2025 Spring Market Application

2025 Spring Market Application

Thank you for your interest in applying for Handmade Arcade's 2025 Spring Market on April 12, 2025 at Construction Junction in Pittsburgh!

This application will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete. Your application cannot be saved, so we recommend you prepare your answers on a saved document and then complete this application in one sitting. We recommend you review our Spring Market Application Rubric and Spring Market FAQs before completing your application.

Application Deadline: Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM (EST)

Application Fee: $15

Applicant Notifications: End of February

Booth Fee: $80

Booth Fee Deadline: March 10, 2025 at 11:59 PM (EST)

Application notifications will be sent from makers@handmadearcade.org. Handmade Arcade will send notification emails to all applicants (accepted, waitlisted, and those not accepted).

Eligibility:
- Maker business must adhere to Handmade Arcade’s definition of a “handmade business” as defined in our Spring Market FAQs
- Maker business must be a “new and emerging maker” as defined in our Spring Market FAQs
- Maker must not be a food or beverage vendor
- Maker must not have sold at a previous Handmade Arcade market*
*Makers who have sold at the Handmade Arcade Holiday Market as part of the Youth Maker Accelerator program are eligible to apply for the Spring Market.
MAKER INFORMATION
First Name*
Last Name*
Pronouns
Business Name*
Email*
example@example.com
Street Address Line 1*
Street Address Line 2
City*
State/Province*
Postal / Zip Code*
Phone Number*
Please enter a valid phone number.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Have you ever been a maker at a Handmade Arcade Market?*
Our partners at Bridgeway Capital are providing up to 10 booth scholarships to the 2025 Spring Market for makers who are part of their Alliance for Creative Rural Economies (ACRE) cohort. Are you an ACRE maker?

YesNo
ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

Handmade Arcade defines a "handmade business" as follows:
- Artist(s) created the original products
- No use of mass-produced, trademarked, or licensed items in work
- No use of copyrighted designs artist(s) doesn't own in the work
- No use of purchased, downloaded, or copied images or designs in work
- At least 80% artist's original creation
Applicants who do not fit the definition of "handmade business" will not be considered.

Handmade Arcade defines a "new & emerging maker" as follows:
- Maker's business is less than five years old
- Maker does not have a brick-and-mortar store
- Makers products are not yet available at brick-and-mortar retail location
The ideal maker for this market is someone who has not previously sold at markets that feature 50+ vendors, including but not limited to:
- I Made It! Market events
- Neighborhood Flea
- Squirrel Hill Night Market
- Three Rivers Arts Festival
- Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media events
If you have sold at these markets before, you are welcome to apply for the Spring Market, but our jurors will prioritize makers who don’t have experience selling at larger markets. If you have applied and have been accepted into any of the markets listed above for 2025, we consider you an "emerging" maker.

Food and drink vendors are not eligible for this program.
I certify that my work aligns with Handmade Arcade's criteria for a "handmade business."*

YesNo
I certify that I am a "new and emerging maker" as defined by Handmade Arcade.*

YesNo
If accepted into the Spring Market, do you agree to attend one virtual Accepted Maker Meeting and one in-person Spring Market walkthrough meeting at Construction Junction prior to the Spring Market?*

Yes, I agree.No, I don't agree.
Which of the following best describes your work as a maker?*

My maker business is my main source of income.My maker business provides supplemental but necessary income.My maker business is a hobby, and I do not rely on that income to pay my bills.Other
How to describe yourself? Please check all that apply.*

MakerArtistCreative EntrepreneurCrafterOther
What year did you start your maker business? *
Please note that we define "new and emerging" maker as those whose businesses are less than five years old
What artistic category do your products best fit into? *
What would you consider to be your artistic sub-category, if any?
Website
Company website, link to Etsy shop, etc.
Facebook
Please share only business-related social media pages, not personal social media accounts.
Instagram
Please share only business-related social media pages, not personal social media accounts.
Other Social Media Accounts
Please share only business-related social media pages, not personal social media accounts.
What is the price range of your products?*
What do the majority of your products sell for?*
Have you ever participated in a craft or maker fair?*

YesNo
What craft or maker fair(s) have you participated in?
If you're applying from out of state, our jurors will take a look at the size of the markets you have previously participated in to determine if you qualify as a new & emerging maker. Handmade Arcade defines new and emerging makers as makers with businesses less than five years old who haven't sold at events with more than 50 vendors.
APPLICATION RESPONSES
The final piece of the application is answering the following:
- Describe the products you create.
- What makes your products unique?
- Describe your creative process and how you make your products.
You can provide this additional information in a written format, voice recording, or video submission.

We recommend reviewing the Spring Market Rubric before completing your application. Please note that if maker scores are tied during the jurying process, priority will be given to makers who are residents of Allegheny County.
How would you like to answer the three questions above?*

Written FormatVoice RecordingVideo Submission
Describe the products you create and plan to sell at the Spring Market. *
What makes your products unique?*
Tell us about the innovative materials you use, the creative approach to your products, why each piece is one-of-a-kind, etc.
Describe your creative process. *
Tell us about the materials, tools, skills, and techniques you use to create your products.
Describe the products you create, what makes your products unique, and the creative process you use to make your products. Please make sure you tell us about the materials you use, the creative approach to making, the tools you use, what artistic skills and techniques you use, etc.
Please upload a video showing us the products you create, what makes your products unique, and the creative process you use to make your products. Please make sure you tell us about the materials you use, the creative approach to making, the tools you use, what artistic skills and techniques you use, etc.

Video length must be five minutes or less.
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Application Photos
PHOTO GUIDELINES

Applicants must submit a minimum of three (3) and maximum of six (6) photos. Photos must display your products through clear images and should showcase a large variety of your products. Please ensure that images are high-quality photos reflective of your brand and specific point-of-view.
- Maximum File Size: 10 mb
- Allowed File Types: jpg, png
- Photos MUST represent the work you plan to sell if accepted into the Spring Market.
- If you have a picture of your booth/table set-up from another market, you can include that in your application, but please make sure we can clearly see your products.
- Feel free to include pictures that showcase your creative process as long as they allow jurors to clear view the products you will sell at the Spring Market.
- Please include your business name as the image file name. Example: MyBusiness1.jpg, MyBusiness2.jpg, etc.
- If you are applying for the Artwork or Paper Goods categories, please include pictures that clearly showcase the products you will sell with your artwork (i.e. prints of your artwork, stickers, tote bags with your artwork, etc.).
Applications without at least three (3) images will not be considered.
Application Photos*

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Demographic Information (Optional)
One of Handmade Arcade's strategic plan initiatives is to diversify the makers, attendees, and contractors that participate in all of our programs and services. We invite applicants to share their demographic information so we can better understand if we are succeeding in these goals. The following demographic questions are optional, and responses will be kept private and secure.
What category best describes you? Please feel free to check all that apply.

American Indian or Alaska NativeAsian American/South Asian/AsianBlack or African AmericanHispanic, Latinx or Latino, or Spanish OriginMiddle Eastern or North AfricanNative Hawaiian or Other Pacific IslanderWhite/Caucasian/EuropeanPrefer not to answerOther
What is your age range?
Are you a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community?
What is your gender?

WomanManNonbinaryAgenderPrefer not to answerOther
Are you a person with a disability (including but not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses)?
Agreements
Applicants who are not accepted into the Spring Market may opt-in to receive their scores from the jurying process to better understand how they could improve their application in the future. If you are not accepted into the Spring Market, would you like to receive your juried scores?*

YesNo
Please review Handmade Arcade's Maker Terms & Conditions.
I have read and agree to Handmade Arcade's Maker Terms & Conditions.*

Yes
Application Fee
Non-refundable application fee is $15. To receive an application fee waiver, please complete this form by February 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM (EST).

2025 Spring Market Application Fee

$15.00

Product Name

$ Free Quantity

Enter coupon

Total

$0.00

Should be Empty:

MAKER INFORMATION

APPLICATION INFORMATION

APPLICATION RESPONSES

Application Photos

Demographic Information (Optional)

Agreements

Application Fee