It's official
Pittsburgh to host first session of Craft Congress
By Emilie Zanger
Published: February 28th, 2007 | 11:10am
If the organizers of the first-ever Craft Congress have anything to say about it, 2007 will drastically improve the quality of life for DIY business owners around the country. On March 31 and April 1, 2007, the first Craft Congress will take place in Pittsburgh.
Gloria Forouzan, who is a co-coordinator of Pittsburgh’s 2-year-old Handmade Arcade craft fair, says her goal is to strengthen the indie craft community. “[The Craft Congress] will offer the organizers and leaders of the DIY movement — including craft fairs, boards, Web sites, magazines, and craft mafias — a chance to network, share ideas and experiences, and discuss indie crafting’s potential,” Forouzan says. She and her co-coordinators have used a Yahoo! Groups site to both generate discussion among DIY community leaders about important topics to cover and spread the word about the Congress.
Craft Congress sessions will be led by prominent members of the DIY community, including Cinnamon Cooper of the DIY Trunk Show, Matthew Stinchcomb of Etsy, and Marie Kare of The Sampler. Workshops will cover the topics most relevant to crafty business owners, such as the pros and cons of corporate sponsorship, guerrilla-marketing tactics, managing the business side, and the role of the DIY movement in social and political change. The Sprout Fund provided a grant to the Craft Congress organizers, which has allowed them to offer the two-day summit free of registration costs and some expenses to the 30 or so DIY community leaders who will participate.
Get into the discussion on the Craft Congress’s lively Yahoo! Groups site, groups.yahoo.com/group/craftcongress2007.
Issue #25
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