to know about it as possible. On October 5, we will be partnering with Amy Flurry, the genius behind Recipe for Press, to hold a Saturday mini-conference.

At this event, Amy will address questions about successfully getting your work into the hands of publishers and receiving long term exposure. She will breakdown this daunting subject by answering questions like these:

How do you find the right editor to approach? What are they really looking for?  How far in advance should you pitch a magazine? How long should you wait before following up?  What one word is an editor looking to find in every pitch? How long should a pitch be? Do you need a press kit? Can you pitch an idea to multiple editors at the same time? Should images be sent with a pitch? How often can you pitch a blogger? Should you give away tons of products? What is the best way to thank an editor? What do editors need to find on your website?  How many editors should you approach at one publication? What kind of approach gets results?

Amy speaking at the 2013 Makers Summit.

There really is no one better to be addressing this topic than Amy. Besides her own book, Recipe for Press, Amy has contributed to magazines and online publications including Lucky, InStyle, O @ Home, Country Living, Condé Nast Traveler, Better Homes & Gardens, House Beautiful, Budget Living, Design Sponge, and Refinery 29. And she's willing to share what's she's learned through the process with you.

If you have a small creative business, or even if you're in the processes of building your business, this workshop would be an invaluable tool.  Tickets are available for sale from Amy's website. And here are the official details on the workshop:

Event: DIY PR Workshop with Amy Flurry When: Saturday, October 5 from 10 AM to 12 PM Where: OOBE, Textile Hall; 201 Riverplace, Suite 301, Greenville, SC 29601 Cost: $40 To Sign Up: Visit the Store on Amy's website 

Please contact us at info@indiecraftparade.com if you have questions about this event. We can't stress enough how important this workshop could be for your business.

Volunteers needed!

Indie Craft Parade is only a month away, and we need your help to spread the word far and wide! This Saturday, we'll be hanging Indie Craft Parade posters throughout Greenville, and we've got several ways you can get involved:

1. Bring a friend and meet us this Saturday at 10am in front of The Peace Center, at the corner of Main and Broad Streets. Together we'll cover downtown.

2. Take posters to another area, near or far. We could use your help reaching other parts of Greenville, or nearby cities. If you can help, posters will be available for pickup at Dapper Ink.

3. Download and print your own poster to hang at your desk, in your dorm room or your place of work! Or email it to friends and family members.

4. Spread the word with or without posters! Tell everyone you know about Indie Craft Parade and the upcoming festival.

PoWhen you see this year's posters, you'll notice another one of our wonderful sponsors, Graphics Now. Graphics Now has donated poster printing for us several years now, and they never fail to impress us with their quality and turnaround time.

Whether it's local businesses like Graphics Now or our volunteers, we are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of our organization and our mission. We couldn't do it without you!

Featured Sponsors: Robojuice & Andrew Ramos

Earlier this year, we launched a brand new Indie Craft Parade website to replace the original site launched in 2010 — a lifetime ago in Internet years.

From the beginning, we felt that the Indie Craft Parade brand should reflect the quality of work our artists are producing. We worked with local web designer Andrew Ramos and development company RoboJuice to create and launch a new site that would better accomplish this goal.

Andrew helped us plan out how we could restructure and simplify, then worked through several iterations of our new design. He created a look for us that was fresh, functional and unique. Focusing on smaller blocks of content allows the site design to remain flexible and interesting as our needs change.

Here's our old site:

And the new one:

The end result not only raises the bar, but it displays our information in a creative and original way that readers can engage with. We love how it reflects the colorfulness and the spirit of Indie Craft Parade. The new design also allows us to showcase handcrafted elements, like original illustrations by Cory Godbey as well as photos and video of our past events. But the new design is just the first part of the process.

Our next step was to find a developer who could make Andrew's design function beautifully. And that's where our new friends, Kevin and Jeff at Robojuice come in. Robojuice is focused on people and process.

From their mission: The personal attention we give our clients is to help them flow through our process in order to meet their expectations. Web can be intimidating to some so we are very clear with clients about what we are doing, what we need to do it, how long it will take, what it is worth to them and what is the final outcome. We listen for the real challenge and respond with the proper digital solution - we are not about just delivering a dictated web product.

We want clients to love web and love working on web initiatives. Hearing the words "partnership" and "trust" from our clients means we are on the right track. Robojuice gives attention to people and process so that clients enjoy and want to work on web initiatives.

We couldn't agree more. Robojuice implemented our new design with an amazing attention to detail. And they even added some fun touches of their own to the mix (did you notice the TV static on our video? Their idea!). We loved that they were just as excited about our new design as we were!

It's always a treat to work with people who not only love what they do, but are good at it. And this designer/developer team is no exception. We are so grateful for the time they contributed to bring our new site to life.

Etsy Global Craft Party

It's time for another Etsy Global Craft Party, this time hosted by our local South Carolina Etsy Team!

If you aren't familiar with the Global Craft Party idea, the goal is to get people around the world making things 'together'. This year's party is happening next week, on June 20, from 6-8pm.

Etsy explains the idea for us: In a nutshell, Craft Party is a celebration of meeting and making, of creativity and community. It’s a time to meet your neighbors and share a creative skill. It’s a time to have fun and party down with your favorite craft supply in hand.

Our local Etsy Team will be hosting next week's party, and if you have an Etsy shop or are thinking about setting one up, you'll want to meet the ladies behind the team! Not only can they answer your Etsy questions, they regularly post helpful resources and links in the Etsy Discussion Forums, so be sure to check them out.

They describe the Greenville Etsy Craft Party as: a casual get-together where you can bring your own craft(s) to work on with other local crafty peeps! We'll also have a craft supply swap (bring some supplies to trade/leave in order to take some new ones home) and shop critiques at the Greenville event!

Here are the details:

Date: June 20, 2013 Time: 6-8 pm Place: Oriskany Glass Studio, 1112 Rutherford Rd Bring: your own craft to work on, craft supplies for trading RSVP here.

The good news is that even if you're not in the area, chances are there's still an Etsy Craft Party near you. Visit the Craft Party site to find your local party!