Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft

Last Sunday two friends and I zipped down to Philly for a quick runaround of the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft. I've been attending this show for years with my friend, and former employer, who owns an American handcraft gallery. This is the show to go to when looking for outstanding Artisans who sell their work wholesale. It's also a great place to go when considering selling your own work wholesale - you can really get a good idea of what is required when doing this level of show. Booth design is very important as well as display. I would really need to put on my fancy-pants creative hat in order to prepare for such a show.

One very nice surprise was running into several Etsy Street Teams that had booths at the show. I spent a particularly long amount of time chatting with the very cool ladies of the Richmond Etsy Street Team. I think I squealed with delight when I spotted the pottery of Tasha McKelvey - someone who's work I have admired since my very first days on Etsy. And she is every bit as sweet and wonderful as her pottery and jewelry (for real!). Also there was Kelly from Modern June who makes the most kick-ass aprons and other oilcloth accessories (see the top photo). There are some pretty bad cheapy imitations of her work out there so don't be fooled - her work is original and top notch.

Also displaying with the Richmond Team was Suzanne of Silver Tree Art and Susannah of Zou Zou's Basement. Both do beautiful mixed media work (see above) from tiny collages to prints to wearable works of art.

All in all it was a great day. The high quality of this show is certainly inspiring, and quite honestly it was wonderful to get out of the Etsy world for a while and to be reminded that there is a lot more out there. :)