Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Craft Congress in Pittsburgh

It's not too late -- you too can come to lovely Pittsburgh for the first ever Craft Congress. The Craft Congress has been organized by Handmade Arcade and will take place March 31 - April 1 at Spinning Plates. Information here.

The Pop City article mentions that some crafters have had their ideas lifted by national manufacturers, without acknowledgement or compensation. The congress invites organizers of craft fairs and artists' websites to Pittsburgh to discuss such issues.

The Craft fair has been getting some press locally and nationally in Bust magazine. A number of crafter blogs have been talking about the congress for a few months. Craft revolution has a recent post that lists some of the attendees, who are coming from all over the United States to Pittsburgh. In the article, they quote organizer Gloria Forouzan--

“The goal of Craft Congress is to build connections between the movement's organizers, who have been working to expand the craft culture primarily in their own communities. Craft Congress is an original concept; attendees will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience, creating a network that will foster sustainability.”

This is a wonderful idea and I am glad that this event is taking place in Pittsburgh.

1 comment:

Gloria said...

Thanks for the mention, however, Craft Congress is not open to the public.

Participants are organizers/leaders of diy craft fairs, organizations, etc., from across the US, Canada & one from the UK.

We hope to do it even bigger next year and there may be opportunities for local indie crafters to participate. Unfortunately our resources did not allow for this at this time.

Gloria Forouzan