NEWS RELEASE

HANDMADE ARCADE ANNOUNCESEXPANDED TWO-DAY EVENT

Pittsburgh’s premier indie craft fair adds interactive workshops andnew food vendors, welcomes crafters from around the globe

DATES: Saturday, November 10, 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.and Sunday, November 11, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Construction Junction, 214 North Lexington Street(Point Breeze)

FREE and open to the public, FREE parking

Pittsburgh, PA, September 2007—Unusual Crafts for Unusual Times! Where can you findcleverly constructed wares such as duct tape wallets, jewelry made from typewriter keys andguitar picks, and pillows constructed from vintage T-shirts? Only at HANDMADE ARCADE,Pittsburgh’s largest indie craft fair — the most creative place to jumpstart your holidayshopping season.

Handmade Arcade, Pittsburgh’s award-winning indie craft fair, is celebrating its fourth anniversarywith a newly expanded TWO-DAY event on November 10 and 11. For three years, HandmadeArcade has attracted independent crafters and avid shoppers from Pittsburgh, the Ohio Valley,the East Coast, and the Midwest, to a retail experience unlike any other in the region.

After drawing more than 5,000 shoppers in 2006, Handmade Arcade is pleased to announce anewly expanded event, featuring 86 vendors, one-of-a-kind merchandise, interactive artmakingworkshops, and food and beverage vendors.

Handmade Arcade will take place on Saturday November 10, from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00p.m. AND Sunday, November 11, from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at Construction Junction,located at 214 North Lexington Street, in Point Breeze.

A one-of-a-kind shopping experience, Handmade Arcade features affordable, hand-constructedwares from some of the country’s most cutting-edge and talented crafters. Looking for wackystocking stuffers or the perfect wedding gift for that creative couple? At Handmade Arcade,shoppers will discover homespun wares and unique items, such as scary and sweet stuffedcreatures, knitted accessories, felted fashions, hand bound books, handspun yarns, provocative’zines, and loads more.

CONTACT: Jennifer BaronPhone: 412.571.5499 • Mobile: 412.736.0343press@handmadearcade.comwww.handmadearcade.com

HANDMADE ARCADE

For its 2007 event, Handmade Arcade received more than 200 applications from across thewestern Pennsylvania region, as well as from New York City, Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois, NorthCarolina, Maryland, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Arizona, Canada, and even Japan. HandmadeArcade vendors will sell everything from knitted and duct tape iPod cozies to reconstructed t-shirtsto hand printed rock concert posters.

WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR!Part shopping bonanza, part craft showcase, Handmade Arcade is a celebration of themake-it-yourself aesthetic, as well as one of the year’s must-do events. New this year arehands-on screen-printing activities with Artists Image Resource, “make and take” craft projects byPat Catan's and Knit One yarn dying. Highlights will also include local DJ Pete Spynda of PAN-DEMIC, and spandex-meets-modern-dance performers Jazzercize-Troop Radical PGH.

Food vendors will include many of Pittsburgh’s favorite eateries, such as Gypsy Café, Franktuaryand Coca Café, as well cupcakes from Coco’s, coffee from Starbucks, and vegan baked goodsby My Goodies Bakery. In addition, shoppers can peruse Handmade Arcade’s merchandise tablefeaturing buttons, posters, and t-shirts emblazoned with the organization’s distinct logo.

Admission to Handmade Arcade is free, and the event is open to the public. Free parking isavailable. The first 100 shoppers each day will receive a Handmade Arcade gift bag stuffed withcrafty goodness!

ABOUT HANDMADE ARCADEWhen Handmade Arcade was founded in 2003, there were no events in the Pittsburgh region thatcatered to the burgeoning DIY craft community, so the group’s founders were inspired to organizea fair of Pittsburgh’s own that taps into this national movement and provides a welcoming, freshvenue for artists and shoppers alike. Handmade Arcade’s recent growth has coincided with thenational resurgence of crafting, as a new generation of people are reclaiming craft materials andmethods and putting a contemporary spin on them. Handmade Arcade is run by a group ofcrafty and creative Pittsburghers who have helped to shape and bolster Pittsburgh’s indie craftscene. Handmade Arcade 2007 is sponsored by Scion and Pittsburgh City Paper.

In May 2007, Handmade Arcade received The People’s Choice Award for Best Arts Event,presented by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. The group recently hosted the country’sfirst-ever Craft Congress, which brought 50 leaders of the DIY/indie craft movement from acrossthe U.S. and overseas to Pittsburgh for a weekend of networking and brainstorming. Thesuccessful event, which was supported by a grant from The Sprout Fund, attracted attentionfrom The New York Times, Salon, Venus Magazine, and National Public Radio.

Tapping into a vibrant subculture of young, innovative crafters who bring an artistic, and oftensubversive, sensibility to traditional crafting, Handmade Arcade provides Pittsburgh-based crafterswith an alternative to high-end, fine arts fairs and more traditional craft fairs, while connecting thecity to a thriving craft culture that is sweeping the nation from Brooklyn to San Francisco.Handmade Arcade has made sure that Pittsburgh remains on this significant cultural map.Creative, motivated individuals come to Handmade Arcade to build an audience for theirhandmade products, and they leave seeing Pittsburgh in a new, positive light.

THE DIY CRAFT MOVEMENTThe DIY craft movement brings together artists with a passion for inventiveness and creativity, alove of found and recycled materials, and a spirit of the handmade that is often lacking in today’sprimarily mass-produced, consumer-based culture. Often young women in their 20’s and 30’s,indie crafters delight in combining retro images and materials with traditional craft techniques toproduce practical items with an off-kilter aesthetic.

Defined by its eclecticism and inventiveness, the indie craft movement is known for producinghomespun wares that are shaped by an eye for collecting, reinterpreting and repurposing. Knittingwith Kool-Aid dyed wool is the new craft; using cocktail umbrellas to make lampshades is the newcraft; transforming album covers into purses is the new craft.

Embracing a sense of shared community and practices, the new craft subculture is connectedthrough Internet forums, such as Etsy.com, Craftster.org and GetCrafty.com, groups like CraftMafia and Church of Craft, and large craft fairs, including Bizarre Bazaar in Boston, RenegadeCraft Fair in Brooklyn and Chicago, Maker Faire in San Francisco, and Crafty Bastards inWashington, D.C.

Designers working within the new craft subculture travel regularly to national fairs to sell theirwares, develop an audience and network with international crafters and boutique owners. Fueledby Internet marketing and networking, the number of national indie craft fairs like HandmadeArcade has tripled in recent years. In Pittsburgh, Handmade Arcade provides opportunities thathave strengthened the indie craft community, while at the same time connecting the work of localcrafters to fairs, shops and organizations across the U.S. Many have come to view crafting aseither their primary or secondary business, with popular online craft marketplaces like New YorkCity-based Etsy.com, and indie craft fairs like Handmade Arcade, serving as central outlet forselling and sharing handmade merchandise.

ABOUT THE VENUEConstruction Junction (CJ) is Pittsburgh's only nonprofit building material reuse retailer. Specializingin used and surplus building materials, CJ supports and promotes conservation, and is committedto environmental stewardship and waste prevention. Located in Point Breeze, CJ's retail storeis a spacious and fun place to shop, featuring more than 30,000 square feet of kitchencabinets, doors, bathroom fixtures, lumber, windows, hardware and much more. Supportedby Pennsylvania Resources Council, the state's oldest grassroots environmental organization,CJ encourages donation of unwanted building materials, such as wood, brick, concrete, metal,and cardboard.

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Handmade Arcade, an annual craft fair, exists to provide crafters working outside of themainstream/fine arts craft sector a venue to sell their wares and build a community in Pittsburgh.Handmade Arcade facilitates opportunities provided through crafting, particularly crafts as anavenue for accessible artistic expression and as an opportunity for individuals to establish

independently owned, home-based businesses. Handmade Arcade regularly seeks out newstrategies to educate and empower independent crafters to be successful on their own terms.

2006 GALLERY

HANDMADE ARCADE