Guide Book
American Craft Show spotlights Bay Area artisans with Hip Pop.
For the San Francisco craft lover, summer is high season for all things handmade — and for the staff at Fort Mason Pavilion, which hosts West Coast Craft and Renegade Craft Fair. In this buzzing scene of dungarees-wearing, UppaBaby-pushing, stylish shoppers perusing vendors’ beautiful objects, American Craft Show offers a slightly different model. Rolling into town on Aug. 4-6 with its 42nd annual event, the city’s oldest craft fair combines mentorship, nonprofit background and educational aspects.
“Craft is the star, not the sideshow,” says Pamela Diamond, director of marketing for the Minneapolis-based American Craft Council. The group hosts four shows a year, in Baltimore, Md.; Atlanta, Ga.; and St. Paul, Minn., in addition to the San Francisco show. “Our mission is educating people about the process of making.” To that end, the event will include Let’s Make inspiration stations, where visitors are invited to take part in making a product, and Hip Pop, a small program dedicated to emerging artists.
The San Francisco show will include six Bay Area standouts, chosen by peers, who will present in designated pods scattered in the marketplace. Each artist is paired with a more experienced maker, who will offer coaching, guidance and feedback on everything from merchandising to socializing with the shoppers. “Getting ready to show is very overwhelming,” says Diamond, “so having assistance helps you get the way of the land. It’s like coming into a dorm — you meet your roommate!” According to Diamond, more than 75 percent of the emerging artists featured eventually graduate into bigger booths.
One of the participants is Sasinun Kladpetch, a Thai multimedia artist in San Francisco who recently graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute’s Fine Arts program and started creating ceramic dishes and jewelry. For her first year at the show, she was paired with Marianne Hunter of Hunter Studios from Palos Verdes (Los Angeles County). Hunter has been running an enamel jewelry businesses for more than15 years. The two have already corresponded via email, and Kladpetch is excited: “I know it’s a great way for me to make a bigger step,” she says. “I’m looking forward to the wholesale aspect of the show, especially getting to meet store owners from other states.” As a Hip Pop participant, Kladpetch gets to apply for all of the Craft Council’s shows this year and tour the country presenting her work.
Amy Coleman, the woman behind Birch & Brush, a Mill Valley line of handcrafted wooden bowls, calls the invitation to Hip Pop “a silver lining.” She started her business two years ago. “This is my first time participating, and I’m not even sure I’m emerging. I’m more of a cocoon!” she jokes. A friend suggested she apply to the program, and getting accepted was more than shocking. “Art is so personal, and sharing it feels very vulnerable,” she says. “I felt a bit like Sally Field in her Academy Award speech where, with tears of joy and gratitude, she said, ‘You like me!’ ” In preparation for the show, Coleman has been in touch with her mentor, Marne Ryan, a Southern Californian jewelry maker. “She has provided me with tips for booth setup, pricing and much more.”
The emerging artists are not the only ones getting insight and perspective. To help put the showcase jewelry, clothes and accessories in broader context, the council is bringing back Style Slam, a presentation by local stylists who compete onstage.
The concept launched last year as a styling match utilizing the show’s vendors. This year it’s led by San Francisco Magazine design and style editor Erin Feher, with stylists Betina Baumgarte, Taylor Negrete, Chelsea Arzu and Alexis Jackson.
In the showcase, the stylists are presented with a space created by an interior designer, to which they must match a head-to-toe fashion look, on the spot. Another twist in the plot is a surprise makeover for a showgoer, chosen among those who applied ahead. “You don’t know what to expect and it’s very dynamic,” says Baumgarte, who is participating for the second year. “What can be better than supporting the local artist community while also creating in the moment? Plus, this program allows people to find unique pieces and tie them into their everyday look.”