Photos finally online.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, a chill to the air despite the bright blue skies. By the time everyone had unloaded and set up and our guests starting arriving, the nip was all but gone. The sun shone brightly and gloriously warm all day. We could not have asked for more perfect fall weather!

 On the wonderful, shady patio sugarbeat pastry served up homemade treats, including brownie cakes with pecan encrusted icing, thick slices of fresh pumpkin bread, veggie chili, and grilled beef and veggie dogs served up on soft, fresh buns with a few tangy, crunchy pickles on the side. There was comfortable seating on the patio and deck for lunch and conversation and maybe even grabbing a cocktail from the Caledonia.

DJ Mahogany was on the upper deck, serving up his brand of dance music to keep the vibe upbeat.

We had quite a turnout this weekend, a lot of visitors and a lot of people buying. The earlier date for Craftstravaganzaa seemed to be a big hit, giving our guests a little earlier start on the holiday shopping period and helping them avoid all the rush of all the shows competing on the weekends in December.

Thanks for coming out and supporting this community event as well as your local craftspeople and artisans! Merry Christmas to all our Craftstravaganzaa friends and we look forward to seeing you in the spring.

Check back to the website in late winter to watch for the Spring Market Call for Artists; or you can follow AIC on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates. 

Counting down to this year's

Holiday Craftstravaganzaa!

Only one week to go!

Please help us to spread the word about our event. We've posted downloadable PDF fliers on our website's  Forms Page.  Print a few and stick'em up in your work/gym/store etc.

We also have downloadable jpg banners and buttons to include on your blog, mailing lists, facebook, twitter, and whatever other creative ways you can come up with to get the word out!

Flyers and Banners can be downloaded from this link!

http://athensindiecraftstravaganzaa.com/forms.htm#event

Promote! Promote! Promote!

It's that time people!  With about three weeks until the show, we've got plenty to do to spread the word about Craftstravaganzaa!

We've found that each artist promoting his/her own appearance at the show works fantastically to reach the widest audience.  Let your family, friends and fans know that you will be at Craftstravaganzaa and invite them to visit for their holiday shopping. Ask them to invite their friends and family.

We will make available banners and graphics for you to post on your marketing media (mailing lists, website, blogs, etsy, facebook, myspace, twitter etc) to let your fans and customers know you will be participating in Craftstravaganzaa. The banners will be available on the AIC website by the weekend, check the FORMS page.

http://athensindiecraftstravaganzaa.com/forms.htm

We also have fliers that can be downloaded from our website (FORMS page), please print and paste a few around your work/gym/store etc.  (these too will be available by the end of this weekend)


Our Twitter hashtag is #Craftstravaganzaa

Visit  our Facebook Event page  and click the SELECT GUESTS TO INVITE link upper left and invite all your friends.   Ask them to do  the same. 

If you have any more ideas how we can share our event with as  many guests as possible,  please leave your ideas in a comment. 

Applications are Closed for the Holiday Market

Just as the cutoff time drew near, there was a flurry of last minute applications submitted for the Holiday Craftstravaganzaa. We ended up with well over 100 applications for just 50-something spaces. We are very excited about the diverse group of artists  applying to the show this season. 

So many wonderful artists applying for Craftstravaganzaa makes it a very difficult task to choose. We have applications from as far away as SC, TN, IL and MO.

So far we have pre-chosen a good mix of Craftstravaganzaa veterans and artists new to our show.  Unfortunately, it looks like many of our past vendors will not be joining us this time in order to make way for new talent and to keep our show fresh and diverse. 

This is the broadest range of talent and techniques we have ever had, and we are exceptionally proud to bring these artists to Athens.  This is going to be the best Craftstravaganzaa yet. 

Final choices will be made and notifications will be out by this Wednesday. Be sure to check your email!

Craftstravaganzaa Application Deadline

Hello,  just wanted to drop a quick note to remind everyone that the deadline to apply for this seasons Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa Holiday Market is Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010.  Notifications to go out Oct. 16, 2010.

The Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa Holiday Market, will be held Saturday,  November 13th, 2010 in downtown Athens GA.  The application is online now, please click on the FORMS link to apply and for more information. 

Sharing a booth is acceptable as long as we receive all the info on the application (including pictures) for each person sharing the booth. Be sure and note on your registration form that you intend to share a booth. Please no more than three persons per booth. 

http://athensindiecraftstravaganzaa.com/

Craftstravaganzaa Map - Athens, GA

I've created an interactive map of all the food, coffee, restrooms, ATMs and points of interest near Craftstravaganzaa.    i hope our guests  traveling from out of town will find it  helpful.

Click to visit map

Who is talking about you?

I read about a pretty interesting site today.  Free and easy as pie, just enter your name into the search box and click SEARCH.   You can narrow your search to just blogs, or just images or grab everything.

Mere seconds later you got it, a list of all the blogs, forums, microblogs, events, bookmarks, videos, comments, images, etc where your  name or brand can be found.   Along with posts and images mentioning you, they also provide different kinds of stats, hashtags, sources, keywords, sentiment (not real sure what exactly that is) as well as a list of the top users to mention you.

Try searching different ways - with spaces or no spaces between words.  You will probably find results for both ways.

Call to Printmakers - great opportunity.

Davis Art Advisory is looking to build relationships with local printmakers that have or are willing to make small-scale fine art prints (woodcuts, lithographs, serigraphs, screenprints, etchings etc) for our current corporate client, and others.

We are currently seeking at least five 6"x6" prints for around $75 a piece. Colorful, modern abstracts or landscapes are ideal. Will need within a week or so. Future holds many more opportunities.

Please email sera@davisartadvisory.com with your work and prices. We will keep you on file for future reference if we can't use you for this immediate project. Looking forward to working with you!!

www.DavisArtAdvisory.com

I discovered Wanelo...

After browsing a few of the collections featured on the Wanelo website, I'm delighted to share with  you some of the best design I've seen in a bit.  This site allows you to post links to your favorite stores and products and build collections around a common theme.   For instance, this wonderful chair is in the Suthern Livin collection.  These chairs would look so good in my side yard.   I wonder if I can find something like these locally?  Athens? 

Visit the  Suthern Livin Collection on Wanelo

Click through to different collections, I believe you'll find several things you cannot live without quite quickly.  I also can see a potential place for marketing your own wares.  Try it and see.

Finally, the weekend.

Finally - Saturday.  Even though it dawned grey and stormy, I've been in a fit of creativity all day.  I've made a cake and decorated it  with pretty sprinkles, drawn two drawings for myself,  and updated the Craftstravaganzaa website a little more.  Serra is on the road right now on the west coast, and internet service is spotty for her. But she did manage to find a hot spot yesterday and answer a couple of my questions.  So now I can share with our friends that Craftstravaganzaa will be from 11 am until 6 pm this year, Saturday November 13th.   The applications are up now, and will be accepted until October 10th, with notification going out Oct. 16th.  We are happy to hear from people that the earlier date this year will be much more convenient for them.

 I've been adding banners and buttons to the Craftstravaganzaa website to  help promote our event. Simply download the jpgs, then post to your blog, profile, website — wherever you want to share Craftstravaganzaa with your friends. 

Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa Holiday 2010

Well, folks, it's time once again to plan for another Craftstravaganzaa! Though it seems a bit strange to be thinking about the holidays in this heat, we have to plan ahead for the busiest time of year that will be upon us before we know it... To that end, we are announcing the date for the 7th annual Craftsravaganzaa, which will also be getting a jump on the holidays: this year's event will take place on November 13th, 2010. We've decided to make it a little earlier than usual to avoid all the craziness of a hundred other events coinciding, and we think shoppers will enjoy the opportunity to get a head start on their holiday buying. We hope it will cause less conflicts for our vendors who try to participate in so many other events at this time of year as well. So look out for the applications that will be up very soon, and get yours in! If you have any questions, please look at our FAQ before you email--many of your questions have already been answered there. And don't forget to tell your friends about our event, which gets bigger and better every time. We plan on adding even more special-ness this holiday season, so check back for updates on what we're planning. Thanks for all your support and creativity, Craftstravaganzaa would not happen without it!