Want to join the Chicago Craft Mafia?
The Chicago Craft Mafia is looking for new members, and you just might have what it takes.
After almost 10 years as a craft-based business collaborative organization, The Chicago Craft Mafia recently handed over the hugely successful DIY Trunk Show to another organization to keep the yearly show going strong. Now, the Mafia can focus all of its efforts on our founding mission of supporting arts and crafts entrepreneurship in our community.
We’re opening the doors for new members, who will have a significant say in where the group goes in the future and what new programs, opportunities, and successes we’ll have on the horizon.
As a part of the Mafia, you can affect Chicago culture by promoting handcrafted goods, educating communities about the importance of artisan commerce, and helping new crafters take their hobbies and businesses to the next level.
Members benefit from increased media exposure, national networking opportunities, and a support of like-minded individuals. Mafia members promote and support each other and other growing and emerging businesses, foster entrepreneurial relationships, gain professional development, business info from your peers, new skills, alliances with other arts-based groups, and more.
To be considered for the Chicago Craft Mafia, complete the application here.
Our Mission:
The Chicago Craft Mafia is a collaborative and non-competitive organization of independent crafting business owners. We work together to both foster our own individual entrepreneurship and support the greater crafting community. Members of the group pride ourselves on the design, integrity and workmanship of our products and the ethics of our business practices.
Our goal is to increase these businesses’ retail and/or wholesale exposure, by abiding by a Do-It-Yourself code of ethics.
The CCM is a local chapter of the national Craft Mafia.
The revolution will be crafted.
LuDesignsCreations
Lucy Clasen
What is your mafia nickname?
Hammer
What is your craft?
I use silver smith and lapidary techniques as well as other media to make jewelry. I also enjoy doing papercraft, fiber art and other crafts.
Why do you do your craft?
Because it is fun to make something beautiful from raw materials suh as a sheet of metal and a rock.
What are your sources of inspiration?
Nature, art, geometrics, birds, butterflies, kitties and anything beautiful
What is your favorite Chicago haunt?
United Center to watch the Blackhawks play
What is your favorite beverage?
Water
Where do you buy your favorite beverage?
The city of Chicago
What is your weapon of choice?
Of all my tools I enjoy using the hammer on metal the most.
What would you be doing otherwise?
I would still be doing a craft and watching sports, especially hockey.
Do you have any advice for other crafters?
Have fun and try different media to expand your creativity
DIY Trunk Show: Big Changes
Ten years ago, over cookies and a pot of tea, Amy Carlton and Cinnamon Cooper hatched a plan to create a different kind of craft show that would promote area artists and crafters to shoppers who wanted to feel a connection to the makers of their purchases instead of just buying corporate mall stuff. They plotted and brainstormed and a few hours later, they’d created the idea that would become the DIY Trunk Show. They found a location, spread the word to shoppers and makers, and began promoting the show. And they were exhausted when the first show happened the Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2003. They’d both half-joked that while they were glad they did it, they just weren’t sure they could do it again.
But the show happened. And people hugged them and thanked them for creating a place for buying and selling handmade goods. And people thanked them for not creating a division between art and craft but promoting both equally. Amy and Cinnamon were elated, and their chests swelled with pride, and they giddily decided that the final payoff was worth all the work and stress.
The DIY Trunk Show ran that way for a few years. Amy and Cinnamon wrote a Craftifesto as a sort of mission statement to guide the show and explain the spirit behind it. But Amy was in grad school and working full time and just wasn’t able to devote enough time to the show. Cinnamon wasn’t ready to give it up. By that time, the Chicago Craft Mafia had been going strong for a few years, and she asked the group if they would be willing to help. The Chicago Craft Mafia agreed that the show must go on, and they were the right group to do it.
And that continued for many years. And that tiny punk-rock craft show of 35 vendors in 2003 became a mega-show in 2010 with 175 booths, corporate and boutique sponsors, food vendors, media sponsors, and so much more. The show has grown up and changed and morphed as the culture of makers has expanded exponentially and as the buying public has grown and begun to find more value and more variety in the types of handmade items that can be found locally. The show, for lack of a better word, has become a business. Despite ten years of the organizers making no profit from producing the show, there are tax implications. Insurance is required. Deposits are paid and refunded. Contracts are signed and notarized. The little craft show that could has outgrown its roots.
Which means—and this part is hard to write—the DIY Trunk Show has outgrown its founders and its caretakers. Amy, Cinnamon, and every member of the Chicago Craft Mafia are extensively proud of the show. Proud of what we have accomplished. Proud of the businesses we’ve seen start as nascent ideas and grow into full-fledged companies with employees and brick-and-mortar locations and loyal followers who seek them out. We’re proud of each vendor we’ve ever had. We’re honored to know that we have all worked together to create a community where craft and art are sought out and given as gifts, kept, cherished, bragged about, and honored.
We read the Craftifesto, and we’re happy knowing that those guiding principles still hold true even though the show has grown and changed. But change comes with a price. Running a business is hard, and the time has come for us to admit that for the show to continue to grow—to continue to help build, foster, and develop the community of makers and buyers—it needs new blood. Ten years have burnt us out, even though they haven’t diminished our love for the show.
Which is why we’re delighted and honored to be able to share that Blue Buddha Boutique (BBB), owned by Rebeca Mojica (a long-time Chicago Craft Mafia member and a nine-year vendor at the DIY Trunk Show), has agreed to take over running the show. We don’t relinquish the show lightly. And there have been many talks about concerns and expectations. But because we deeply respect and admire Rebeca and the staff of Blue Buddha Boutique, and because the show has benefitted for years from her ability to organize people and information, keep to a schedule, create action plans that work, and foster strengths while finding cures for weaknesses, she is an obvious balm for our weary souls.
Beginning in 2013, the DIY Trunk Show will be owned, managed, and run by Rebeca and her staff of intelligent and capable employees. Several of her staff members have vended at DIY in previous years and have volunteered to help out with various tasks. We’ve been grateful to them, and we expect this gratitude to continue as they take the show on.
Because several people on BBB staff are familiar with many aspects of the show, handing off the task lists and schedules and contacts is easier than handing it off to another group. Because BBB has a brick-and-mortar store just a few blocks from the Broadway Armory, they’re already members of the Edgewater community that has embraced the show. Alderman Harry Osterman has been very welcoming to our show attendees and has been very beneficial to BBB.
But most of all, we trust Rebeca and Blue Buddha Boutique to do right by the DIY Trunk Show and maintain its spirit.
While we’re sad to be handing over the reins, we are delighted that the show will continue as it has and will likely improve and include many of the things that the all-volunteer staff has been unable to do in between working our day jobs and running our own businesses. We know there will be changes, and we trust that they will make DIY an even better show for everyone involved. We also believe the added benefits that BBB will be able to bring to the event will be positive.
So we give you crafty hugs and kisses as Amy, Cinnamon, and the Chicago Craft Mafia step back and hand BBB the golden scissors to cut the ribbon as they take over ownership of the DIY Trunk Show. The future has a lot of beautiful things in store and we can’t wait to see what happens next.
You can read more about this transition on the DIY Trunk Show blog and on Blue Buddha Boutique’s site.
Applications for DIYODS show are now live!
Applications for this year’s DIYODS show are now live, right here! There are only 20 tables available and the booth fee is $30- which isn’t due until you’re accepted. So send in your application now and gather together all your new and not-so-new craft supplies. One crafter’s trash is another crafter’s super sweet awesometastic project…
Fill out the application today!
Marketing Your Craft
Do you subscribe to Art Fair Insiders? If you don’t, make it a new year’s resolution. I know it is almost the end of January, but it is never too late to learn something new. Art Fair Insiders is filled with tips and reviews for exhibiting and marketing your art at fairs around the country. Their latest newsletter featured this great Pinterest board. Check it out!
http://pinterest.com/creativechicksc/art-marketing/
What sources do you use for learning about shows? Do you have favorite sites for advice on business and marketing? Please share your resources by leaving a comment. Thanks!
Check out this event on Sept. 29th & 30th at Helium Gallery
30 Local Chicago Artists will be exhibiting at the Helium Gallery for one weekend only- don’t miss it!
Helium Gallery is located at 4710 N. Ravenswood, Chicago IL 60640
Saturday 9/29 and Sunday 9/30 from 11a-6p
Click here for more details: https://www.facebook.com/events/136152766528305/
Also this event is going on during RAW – Ravenswood Artwalk : http://ravenswoodartwalk.org/
Art & Craft all along Ravenswood Ave!!! Check it out.
Smart Brief, Inc.
Who has time to read every business-related website for relevant content?! SmartBrief, Inc. culls the best and sends it to you as a daily newsletter. This is actually one newsletter I read every morning. You can tailor the newsletters for content you want to read.
2013 Individual Artist Support Grant – Deadline 9/14
The Individual Artist Support (IAS) Initiative from the Illinois Arts Council was created to help Illinois artists realize a career goal, take advantage of a professional opportunity, or for the production and presentation of an artistic project.
General Program Information
The IAS Initiative encompasses two different tracks. Artists may apply to one track only.:
- Track 1: Individual Artist Professional Development (IA-PD) seeks to support professional development opportunities related to an individual artist’s career. Grant amounts for IA-PD are $500 or $750 with no cash match required.
- Track 2: Individual Artist Project (IA-Project) seeks to support individual creative artists in the production and presentation of an artistic project. Grant amounts for IA-Project are $1,500 or $2,500, and a 25% cash match is required.
Each track has specific limitations and requirements. Please read the entire guidelines thoroughly to determine which track best suits your goals . Artists may submit one application only. Awards will be equal to the amount requested by the applicant.
Artistic Disciplines
Artists who work in the following artistic disciplines are eligible to apply for funding.
- Dance
- Music
- Theatre
- Visual Arts
- Design Arts
- Crafts
- Photography
- Media Arts (includes film, video, audio, and computer art)
- Literature (includes creative non-fiction*, fiction, and poetry)
- Interdisciplinary
- New Performance Forms
- Ethnic & Folk Arts
*Creative non-fiction is distinguished from analytical, journalistic, technical, and scholarly/academic writing by its strong narrative literary quality as found in personal essays and memoirs. The Illinois Arts Council’s Individual Artists Support Program does not accept applications to support scholarly/academic, analytical, journalistic, and technical writing
Note: Applications for Track 2: IA – Project will be accepted from creative/originating artists only (i.e. choreographers, composers, playwrights, visual artists, etc.).
Fiscal Year 2013 Project Dates:
Professional Development Support: All activities must occur and be completed within January 1, 2013 and August 31, 2013
Project Support: All activities must occur and be completed within January 1, 2013 and August 31, 2013.
*For projects with public presentations, exhibition openings, CD and publication releases after August 31 and up to November 15, you must contact the appropriate Program Director before submitting an application.
For more information about informational workshops and webinars, click here.
Bloomington Handmade Market is looking for vendors!!
Applications for the Bloomington Handmade Market are open now through September 15! Visit www.bloomingtonhandmademarket.com to get more info and to apply.
The fall event will take place on Saturday, November 10 from 10am-5pm at the Bloomington Convention Center, located downtown at 3rd and College in Indiana.
Thank you Edgefest!
Last weekend the Mafia had a booth at Edgefest, handing out information on our group, the DIY Trunk Show in November, and hosting some free craft demos so people can get their craft on right there in the street. The weekend was a success, in spite of a huge storm shutting down the festival early on Saturday. The booth sustained only one casualty during the storm… the tent broke under the hurricane-type winds. However! Mafia member David Melis found a replacement part for the tent for only $10 and it will be fully functional again!
Our booth also had a small sampling of wares for sale from members Cinnamon Cooper, Lucy Clasen, David Melis, and Michelle Kaffko. The table of wares drew a lot of people into the tent who, when they learned this kind of awesome stuff will be at about 150 different tables at the DIY Trunk Show in November, scrambled for more info and marked their calendars right then and there!
For more photos from the event, check out our Facebook page.