GREENVILLE — More than 110 makers will convene in Greenville for the 15th annual Indie Craft Parade at Judson Mill. The weekend event on Aug. 16 and 17 will host well-known crafters from Greenville and the Southeast, where visitors can buy ceramics, jewelry, home goods, clothing, candles and pottery.
Some visiting businesses include Charleston Candle Co. ; Glad & Young Studio , a leather goods company in Atlanta; and Karen Schipper , who designs paper goods in Greenville. Email Sign Up! "(Indie crafts are) anything that's made by a maker or a small brand that's handmade, designed by them and it's going to bring beauty to your everyday life," event director Erin Godbey said.
It marks the 15th anniversary of the event, where they anticipate between 5,000 and 7,000 attendees. But this wasn't always the plan. After the 2008 recession, Godbey, a former recruiter, was in between jobs.
Out of the blue, her friend, Lib Ramos, sent her an email with the subject line: "Am I crazy?" "Have you heard about these craft fairs?" she asked. Ramos wondered if they could create the same thing in Greenville. Godbey hesitated.
"At the time, craft was not a buzzword," she said. "When you heard the word craft, you thought sweet old grandma crocheting things for church bazaar." But as she did more research, she saw an opportunity.
It was the beginning of the modern craft movement, she said, where the phrase was being redefined. It grew to encompass a wide range of art, from pottery makers to painters to clothing designers. She watched other popular fairs like Chicago's Renegade find success, which now has 300,000 visitors across 12 cities.
The arts community was also developing in Greenville. Artisphere had just kicked off with a boom and she realized a craft fair might complement it well. "It's a little more unique, it's a little more funky, it's a little outside of the realm you would find in the gallery," said Godbey, who also runs the Makers Collective .
In that first year in 2009, nearly 80 makers and 4,000 visitors arrived at Huguenot Mill in downtown Greenville. Over the past few years, they've hosted the Indie Craft Parade at Timmons Arena on Furman University's campus. With construction happening at Timmons, they've moved it to Judson Mill.
In addition to the craft fair booths, this year will feature a juried competition, live jazz music, food vendors and free crafting stations for adults and kids. More than 600 makers applied for 111 spots. About 40 percent are new artists and 12 are emerging artists who received subsidies to cover costs.
"We wanted to create a venue that was designed around the maker to make everything showcase them to the best that we could," she said. Godbey said they don't have any interest in expanding in the future. They had that option years ago and denied it.
"We would have lost a little bit of the magic," she said. "We made this for Greenville because we love Greenville." For more information, visit indiecraftparade.
com ..
