Etsy sellers to ‘come out of the internet’ for massive craft fair this weekend

Hundreds of people are expected to show up June 5-6 under the Manhattan Bridge. There, a craft party will take place, organized by the Dumbo Improvement District and Etsy.
“Both Friday and Saturday, there will be craft sessions,” Dumbo Improvement District Executive Director Alexandra Sica said. Artists who are showcasing and selling their work on Etsy’s platform will “come out of the internet” to teach people how to create handmade items, Sica said. There will also be music, and a craft-item market, where 16 Etsy sellers will show their art.
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This is the sixth year that Brooklyn has hosted the craft party. This year, Lauren Hoban, Etsy’s Seller Event Outreach Manager, said that people are encouraged to bring their own photographs that they’d like to workshop with the craft supplies Etsy is providing for free. Paper artwork is theme of this year’s event.
“I’m actually going to use my wedding pictures” for the workshops, Hoban said. She says Etsy is bringing enough craft supplies for 2,000 guests.
For 33-year-old photographer Vladislav Borimsky, the event is less about the workshops and more about the chance to mingle with other artists. “My Etsy shop has been open for less than three years,” Borimsky said, and his activity “is always progressing,” he said. This will be Borimsky’s first time at the craft fair. He’s looking forward to seeing what other Etsy sellers are up to.
Etsy is a Brooklyn-born company, so it’s no surprise that Dumbo Improvement District teamed up with the company to organize this event. Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson even sits on Dumbo Improvement District’s board of directors. The ecommerce giant (which recently went public) is an anchor of the Brooklyn tech scene.