craftin' showdown

Since 2005 artist and crafter, not to mention Cotillion member, Liz Rosino, aka Lucky Kat, founded Craftin' Outlaws.
Columbus's first alternative craft fair as a platform for selling her unique product line of rockabilly style clothing and hand painted decor.
4 years later, her brainchild for bringing independent handmade wares to the Columbus masses has grown by leaps and bounds.
Craftin' Outlaws has grown so large that Liz chose to make the move from Skully's to BOMA, (bar of modern art) to better accommodate her 60 vendors and the hundreds if not thousands who come annually to shop and support our craft community.
In doing so, Skully's has moved in on what Liz has worked so hard to create
By starting what they are calling their "4th annual alternative craft fair". The flier distributed to
promote this event is even reusing the same font used these past 4 years by Craftin' Outlaws, and mimicking the application from last years show.
So please don't be confused.
There is still only one true independent 4th annual craft show in town.
Show your support and help spread the word.

Crafty Vendors at COMFEST 2008!

Ah, it's almost Comfest time again! And you know what that means...beer, tasty food, live music, good vibes, and the one-of-a-kind vendors that criss-cross their way through Goodale Park in Columbus from June 27th-29th.

While you are navigating through the seemingly endless sea of tents with people selling their wares (with a beer in one hand and a turkey leg or a veggie dog in the other!), make sure to stop by these booths for some quality unique & handmade items created with love!

Wholly Craft!
Etsy Team Columbus (MooganCreations, Sweet Stella Designs, Mara M., Jewels of Luxury, Miss Megan Mac, Out of the Pink Sky Designs, Arteest, Gems by Jules, Adornables by Lyn)
Mary Martineau
Lucky Kat
Mary Moon
Starfish Designs
Umbrella Girl Productions & TakeWrning
What The Rock!?
Rivet Gallery
Chop Chop Gallery

Panel Discussion!

Thinking about starting an indie craft business? Or are you looking for some new ideas for growing your existing business? Then join members of the Columbus Crafty Cotillion for a free panel discussion on "Marketing Your Indie Craft Business" on Wednesday, June 11th from 6-8pm at Wholly Craft (3169 N. High St.).

It'll be enlightening and entertaining. And if all else fails, there'll be snacks.

Hope to see you there!

Crafting For A Cause!

On the evening of May 15, Rachel Widomski was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver outside of Haiku restaurant. Rachel’s severe spinal cord injuries will leave her paralyzed for life. Please join us in a city-wide fundraising effort to help support Rachel and her family during her long road to recovery.

We have set up an Etsy shop called HaikuHelp where we will be selling handmade goods from crafters in Columbus. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Rachel Widomski Medical Trust fund.

For more info or to hear Rachel's story, please visit haikuhelp.com.

If you would like to contribute your handmade item to the HaikuHelp Etsy shop, please contact AmyD or Amy N.

cbus sampler on sale now!

these are going fast so act now.
a great big thanks to sweet stella for organizing such a great local project
we have also had lots of press about the local event. Today members amyd and bootleg were featured on the dispatch.
there was also a sighting on craftzine's blog.
listen for amy of sweet stella on cd101 this wednesday morning, promoting the sampler too!

Best of Columbus!

Congrats to the following Crafty Cotillion folks for their Best of Columbus 2008 wins in the Columbus ALIVE:

Best Bar Food: Surly Girl Saloon
(our favorite spot!)

Best Gift Shop: What the Rock!?

Best Craft Store: Wholly Craft!

And, for scoring multiple honorable mentions:
Runner up for Best Art Gallery/Best New Store: Rivet

City Sampler: Columbus

The Columbus City Sampler drops on April 7, 2008!! Get Ready!!

Shop Local!

Check out what Columbus crafters are selling on Etsy.com!

Use Etsy's "Shop Local" feature to find sellers in a neighborhood near you!

City Sampler: Columbus

City Sampler: Columbus (a special version of The Sampler) will feature items exclusively from crafters, DIYers and awesome businesses from Columbus and the surrounding area!

The Sampler is going local! We're creating samplers that focus on business from specific cities, towns, and regions! Along with the samples, we'll be providing all kinds of fun and interesting information and materials about the cities we're featuring!

The Sampler has spent the last three years distributing the very best handmade and indie communities have to offer. It has been really great collecting items from artists, crafters, musicians, and alternative publications all over the US, and the world! Now we'd like to try to go local - and we'd like you to be a part of it!

City Sampler: Columbus will be a new and fun way to experience both the city and The Sampler. We'd like to invite you to send us samples of your work or your product along with some promotional items, so that we can distribute them to people who are interested in supporting local businesses!

There are many benefits to contributing to the Sampler, and we know that the City sampler will provide you with an equally great opportunity!

If you send us Samples - the minimum being 10, the maximum being 100 - you may also send us 100 promo items for the City Sampler, which will reach 100 fans of Columbus (and the surrounding area) culture! You may also include an unlimited number of promos for regular issues of The Sampler, which reaches 500 subscribers and members of the media each month! For more info on contributing and promos, please see http://www.homeofthesampler.com/contributors/tips.html

Your Samples will be photographed for The Sampler website, and mentioned in the City Sampler Guide we will include in every City Sampler! So even if you only send 10 items, your business info will appear in all 100 City Samplers.

All items must be received by March 30th, 2008. Please email contribute@homeofthesampler.com with your submission ideas, or with any questions you might have about the Sampler!

You can also contact Amy N. directly in Columbus if you have any questions or would like to contribute. Artists, crafters, musicians, business/restaurant owners, etc. are all welcome to submit materials.

January Challenge

To try and stir up some different creative juices in the new year, the Crafty Cotillion will have a monthly color palette selection. The challenge for the month will be to use any, some, all the colors in the palette and show it off at the end of the month! Any mediums are welcome! Good Luck
January's Selection is "Get your luv on winter"