Crafts get funky edge

Does the term "craft sale" conjure images of popsicle stick angels, crocheted lace doilies, potpourri satchels and a dank church basement swarming with soccer moms?

Well, not for long. Not if Tracy Parker has anything to say about it.

"I've always been jealous of cities that have neat do-it-yourself sales, like the Bizarre Bazaar in Cleveland or Art vs. Craft in Chicago," Parker said.

Fed up with traditional craft sales she has participated in, Parker, 28, masterminded the No Coast Craft-o-rama. The sale took place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Columbia Manor in Northeast Minneapolis.

Parker crafts handmade cards that she sells at two northeast craft stores, Dabble and Crafty Planet. Parker works full time as a communications consultant for Wells Fargo.

"Making cards is just a fun thing," she said. "I don't really want it to become like a part-time job."

Parker said crafting is becoming a more popular hobby among younger generations.

"I used to feel like a nerd being into sewing and crafty stuff," she said, "but now it's like all the closet nerds are coming out and making it cool."

When she came up with the idea for No Coast, Parker began talking to the owner of Crafty Planet, Trish Hoskins. Together they formed Crafters Local 612.

"It's just the name we made up for the people planning the sale. We thought it should have a name," Parker said.

Crafters Local 612 is a group of eight creative women, Parker and Hoskins included, that met through Crafty Planet.

Parker said she hopes No Coast will be a hipper sale, with more unique wares than found at an ordinary craft sale.

"There will be more funky types of people and weird, off-the-wall stuff," she said. "We've got a good mix of vendors that otherwise wouldn't participate in a craft sale."

"I've wanted to be in a craft show for a while," said vendor and Unblinking Eye Designs creator, Karen Benke. "The No Coast is the first show that has really appealed to me. I'm interested in funkier crafts and I love that this show will be all local artists."

Benke, 31, makes stained glass window panels, sun catchers, ornaments and decorative glass pieces.

"I like the hands-on, manual labor aspect of creating stained glass- especially the power tools," Benke said.

Crafters Local 612 found vendors by posting flyers around Minneapolis and on craft Web sites like craftster.org. Parker said that flyers posted at Crafty Planet brought in the biggest response.

"A lot of people waited until the last minute to apply. We were worried we wouldn't have enough (vendors), but 40 people applied in the last week," Parker said.

Parker said about 100 people applied for the sale, then Crafters Local 612 chose 52 participants.

"It was a painful elimination process that involved lots of arguing," she said. "We tried to ensure a variety of price points and types of crafts."

Vendor and creator of Lonny Unitis, Lon Jerome said, "I signed up because my wife convinced me to."

Jerome, 31, makes screen printed posters for bands and art prints.

He has participated in a few poster/rock-art related gallery shows and two Flatstock poster conventions.

"At a show like No Coast I'd imagine size will help me stand out," he said. "Most of my posters are in the 18-by-24" range."

Parker said she wants to make No Coast more of an event rather than just a place to come and shop.

BUST magazine sponsored the sale and the first 300 guests received a free copy.

No Coast's target audience was anyone looking for a good time. Parker said she doesn't want anyone to feel excluded based on age.

"The majority of vendors are in their 20s or 30s, but we have a couple of people that are still in high school and some in their 60s," Parker said. "My vision is crafting as a full circle. It's not just about young people or grandmas. I think it's the neatest thing to have a variety of age ranges come together and be excited about the same thing."