Spring indie crafts show and tell…

Grab your cart and let's go, people — It's show time!

I'm extremely excited to be headed to Cincinnati, Ohio next weekend for the Crafty Supermarket. It will be on Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center. They've been doing previews of the vendors who will be there over on the Crafty Supermarket blog and I can't wait to check out so many makers that are new to me.

I've also been scoping out the city using the Design*Sponge Cincinnati guide and simply can not wait to do some wandering. Apparently it used to be called the "Paris of the Midwest," has tons of great architecture and was home to the awe-inspiring illustrator, Charley Harper. (His work is worthy of a post all its own, but in the meantime, check out the beautiful poster for the Art in the Park show below for some gorgeous Charley Harper-inspired design. It was designed by the lovely and talented Marcy Davy of All Things Grow). Let me know if you have any recommendations for me while i'm in Cincinnati — shops, sites, restaurants, etc. — I'd love to hear from you!

If you've never used the Design*Sponge guides, they're such a great resource. I found so many great restaurants and stores in the Wilmington, NC guide when my parents moved there last year, not to mention the amazing Detroit guide by Sweet Juniper that I still refer to for this area. And speaking of Detroit… If you're in the Detroit area next weekend, be sure to check out Handmade Detroit's Craft Revival Saturday, April 17 at the Loving Touch in Ferndale. I'm sad to be missing that one, but you should go for sure!

But wait, there's more, shoppers!

I will also a vendor on May 1, 2010 at the Flint Handmade Spring Craft Market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in — you guessed it — Flint! flintHANDMADE is a collective of crafters actively encouraging the community to support creative expression and commerce in Flint by making and purchasing local handmade goods — so come on out and purchase some local handmade goodness! The show will be in four buildings along S. Saginaw Street: The Lunch Studio, Brown Sugar Cafe, Wize Guys Pizza and The Loft. And if the weather is nice, there will be more vendors outside each location, too.



Later this spring, I'll be participating in the Art in the Park show in Ypsilanti, Saturday, May 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is a fundraiser for the Ypsilanti Senior Community Center and will host more than 25 artists at the 1015 N. Congress Street community center.


So if you're looking for that perfect pair of handmade earrings, a unique Mother's Day gift for Mom, a beautifully designed and hand-silkscreened tee or just something you won't find at the mall — come on out to these shows and support your local artists!