We are excited to announce our 2019 Holiday Handmade Cavalcade!

This December, the NY Handmade Collective is bringing its highly anticipated annual holiday shopping event to Brooklyn and Manhattan for the 12th time!

Join us at Brooklyn Historical Society on Pierrepont St. in Brooklyn Heights, December 7-8, 11am-6pm
And then Chelsea Market in Manhattan, December 9-15, 10:30am-7:30pm.
For more details, go to nyhandmadecollective.org/hhc-2019

As our group’s name suggests, we are local, we are dedicated to making the things we sell, and we place value in working together to achieve our creative and professional goals. This spirit infuses our events, which we think of as a chance to share not only what we create and the community we’ve built, but also how and why we do what we do and why it matters.

We love spending time with our team at the holidays, and this camaraderie creates a warm and inviting atmosphere in which shopping can be a festive experience shared with neighbors, friends, and family, rather than a hectic chore. Celebrate with us and each other as you to see, feel, touch, smell, and fall in love with a carefully crafted selection of unique jewelry, greeting cards, art, beauty products, clothing, baby items, and more! Find meaningful gifts, learn directly from their creators about what inspired them, and establish relationships with the people who make what you love to give (and get!) - future shopping made even easier and more fun!

More than 40,000 people visited us last year, and we’re confident that the special qualities of our members, their products, and our mission will allow us to continue to grow.

Unsurprisingly, as the world’s most vibrant online marketplace for handmade, presenting sponsor Etsy appreciates the work of the NY Handmade Collective. In fact, we were originally founded as an Etsy team, any many of us have successfully used their platform to build our own businesses!

Also stepping up to show us they support our community are Purl Soho and NYDesigns. We adore Purl Soho’s fresh approach to traditional fiber arts, and those not able to visit its very special flagship store in NYC can still access this much-loved resource for natural fibers, high quality supplies, and modern design from anywhere in the world through its beautiful website. 

NYDesigns, joining us as a sponsor for the first time this year, is a hardware and design incubator and makerspace that is part of LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City. Its 5,000-square-foot FabLab includes 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, and a full woodworking shop. Open to community members through memberships and workshops for makers of all levels, it also offers custom fabrication services.

We are thrilled to have Fine & Raw as a sponsor again for this year’s Holiday Handmade Cavalcade!

Fine & Raw checks off all the boxes an informed shopper with exquisite taste could want - high-quality products, dynamic packaging, a sustainable business model, and a company that cares about its community. And speaking of taste, we know anyone lucky enough to receive a gift of this exceptionally crafted chocolate will be begging to know more about it!

Founder Daniel Sklaar started out by making small batches of raw chocolate in his Williamsburg loft in 2008. He shared the fruits of his labor with friends and offered delivery to local purveyors via bicycle. The enthusiastic response he received, combined with his research into the science of the health benefits associated with raw chocolate, motivated him to hone his craft and expand his flavor offerings. Since then, Fine & Raw has grown into a collaborative team of makers (kind of like the NY Handmade Collective!) that produces its mouth-watering confections right here in Bushwick.

An absolute dedication to quality and flavor is immediately apparent with your first taste of any of Fine & Raw’s delicious line of bars, truffles, and spreads. We especially love the smoothness and unexpectedly rich complexity of the chocolate. Even better, it’s dairy free (great for vegan friends!) and sweetened with coconut sugar, which lets the deep flavors of the un-roasted cacao shine through and maximizes the nutritional and health benefits of raw chocolate.

Stop by Fine & Raw’s table at Chelsea Market (December 3-9) and the Brooklyn Historical Society (December 15-16) to see for yourself what dedication to crafting the finest chocolates in the world looks - and more importantly TASTES - like!

Blick Art Materials' Grand Opening in Brooklyn, featuring NYHC artists!

NY Handmade Collective joined Blick at their Flatbush store's grand opening, which kicked off Thursday, November 15, and continued through the weekend. Doorbusters, giveaways, and live music were on deck, as well as Saturday's special highlight on local artists featuring demonstrations by eight NY Handmade Collective artists.

Blick has long been a go-to store for professional artists, students, and beginners, and their newest Brooklyn store at 41 Flatbush Avenue, which opened this fall, is no exception.

Saturday's demos ranged from mixed media art to pen and ink, including a Speedball block printing demo with our own Neena Litton, fashion illustration with Strathmore pads and Copic markers by Joanna Baker, calligraphy using Canson pads by Danielle Rothman, and much more.

Sunday put the spotlight on kids, with a kid-friendly paint pouring workshop, face painting, a ProjectArt children's demo, and prize wheel giveaways.

The new store features local and associate artists throughout the space, including work by crochet artist London Kaye, paintings by Danielle Mastrion, and a mural by artist/designer Efdot behind the cashwrap. Shop an expanded range of products, experience in-store demos, and try new techniques and projects at the newest Blick Brooklyn store.

Thanks again Blick! We couldn’t produce our Handmade Cavalcade without amazing sponsors like you!

Our Holiday Gifts to You

That’s right! Our Holiday Handmade Cavalcade markets aren’t just a great opportunity for you to experience the thrill of finding the perfect present for someone you love. They’re also a chance to treat yourself!

To begin with, we never charge admission to browse our markets. We think you should be able to enjoy meeting our makers and seeing what they have to offer without having to pay for the privilege. We know you’ll find treasures at their tables!

If you’re an early bird, you could go home with something much better than a worm! On each market day, we’ll reward the first buyers with goody bags valued at a whopping $70! Full of handmade treats, they’re sure to bring you comfort and joy. You might find yourself leaving with chocolate, luxury yarn, tickets to local museums, art supplies, jewelry, skincare products, and more!

Just a few of the goodies that will be there!

But no matter when you arrive at our markets, you could still be a winner (we think you’re all winners, really)! Each time you make a purchase, you’ll get another entry (one per vendor per market) in one of two themed raffle drawings per event. More shopping at more markets from more makers equals more chances to win!

These extravagant collections of merchandise from New York Handmade Collective members and our amazing sponsors (Blick Art Materials, Purl Soho yarn shop, Fine & Raw chocolate, and The Rubin Museum) have been curated into tempting themes - For the Fashionista (2 of these!), For The Home, Foodie Fanatic, Kids Korner, and Inner Artist. They’ll be awarded at the conclusion of each Cavalcade market, and we know you want to shop early to make sure you have the best selection, so you need not be present to win.

Supporting local makers has never been so rewarding! We’ll see you on November 24th and 25th at The Invisible Dog in Brooklyn for our Small Business Saturday event, from December 3rd-9th at Chelsea Market, and on December 15th and 16th at the Brooklyn Historical Society.

Announcing the 2018 Holiday Handmade Cavalcade!

The decorations are going up around the city, the weather has FINALLY cooled down, we’ve turned back our clocks, and we’re READY! Well, we’re GETTING ready, like little elves hard at work in our studios, to show you why the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade stands apart from all the other shopping events in NYC this time of year.

For our 11th season, we’re giving you three chances to buy handmade and local from a carefully curated selection of NY Handmade Collective members. Engage all your senses as you shop for jewelry, greeting cards, art, beauty products, clothing, baby items, and more from our 60+ participating vendors, all of whom are based in the tri-state.

Our first market will take place on Small Business Saturday weekend, November 24-25, from 11am-6pm at the Invisible Dog, located at 51 Bergen St. in Brooklyn. Next up is our week-long pop-up inside Chelsea Market, December 3-9 from 10:30am - 7:30pm, 75 9th Ave. in Manhattan. Finally, on December 15-16, visit us at the Brooklyn Historical Society from 11am-6pm at 128 Pierrepont St. in Brooklyn.

We are so proud to be the only all-volunteer, vendor-run handmade market in NYC, and we bring the same imagination that we use in our work to the production of our retail events. We hope you find (and buy) something you or someone you love will treasure, but we also want to celebrate and share the joy of making things, so we’ll have interactive demos courtesy of Blick Art Materials for you to get in touch with your inner artist, and we’ll be giving away special gifts and prizes via our raffles!

We know our sense of community shines through when we come together, and this is one reason why our 2017 Cavalcade drew more than 25,000 visitors. Our personalized service, which allows us to connect with customers in a unique and meaningful way, is the final step in our creative process, which we think results in happier gift-givers and recipients!

For 2018, we’re thrilled to be sponsored by partners who share our appreciation for handmade goods, quality, and craftsmanship: Blick Art Materials, Etsy, Fine & Raw Chocolate, Purl Soho, and Green Mountain Energy.

Admission to the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade is free and with every purchase, shoppers will receive a raffle ticket and a chance to win prizes made by the talented members of the NY Handmade Collective, as well as special gifts donated from Fine & Raw and Blick.

For more information about the NY Handmade Collective's Holiday Handmade Cavalcade, visit www.handmadecavalcade.com. 

New York Handmade Collective at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival Press Release

New York Handmade Collective Back at 2018 BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival

Back for an eighth season, the New York Handmade Collective (NYHC), a vibrant community of local artisans, was again selected to be the sole merchandise vendor for BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, the premier outdoor summer concert series in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

From June 5th through August 11th, show attendees will get exclusive access to NYHC’s carefully curated pop-up market chock full of quality goods made by local artists – who are also the friendly staff during all of the shows! Visitors can come in and talk shop with any one of them to find out more about the handmade collective, the techniques that go into producing their wares, or just to say hello.

With this season’s vendors, many completely new this year, one can adorn themselves, get their eco-conscious, buy-local, ethically-made self on as well as find some original and affordable gifts. This year’s selection includes a variety of jewelry and accessories for all tastes featuring natural gemstones, textured enamels, funky, go-anywhere chains and sleek, animal-inspired pieces. One can also become a better version of themselves with any of this season’s small-designer, upcycled, chic and versatile apparel and accessories, unique screen-printed tees and elegant NYC-inspired scarves and bandanas. For the kids, there is an excellent selection of cute, cool and creative onesies, tees, and felt accessories as well as coloring and craft kits to keep the kiddos happy during the show. The guys, and those that love them, will want to come check out the booth’s new, stylish handmade leather goods, including wallets, key fobs, man bags and pouches.

Shoppers thrilled with so much to peruse will also no doubt be inspired to treat themselves and others to some self-love with a beautiful array of all-natural body products, yummy fragrances and skin care, as well as indulge their love of place and moment with a great variety of hand-sewn picnic blankets, linens and other gifts including artist-drawn Brooklyn and NYC prints, greeting cards and bags.

Whether Brooklynite or visitor, anyone attending the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival this summer will be delighted to stop by and shop as they enjoy great music and support local handmade artisans by picking up some cool, one-of-a-kind gifts to mark the experience.

And what an experience it will be! Headliners for the free (yes, free!) concerts this year include Branford Marsalis, Los Lobos, Aimee Mann, Fischerspooner, Antibalas, and Anoushka Shankar. And that’s just a few! There will also be a handful of terrific benefit concerts to attend throughout the season, including Common, the Decemberists, Grizzly Bear and Spoon. These benefit shows, spaced throughout the season, help to raise vital funds to provide for all of the other free world-class performing arts programming that happens at thanks to BRIC.

About BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival

In its 40th season, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival is one of New York City’s longest running free outdoor performing arts festivals. Launched in 1979 as a catalyst for a Brooklyn performing arts scene and to bring people back into Prospect Park after years of neglect, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival was an early anchor in the park’s revitalization. Over its history, the festival has presented thousands of artists and ensembles reflective of the borough’s diversity. Most BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival performances are free!

About BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn

BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn is a multidisciplinary arts and media non-profit dedicated to presenting contemporary arts, performing arts, and community media programs that are reflective of Brooklyn’s diverse communities, and to providing resources and platforms to support the creative process.

About the New York Handmade Collective

Created in the summer of 2007, the New York Handmade Collective (NYHC) is made up of over 200 artists, designers, and crafters based in the metro New York area who create and sell handmade items on Etsy.com, a global marketplace for handmade goods. The group was formed to provide a forum for local, Etsy-based artisans to support one another in their business endeavors and to promote the beauty and availability of locally made and carefully crafted products to the public. To learn more about the New York Handmade Collective, visit nyhandmadecollective.org.

Contact: Jenny Topolski, CBK Marketing Lead: info@jtopolski.com