A Q&A with Chris Bettini, Traci Skipper and Mandy Nelson, Handmade Triad Organizers of Greensboro
www.handmadetriad.com
The Birth of Handmade Triad
Traci: We're a group of local crafters, painters and vintage selling groups who all got started on Etsy (www.etsy.com), which is an online place for handmade/vintage goods. We got together outside of online, and ... we started meeting once a month to talk about promoting our businesses, marketing ideas, photography ideas, how to improve and enhance things, how to be a more successful seller online, and to share tips for working local craft shows.
In January we started Handmade Triad which is the website, www.handmadetriad.com for our group. Right now we have 24 members. We thought we really wanted to get to know the people instead of being a random group. That helped give us a feel for what everyone is doing and what works.
When I got started there wasn't a group for the Greensboro area; so I started one. I was looking for other people in the Greensboro Triad area to see if they were doing the same thing I was doing, which was trying to make my craft into a business. I searched to see Greensboro artists who were on Etsy.
Handmade Triad is a parent group. On the website, individual items are pulled from their Etsy site. We're all individual businesses who are a part of the Handmade Triad group.
The Work That They Do
Chris: I do chain mail jewelry and recycled leather cuffs. I will go out to thrift stores and find old coats, pocket books and make leather cuffs out of them with chain mail in them. Chain mail is an ancient art form that used to be used for armor, and I'll take tiny rings and weave them together and make jewelry ---- bracelets, necklaces, earrings.
Traci: I have two sites on Etsy. One is for fun accessories for kids and grown-ups, and I also make beaded jewelry.
Mandy: I crochet baby blankets, scarves, shawls, little bags. I have recently started doing some bags using plarn, also know as plastic yarn. So I take grocery bags, cut them into strips, put the strips together to make the yarn and make the bag from that. So I kind of recycle materials.
When Crafting Became Cool
Traci: I think people are more interested in handmade things now. People want to get away from the malls, get away from the big box stores, the mass-produced goods. We want something that's unique, and if I can see someone make it with their hands, it makes it more special rather than something made in China that you can buy at Walmart. We think a lot of people are in that mindset now. We are all local. We have a sense of community. Within our group we want to see people succeed.
Chris: We have one lady who got in contact with us, and she's sponsoring a family from Iraq. One of the family members is a caricature artist, and she wanted to bring him to a Handmade Triad meeting. We were like, "Yes, bring him," and to our knowledge he's done very well. We want to see people do the best they can whether it's online or at shows.
Taking Over First Friday Indie Market
Chris: At the end of December Zeke [Vantreese] told us he wouldn't be doing the First Friday Indie Markets anymore. I thought, "I can't imagine not doing the monthly markets anymore." The crowd attendance was so good and so was the vendor participation. I couldn't see a valid reason for letting them go. This is the third one we have been doing coming up in June. It's a regular place that's inexpensive that people can get out there and sell what they've made. Everyone is great, we all really help each other. It was too good to let go all the way around.
What Their Website Features
Mandy: We have a lot of jewelry, several people who make soaps. We have people who have vintage shops selling clothing, handbags, shoes, accessories, decorative items. There is a lot of variety.
Traci: It's mostly online, which is one reason why we (members of Handmade Triad) wanted to continue doing the First Friday Indie Markets. We really see the need to get out there and show people our things.
Mandy: Baby blankets and scarves don't sell just from a picture. You've got to see them and touch them. Once you know what it is you are more likely to come back and order something online again later. It's the same with jewelry.
Their Hopes and Dreams
Mandy: We are trying to make Handmade Triad the place to go to find local artists. We want people to join our group. We would like to get more active members, get more people involved, more people coming to meetings.
Traci: We hope it grows. It's a choice to support your local area and artists. We're supporting local businesses, keep the money here. We would like to become something that has weight within the community.
Chris: We see it as being the next Greensboro Arts and Crafts Guild. It would be nice to become something like that. We are hoping people know of and know where to go when they want that special something that they just can't find anywhere else. We would love to have one big Handmade Triad craft show.
---- As told to Erin McClanahan Rainwater, eringrey718@yahoo.com.
