Even Bastards Need Snuggly Hand-Knit Sweaters
This Sunday, 150 crafters from all over the country will descend upon Adams Morgan to hawk their one of a kind, hand-made items. Kitschy jewelry, googly eyed plushes, fashionable purses, reconstructed clothing and hand printed cards are the norm at the City Paper's annual Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair.
With humble beginnings in 2004, Crafty Bastards took place during an unfortunate downpour at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace. City Paper really didn't know what to expect that first year, or how it would go over. Pleasantly surprised by the number of applicants they received, they accepted 150 vendors, and despite the rain, had a rousing success. Now at the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan for the past three years, Crafty Bastards has grown by leaps and bounds.
A juried event, Crafty Bastards now receives more than 400 applications from all over the U.S. It is fast becoming known as the indie craft fair on the East coast and while gaining a bit of notoriety is a good thing for those selling in the show, the getting in part is key. Competition is stiff. Six City Paper employees review every single application and weigh eight categories, including craftsmanship, uniqueness and mass appeal. They don’t play favorites, so many crafters who were vendors in years past are finding it harder and harder to get in.
Being a local crafter doesn’t get you a whole lot, but City Paper does take it into consideration. This year’s fair has a solid line up from the hometown crowd. Gosh Darn Knit, Woolarina, Kristina Bilonick and I Like Seamonsters, are just a few that will be representing the D.C. area. All are veterans of Crafty Bastards, and all, except Gosh Darn Knit, participating for its second year, have been selling at Crafty Bastards since the beginning. Pulling from such a large pool of crafters has made Crafty Bastards a quality event with fresh and exciting works coming in year after year.
Rania with Gosh Darn Knit is a painter/illustrator and does mixed-media paintings that incorporate knitting and gocco prints onto notebooks and cards. Kristina screen-prints her nature inspired designs onto vintage shirts. Tina with I Like Seamonsters draws inspiration from her life as a mom and crafter. She also utilizes a gocco and prints her designs on just about anything from t-shirts, Christmas tree ornaments and cards. Paula with Woolarina hand dyes wool and yarn and this year will be offering spin your own wool kits. All the work at Crafty Bastards is hand-made. And dare I say it? Hand-made with love.
Having sold at other fairs, all claim that Crafty Bastards is their favorite. They love the people that come out for Crafty. “It’s my favorite day out of the whole year,” said Tina. “Having the opportunity to have your work appreciated in person is amazing.” Paula, of Woolarina, talked about one women from Takoma Park she only sees once a year at Crafty Bastards, “who will sit in my booth for hours. It makes me so happy.” This year City Paper estimates a crowd of roughly 20,000, up over last year’s 15,000.
Each crafter expressed fear over possibly not getting into Crafty and anxiety over waiting for their acceptance letters, acknowledging how hard it has become to be accepted into the show. Kristina said she doesn’t feel daunted by it. “It just pushes me to create and work harder to sharpen my stuff.”
While the craft fair is the main event at Crafty Bastards, there are several side events taking place including the crowd favorite b-boy battle, a vaudeville act from Palace of Wonders and giant puppets from Washington Action Group. New at this year’s fair will be workshops at the tennis courts: Stitch DC will be teaching a knitting class, Paper Source will be doing bookbinding and Etsy Labs will be traveling from New York to demonstrate how to fuse plastic bags. Local food favorites, Sticky Fingers Bakery and Cakelove will see to your sweet tooth cravings. Zipcar will also be on hand to offer rides to those who O.D. on crafts and need a ride home.
Photo courtesy Rania with Gosh Darn Knit.
Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair is Sunday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Marie Reed Learning Center at 18th St. and Wyoming Ave. NW. Rain or shine. Admission is Free.