Applications opened January 1 for the Piedmont Craftsmen's Fair in Winston-Salem, NC and the Carolina Designer Craftsmen's Guild Show in Raleigh, NC. Piedmont Craftsmen : Carolina Designer Craftsmen
CDC uses Zapp, Piedmont uses a proprietary jurying software. The jury process for both is twofold. Images are submitted of both your work and your booth. Applicants are accepted provisionally to exhibit at the Fair, where the entirety of your presentation is juried.
Once you are juried in as an Exhibiting Guild member, however, you are always eligible to exhibit at the Fair, just by paying nominal Guild dues. Jurying is rigorous, but should you be accepted you can then plan your schedules, build a patron list and start to cultivate it.
Both fairs are indoors in late November, this will be the 49th year for Piedmont and the 43rd year for CDC. An additional benefit to membership in Piedmont is that the Guild operates a year round gallery where members work is shown, as well as monthly themed shows and featured artists. Piedmont is gearing up for the 50th anniversary show in 2014 and that promises to be a major art event with immense promotion through the year. Grants have already been secured, and more are likely to come.
Neither of the Guilds are easy to get into, but each offers significant benefits to its members. the CDC fair is held on the weekend after Thanksgiving, which we all know as Black Friday, the largest shopping day of the year.
Replies