About

Hello Craft is a 501(c)6 non-profit trade association (pending), 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. Our website also hosts the highly praised, user-generated Hello Craft Podcast, in which makers from around the globe share their stories of handmade life.

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

Email us at hellocraftinfo@gmail.com

Who is Hello Craft?

Meet the Directors:

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.

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.

Tina Seamonster, Communications Director
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.

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.

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.

Meet our Bloggers:

Christine Ernest
Christine Ernest 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 blog Maganda Design..She also organizes Knitting Avengers in D.C., a gathering of like-minded individuals with a passion for handmade, good conversation, beer and a desire to knit.

Liz Grotyohann
Liz Grotyohann is co-founder of cosa verde, a marketplace connecting artists that create eco-friendly, handmade goods with like-minded shoppers. She also blogs about sustainable craft on cosa verde, and works to promote independent artists and the handmade and green movements. Liz’s background is in graphic design,  but she’s a maker at heart, and has an overwhelming urge sometimes to get away from the computer and use her hands… and power tools.

Joetta Maue
Joetta Maue is a mixed media artist primarily using photography, text, and fiber practices. Her most recent body of work is a series of embroideries and images exploring the conflicts and contradictions that exist within intimacy. Joetta’s work resides within the realm of the everyday, everyday objects, autobiography, and the female. She is especially interested in the role of personal relationships in our lives, seen in our most intimate moments and spaces. joettamaue.com.

Robyn Wells
Robyn Wells fancies herself an inspiration junkie. She is a graphic designer in the Chicagoland area by day. She is a crafter and artist by evenings and weekends.  She’s the kind of girl who chose a Bachelor’s degree in Art because she couldn’t commit to one media. Now she works in drawing, painting, photography, digital design, fiber arts, metalwork, printmaking, 3D and mixed-media. She has a website, robayre.com, and blogs regularly at robayre.com/news.

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.

Krissy Downing – Podcast Editor
Krissy is a math nerd, a musician, a computer dork, a goofball, a good buddy, a dancing queen, a girl scout, a writer, a graphic designer, a rapscallion, and a self-taught painter & illustrator. She is not a fish, a kernel of popcorn, an embankment, two 6″ pieces of red licorice, God, scrod, a boy named “Todd”, nor an ax-weilding murderer from Utah. Krissy likes 7-11 nachos and naps. She doesn’t really care for slug-licking contests.