About
Hello Craft is a 501(c)6 non-profit trade association, dedicated to the advancement of independent crafters and the handmade movement, as well as empowering small business owners and educating the public to the benefits of buying handmade.
Founded in 2008 by four crafters/craft fair organizers who share a love of making, Hello Craft actively pursues it’s mission through the educational facets of our website, and various events held throughout the year such as our Field Trips and our annual 3-day conference, the Summit of Awesome.
Providing accessible crafting opportunities is made possible through our Make Something Awesome Area, which we bring to various events around the country. Our Make Something Awesome Area brings together crafters who want to share their love of making, with the general public, who are given the opportunity to try out different craft projects at no cost.
Hello Craft also shares information concerning small business how-tos and general knowledge of the handmade movement through a variety of media. Utilizing a cadre of bloggers, Hello Craft educates readers on various issues important to small independent business owners and consumers of handmade goods.
Become a Member of Hello Craft
As a membership-based trade organization, Hello Craft offers yearly memberships to crafters and makers of all levels and interests. All members enjoy discounts to our events, as well as educational guides and marketing tools for successful branding and selling. Becoming a member also connects you to a larger network of crafters who share your commitment to the handmade community.
Contact Us
General Inquiries: info[at]hellocraft[dot]com
Hello Craft Blog Inquiries: christine[at]hellocraft[dot]com
Who is Hello Craft?
Meet the Directors:
Sara Dick, Marketing Director
I enjoy fresh produce, bumpy yarn, craft brews, Frank Zappa and smart people. I make stuff and love to buy handmade. I’ve helped create & run WCP’s Crafty Bastards and the Craft Mutiny’s Holiday Booty Market. I also know a thing or two about online advertising. Thank you, day job.
Kimberly Dorn, Executive Director
Kimberly is one of the Festival Creators/Organizers behind the behemoth indie craft fair, Crafty Bastards. With 10+ years experience producing a variety of events, and running her craft line Kitten Rocks Well, Kimberly combines her love of planning with her excitement in making, in Hello Craft.
Christine Ernest, Communications Director
Christine thrives on breathing new life into everyday and found objects. As such, her natural habitat is in any secondhand store or estate sale. Photos of thrift finds and crafty endeavors are documented on her Tumblr. Follow her on Twitter at @cernest.
Kelly Rand, Program Director
A writer for DCist.com and Crafting a Green World, Kelly is a compulsive knitter and avid maker. She spends most of her free time pursuing crafty endeavors and volunteering for numerous causes. Kelly believes that handmade will save the world.
Meet the Board of Directors:
Hello Craft is governed by a Board of Directors, made up of members of the handmade community. The Board includes Sara Dick (President), Tina Henry-Barrus, Kimberly Dorn and Kelly Rand, as well as:

Beth Baldwin (Secretary)
Beth Baldwin is an artist and crafts person who lives in Washington DC. She comes from a long line of crafters, from toy makers to potters to quilters and kicks herself every day she didn’t ask more questions when she should have. You can check out her line of handmade plush goods in her Tigerflight Etsy shop, and follow her crafting adventures on her blog, magpiedc.blogspot.com.
Liz Eckstein (Treasurer)
Liz Eckstein is a potter, seamstress and obsessive vintage button & textile collector. A former Crafty Bastards organizer turned finance manager for a conservation organization; she’s now pioneering the front range craft scene. When she has time, she sells her line of nature-inspired, upcycled pillows and housewares at trees3.etsy.com.
Tina Seamonster
Tina is a blogger, podcaster, crafter, mom to three year old twins and overall superstar. She believes that you should do as much as you can each day. She has blogged her life and craft for 5 years! at I Like Seamonsters.com and is a regular contributor to both the Crafty Bastards Blog and the Etsy Storque.
Debbie Lee
Debbie is a music lover, crafter, and mom with a love for all things DIY. She is the founder of the awesomely popular family-friendly rock show series, Rock-n-Romp, which has made the scene in Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Memphis, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Washington DC. When she’s not booking your favorite local band to play for kids, she is busy making stuff for her Etsy store, 60bugs, and organizing supercool events that showcase handmade stuff like Handmade Mart.
Christy Petterson (Membership Representative)
Christy is a crafter and writer who lives with her adorable husband in a tiny bungalow in Atlanta. By day, she works full-time as a Public Relations Specialist. By night, she organizes the Indie Craft Experience, a large craft market in Atlanta, and creates a line of jewelry and accessories called a bardis. She sells her creations at craft markets such as Crafty Bastards in DC, Bazaar Bizarre in Boston, Renegade in Chicago and Brooklyn and Craftland in Providence. She has written for ReadyMade, VenusZine, Craft magazine and more. She blogs at www.abardis.com and www.abardis.tumblr.com and she curates a portfolio of handcrafted delights at www.createdtreats.wordpress.com.
Meet our Bloggers:
Claire Menegus
Claire Menegus is an aspiring writer who’s interests intersect at business, design, cheesecake baking and her self-proclaimed nerdy fascination with the internet and new media. Her creative impulses change almost daily — from making home made liqueurs to sewing to book binding, though her life-long obsessions have been cooking and baking. Growing up in a household of artists, she feels passionate about supporting independent creators, and speculates that handmade goods and small business could be the new and improved economy of the future. Claire loves to talk! Contact her at claire[at]hellocraft[dot]com.
Bettie Newell
Bettie is a mother, an amateur photographer and a lawyer who blogs about photography, life and the crafty and DIY culture in her beloved city at Little Paper Cities. You’ll pretty much never catch her without her camera in hand and she’ll soon be selling her prints in a new Etsy shop with the same name. Bettie likes making new things out of old things, hanging out in thrift stores, and avoiding direct sunlight. In between taking care of her two daughters and her two little dogs, Bettie consults with small creative businesses on everything from marketing to time management. She somehow also manages to practice law on a part-time basis from her home office for the firm Tonkon Torp LLP.
Meet our Contributors:
Jaime Zollars – Illustrator
Jaime Zollars is an illustrator inspired by fairy tales and Flemish painters. She paints pictures for children’s books, magazines, and gallery walls. When she’s not making art, you’ll probably find her constructing mechanical paper toys, or at least writing about them on her blog, www.paperforestblog.com.
Please go to this page to meet all of our previous Bloggers and Contributors.













