Get Ready To Shop Local!

Scott Lenhardt - Twenty Four Hour Woman

 Southern Vermont raised Scott Lenhardt has seen his work appear seen on paper, paintings, sculptures  snowboards, soda bottles and tomato sauce jars.  Now living and working out of Upstate NY, his latest project Twenty Four Hour Woman is a 2013 one a day calendar that celebrates woman and we are excited to announce he will be in Burlington this weekend to sell them at the Queen City Craft Bazaar on Saturday November 17th from 10am-4pm.

Here is a little insight from Scott about this project:

"Twenty Four Hour Woman is a 2013 one-a-day calendar not unlike the popular Far Side calendars of the ’80s. It’s a simple idea that is meant to celebrate the woman caught in the act of whatever it is she is doing, one day at a time. This nude series started as an exercise a few years ago in my studio as a way to warm up my brain, get my hand moving and help ease any seriousness that might have been floating around. Each day of this 5″ X 4″ (approx.) tear-off calendar contains a different little drawing of a naked lady doing something different for every day of the year. I have spent the last year and a half illustrating the limitless list of activities and tasks and have done my best to do so with love and honesty."

These calendars make a great holiday gift.  The new year is coming, you know you need a new calendar or you know someone who does so why not make it something that was locally designed and printed?  No excuses.  Come down to the show on Saturday and grab some.  

A Very Special VT Collab

photo: Erinn Simon

Take comic book artist, writer, rock musician and the Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont James Kochalka and mix him with the amazingly talented local crotchet goddess Erinn Simon and what do you get?  A kind of awesomeness that is beyond words!

James is the creator of the children's book series Johnny Boo and Erinn makes adorable amigurmi plush creatures.  Top Shelf Productions has licensed Erinn to make 25 limited edition Johnny Boo and Squiggle sets.  They are available online NOW.  If you have read the Johnny Boo books you must get this set for your kid or gift to someone.  If you haven't read the books trust me they are super cool and a must have for the litte ones in your life.

Meet The Vendors

photo: Matt Ames

One of the things I love best about running the Queen City Craft Bazaar is the process of jurying the show.  We handpick vendors to fill over 40 spots every year.  It's a hard process, but since the show began in 2007 it has been juried and I truly believe this allows us to provide a fresh and truly unique curated show each year.  One of the things I hate most about running the QCCB is jurying the show.  It breaks my heart to have to turn away so many talented crafters.  We strive to provide a good balance of different types of work.  Not too many of one thing while trying to stick to the vibe of the show that has made it so successful over the years.  We are different.  We are not a typical craft show and keeping with this vibe means having to make some tough choices sometimes.  Thank you to everyone who applied this year.

We are extremely pleased with the show we have put together for you though and so we are happy to present to you the 2012 Holiday Queen City Craft Bazaar Vendors!  Take a sneak peak and get ready to shop local, shop handmade on Saturday November 17th at Union Station in Burlington VT from 10am-4pm.  

Fall Inspiration

Fall is here and that means the Holiday Queen City Craft Bazaar is right around the corner.  This year the show will be on Saturday November 17th at Union Station (1 Main St) in Burlington.  Applications are being accepted through Sept 28th.  Get yours here.  

Fall is such a time are inspiration for me.  Hopefully most of you were able to attend the Art Hop and get inspired yourself.  I know I did. The event was filled with some amazing work including indie crafters!  As the applications for the show are rolling in I'm beginning to get very excited.  The Queen City Craft Bazaar is a unique show that focuses on indie crafters, artists and designers from Vermont and the surrounding states.  I know I have a blast running the show and I hope everyone loves coming out to support the work of the vendors.

Scrolling through Etsy today I picked out a few pieces that spoke to me by three different Vermont indie crafters.  Remember to shop local and buy handmade!

See you in November!

-kacey

Veggies Baby Onesie by New Duds

Geometric Bird Necklace by Fiesty Ink Designs

Retro Style Bicycle Applique Bicycle Pillow by Earthgroovz

Holiday 2012 Show Applications

We are now accepting applications for the holiday 2012 show. Please remember this is a juried show and applications will be accepted now through 9/28. You can get your application here. Good luck!

It's Time!

Join us for a fun filled day celebrating indie craft, food and music!

Saturday May 12th from 10am-6pm.  Local band Vedora will be playing between 11-2.  Delicious baked goods will be on sale from Yupcakes, plus over 40 handpicked amazingly talented local artists, designers and crafters!  Check them out here.  It's going to be a great day!  Admission is FREE! Parking is also free in the lot next to the building. Walk from downtown, ride your bike or take the FREE College Street Shuttle.  It drops you off right in front of Union Station.

See you there!

Surprise!

I am so excited to announce that for the first time ever there will be LIVE music at the Queen City Craft Bazaar on Saturday May 12th!

I have been toying with the idea for the past year, trying to figure out how to make it work at the show.  I thought about a DJ, but it just never really felt right.  I've been stuck on this vision of having live music, but with a busker like vibe to it.  I wanted to create an atmosphere similar to walking around an outside market shopping while music is playing near by.

But who?

I recently stumbled upon a video on YouTube of two people playing in what they called "the smallest bathroom in Burlington." I knew they would be perfect!  They had just the vibe I was looking for.  I tracked them down and the rest is history.  They will be a great addition to the show.

So, without further ado I introduce to you Vedora!

Vedora is a rock trio from Burlington, VT, whose sound is driven by sultry/raspy vocals, jangly guitar, melodic bass lines and driving drums.  Its founding members, Caroline O'Connor and Matt Hastings have played together since 2009.  Vedora was formed when Jeff LaBossiere joined on drums in early 2012.  Caroline and Matt also perform as an acoustic duo with a focus on gal/guy harmonies, and more traditional based songs.

Vedora will be playing from 11:00-2:00 on Saturday May 12th at the spring Queen City Craft Bazaar located at Union Station, 1 Main Street in Burlington VT.

In the mean time find them online here:

Facebook
Bandcamp
YouTube

Web Anaytics Workshop for Crafters and Artists!

Hey local crafters!  If you have a blog, website or sell on Etsy you must come to this workshop!  This coming Thursday,  April 12th at 7:00pm I'll be presenting a workshop on web analytics.  "Web Analytics: Why Measurement Matters For Your Small Business"  This session is geared for beginners.

Check out the Facebook event page 

Topics include:

What the heck is web analytics?
Why it matters
How to get started
Web Analytics 101

I'm also collecting questions on the Facebook page so head on over there, RSVP and ask a question.  I'll try to incorporate as many as I can at the end of the presentation.

Sponsored by the Old North End Arts & Business Network and Women's Festival of Crafts.

All workshops will be held at North End Studios at 294 North Winooski Ave in Burlington.  A fee of $5 will be charged for each workshop, cash or check, but are free for Old North End Arts & Business Network members.

For more info and to check out the other workshops being offered visit www.womensfestivalofcrafts or www.oneabn.org or call Megan Humprhey at 864-7528

Marketing Workshop Series Presented

Are you an artist, crafter or designer who has a website?  Have you ever wondered how you can use web analytics to help you with your digital marketing efforts?  If so do I have a workshop for you.  The Old North End Arts & Business Network (ONEABN) and Women's Festival of Crafts are sponsoring a work series for artist and small business owners.

I will be presenting at one of the workshops called "Web Analytics: Why Measurement Matters For Your Small Business" which will focus on the basics of web analytics, how to get started and why it's important for your creative business.  This workshop geared for beginners is happening on Thursday April 12th.

Get the details on this workshop plus the others being offered at the Women's Festival of Crafts website.

Check out the 2012 Vendor List

The spring 2012 vendor list has been posted.  Check it out!

Applications are now closed

Thanks to everyone who applied.  Applications are no longer available.  It's time to jury the show!  I'll be sending out emails to all who applied in about one week.

Get Involved!

The Queen City Craft Bazaar is coming on 5/12 and there are several ways you can get involved.

Become a Vendor
Applications are now being accepted through Feb 10th for the Spring show.  The QCCB is a juried show and we look for unique indie crafters, artists and designers who embody the DIY movement.  Please take some time to look around the site, read the About page and if you feel you might be a good fit check out the show info and application page.

Volunteer:
We are seeking help in the following areas. 

• Promotion - are you a PR/Marketing student who is looking to gather some skills and experience with event promotion?  I'm looking for people to help out with promoting the show via digital marketing as well as good old fashion street marketing (hanging posters, postcards etc)
• Show help - Setting up, running the show and breaking it all down is a lot of work.  I can always use help if anyone is interested in learning the ropes of what it takes behind the scenes to make this show happen.   Ideally this person (or people) would be available to help set up for the event and or also be available to work with me the day of the show helping to run the Queen City Craft table, checking in on vendors, breaking down the event.

These are non paying opportunities, but the experience you gain will be worth it.  Plus you get to hang out with some of the most talented indie crafters in the state!  Contact me to find out more

Become a Sponsor:

If you are a local business who would be interested in sponsoring the show please email me for info.  

Seeking indie musician

I'm looking for a musician to possibly play at my upcoming Queen City Craft Bazaar show in May. Preferably a solo singer/song writer type who would fit into the scene of an indie craft show. Kind of busker type street performer who would be playing indoors.

Contact me if you are interested so we can discuss options.

Pinterest

I finally got off my butt and joined Pinterest a few weeks ago.  What the heck was I waiting for?  I see so many of my friends and craft vendors have been pinning away already so I had some catching up to do.  What can you do with Pinterest?  What can't you do is really the question.  People create boards with different themes such as My Style, Food, Crafts, Kitchens, etc.  Then they "pin" photographs they find online or "re pin" from other users to their boards.  It's a brilliant way to find inspiration for project, keep track of photos of kitchens you like for a big remodel, get garden design ideas and so much more!  Really the ideas of how to use this site are endless.

Another interesting way to use Pinterest is for your craft business.  Talk about viral sharing, this is the place to make it happen.  Create a board for the items you create and pin directly from your Etsy site or your website. if you put a $ in the description (Etsy does this automatically) it will create a small price banner across your photo.  If you are manually adding your pin remember to put in the website url so people can click through to the page.  I've created a board here for Queen City Craft.  I'm using it to promote items created by indie crafters in Vermont.  The more people re pin, the more viral your products go.  Just remember to delete the picture if it is something that has sold.  Also don't make your Pinterest account all about selling.  Create other boards of interest so you have a variety of content to share.  Check it out and think about how you can use this great new tool to help out your business as well.

Don't forget to check your web analytics tool to see if you are getting referral traffic from this great new source!

Applications Now Open

Applications are now open for the Spring Queen City Craft Bazaar.

Apply Now!

Spring 2012 Queen City Craft Bazaar

Hello!

The date and location has been set for the Spring 2012 Queen City Craft Bazaar.  It will be held on Saturday May 12th at Union Station in Burlington, VT.

Applications will be available soon.  Check back or visit our Facebook page for updates.