Michelle Duxbury-Townsley of Pretty Crafty Things, Leeds Craft Mafia and Your Asinine Heart fame, recently attended the Craft Congress in Pittsburgh. Read all about her crafty jaunt below.

Memoirs of a Craft Congress

Earlier this year I was thrilled and honoured to be invited to attend Craft Congress in Pittsburgh on 31st March ’ 1st April, the first ever meeting of some of the key members of the indie crafting community to discuss how the movement is growing and some of the challenges it faces. Now Pittsburgh is a long way for a girl from Leeds to go for a weekend but it looked like a truly amazing opportunity to meet some of the most inspirational and active members of the indie craft movement so how could I refuse!

So I am now safely returned from my jaunt over the ocean, fully recovered from the jet lag and, I am delighted to report, I certainly wasn’t left disappointed! I have returned from Pittsburgh full of ideas, inspiration and motivation with an even stronger determination to spread the handmade revolution across the UK ’ are you with me, all those in favour raise your crafting weapon of choice!!*

Getting the Ball Rolling

Anyway, enough of the incendiary speak, lets get down to the nitty gritty. So what did we actually do at Craft Congress? The goal of the weekend was to bring together members of a largely online community in a real life setting and facilitate an informed discussion of the indie craft movement, how it can be sustained and how we can move it forward. Now don’t be expecting any great answers or solutions, this first meeting was more about getting the ball rolling, getting people talking, sharing experiences and developing and building networks rather than problem solving and decision making. There were specific discussion sessions concerned with practical areas such as organising markets and shows, fundraising and sponsorship, marketing and online selling. There was also a great deal of discussion around the politics of both the movement and the act of crafting itself, how we can best organise as a community, how as a community we can exert our buying power or have an impact on issues like copyright law.

Highlights

So apart from all the talking what were the other highlights of my visit to Pittsburgh and the Craft Congress? Well I got to meet some really cool people, including some of the people who first inspired me to get involved in the indie crafting community such as Cinnamon Cooper and Amy Charlton from the DIY Trunkshow and Betsy Greer from Craftivism ’ chances are if you have asked me what indie craft is all about I have pointed you in the direction of their websites! I got to pick up loads of great advice and tips from seasoned show organisers ’ thank you all! I got to meet fellow craft mafia members including Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching who is one of the original Austin Craft Mafia. I got to speak to Matt Stinchcomb from Etsy and find out about some of the fantastic work they are involved in to support and promote the craft community. I got my mitts on an amazing goodie bag that included, amongst many other delights, a copy of the sneak preview of the Indie Craft Documentary project with its brand new title ’Handmade Nation: The Rise of D.I.Y. Art, Craft & Design’**. And last, but by no means least, I got to visit the amazing city of Pittsburgh with its beautiful architecture and fantastic creative vibe.

Finally I want to give a big huge thank you to the fine ladies of Handmade Arcade who did all the hard work in organising the Craft Congress. These super cool ladies kindly welcomed us into their city and their homes (special thanks to Gloria, Shelly and Brett for putting me up!) and left us with a great big Pittsburgh shaped impression on our hearts.

*be careful where you point it though I take no responsibility for injuries sustained or inflicted!! Alternatively drop me a line and we’ll talk!

**A trailer for ‘Handmade Nation: The Rise of D.I.Y Art, Craft & Design‘ is available to view online.

Michelle Duxbury-Townsley is the founder of the Leeds Craft Mafia and is responsible for inflicting prettycraftythings, a fun-tastic indie craft market on the unsuspecting folks of Leeds once a month.

Picture Credits

Picture 1 - Craft Congress Folder (courtesy of Amy Carlton ’ DIY Trunkshow)

Picture 2 - Craft Mafia girlies (courtesy of Tamara Dourney ’ Craft Revolution)

Picture 3 - Pre-Craft Congress Dinner in fab Pittsburgh joint, Remedy ’ see my glowing red hair!! (courtesy of Erin Merryweather ’ The Girlie Show)

Picture 4 - Craft Congress is in Session! (courtesy of Faythe Levine ’ Handmade Nation)

Picture 5 - Mmmm yummy yummy yummy Craft Congress cupcakes (courtesy of Elizabeth Prince, Handmade Arcade)

This entry was posted on Friday, April 13th, 2007 at 8:06 am and is filed under A Day in the Life of. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.