photo courtesy of Handmade Arcade
The first and largest independent craft fair, Handmade Arcade, will be at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on December 5. 

Before there was Etsy, there was the Handmade Arcade, Pittsburgh’s first and largest annual craft fair where artists as well as over a hundred other local independent crafters gather to show off and sell their pieces directly to eager craft lovers. 

“You will find everything at this event and it’s all handmade, from jewelry to clothing to art prints, posters, paper crafts, home décor, wooden objects and even tech-based art, and a lot of it is limited edition that the vendors only sell here,” said Jennifer Baron, co-coordinator and public relations manager of Handmade Arcade, in a phone interview.

This year, Handmade Arcade will be taking place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Founded in 2004 by a group of eight women, Handmade Arcade has grown from about 30-35 vendors at its start to over 150 this year. 

 Shopper attendance has been growing throughout the years, as the event has moved from venue to venue. Baron said about 9,000 people showed up last year throughout the day and this year is expected to be even bigger. 

Baron will also be DJ-ing at the event.

Several veteran vendors from the event said that interacting with their customers is one of their favorite parts about Handmade Arcade.

“It’s really nice to talk face-to-face with people who appreciate our products,” said Kelsey Henson, who sells housewares and woodwork from her brand Bones and All, returning to Handmade Arcade for her fourth consecutive year.

Lucy Kelly, a Pittsburgh speech-language pathologist, makes wearable vintage jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets out of repurposed and recycled items. Kelly is returning for her fourth year with Handmade Arcade and reminisces on the initial feeling she gets when shoppers make an entrance.

“When the doors first open and the crowd all rushes in to see everything is just an exciting feeling from a shopper’s and vendor’s perspective,” Kelly said. 

Other vendors say they enjoy the atmosphere of the event.

“The comradery between the sellers is just great and even though you’re all there for the same reason, it’s great to see the other things,” said Ben Saks of kerfcase.com, who will be selling wooden iPhone cases in his second year at the Handmade Arcade.

Ryan Bates of Retro Built Games adds about the diversity in items found at Handmade Arcade. 

“Everything is unique, you never know what you’re going to find there,” Bates said.

While some vendors like Stephen McDonald, who started attending three years ago and sells home goods, uses the event to network and meet with new people. 

“I enjoy the DIY attitude which the Handmade Arcade promotes, and I also enjoy talking to the people,” McDonald said.

“I’m excited to see what Pittsburgh has in store with this, and also excited to just meet the other people there,” said Ash Cole, who will be selling mainly woodwork in her first year as a vendor at the event.

Baron said the vendors are chosen by a jury consisting of a volunteer planning team and guest jury members from the local artistic community.

“It’s quite a rigorous process we go through, we try to balance out the different types of categories,” Baron said. “We also look at quality, craftsmanship, originality, innovation, price range and everything has to be strictly handmade.” 

Other than the shopping aspect, Handmade Arcade also has a space devoted to tutorials and how-to guides for interested guests called “Hands on Handmade,” which will be open all day to let people of all ages participate in the creation process. Several local artists will rotate in and out throughout the day, demonstrating techniques and procedures used to make several of the unique crafts seen throughout the event.

Pittsburgh art director and graphic designer Kara Reid created this year’s signature “scissor girl” logo, using mainly string. Reid was chosen to create the logo after submitting her design concept to the board.

“As simple as it looks it took a lot of research and testing of materials in things that I never thought I would have to investigate,” Reid said.

The administrative side of the event is and has always been completely volunteer based. 

“It can be practically a full-time job, but we get such amazingly positive feedback and the gratitude of the vendors, shoppers and volunteers is just a really great feeling to have,” said Tricia Brancolini, director and sponsorship coordinator for the Handmade Arcade, about her work for the event in a phone interview.

Although it can be difficult, the volunteers enjoy seeing the results of their work.

“It just blows my mind that everyone who runs it are volunteers, it’s amazing that none of them are paid staff,” Ashley Cecil, an artist selling scarves, prints and other objects with her designs on them at her second year at the Handmade Arcade said.

Handmade Arcade is open to the public with free admission. The event is hosted at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit Handmade Arcades website, handmadearcade.com.