40th

100 American Craftsmen june 4-6, 2010

July 4, 5 & 6, 2010

Return to Kenan Center Home Page

To Receive an Application by Mail:

Send an email message to info@kenancenter.org. Please include your name, business name (if applicable), mailing address, category/media, and website address if you have one.

2010 Pre-Arrival General Information 14 pages (pdf)

2010 Floor Layout with Names 1 page (pdf)

New in 2010:

Honorable Mention Category Awards!

Selected by members of the jury, one artisan in each category who is not selected for a cash award, will be eligible for an Honorable Mention. Winners will receive a booth ribbon and Kenan Center Artist Membership along with listing on the Kenan Center website as an award winner. One Honorable Mention Award will be given in each of the following: Clay, Decorative Glass, Jewelry (all media), Fiber (decorative & wearable) and Leather, Wood, Decorative Metal, Paper & Basketry, Mixed Media/Other. Please note that SUBMISSION/JURYING categories are slightly different. See “Definition of Categories,” below.

Emerging Artist Award!

In order to encourage new craft artisans who are just beginning their careers, the Kenan Center will present a new Emerging Artist Award. To be considered, you must have been practicing your craft for six (6) years or less. Artists who have been previously accepted into 100 American Craftsmen and meet this requirement are eligible. There is no age restriction. The award waives the booth fee for the artist’s next application to 100 American Craftsmen. Recipient will also receive a ribbon and Kenan Center Artist Membership. Please note that if you are a NEW artist applying to 100 American Craftsmen, as well as an Emerging Artist, you will automatically be considered for the Best New Exhibitor Award, but you can only win one award.

See “AWARDS,” below, for more details on award levels.

GENERAL FAQ’S

100 American Craftsmen is a juried show which seeks artisans from across the country and Canada. The show is strictly for contemporary craft art that is hand-made by the exhibiting artist. The Kenan Center takes no commission on sales. Buy and sell items will not be accepted.

AMENITIES

Along with standard amenities such as indoor booths, electricity and free on-site parking, artisans also enjoy complimentary beverages during the weekend, on-premises security Friday and Saturday nights, and extremely attentive hospitality service from our dedicated volunteers. Exhibitors are also invited to a craftsmens' party Friday night, and a Sunday morning continental breakfast meeting to share their perspectives on the show. Free overnight parking of RV’s is allowed in the parking lot. In addition, we are planning on once again offering on-site photography services. Arrangements are made directly with the photographer. Details to come.

AWARDS—INCREASED THIS YEAR!

In addition to the Honorable Mention Awards and Emerging Artist Award, the Kenan Center presents five (5) top cash awards which have been increased this year. They are: Master Craftsmen, $800; Best of Show First Place: $550; Best of Show Second Place, $350; John T. Whitmore Memorial Best New Exhibitor Award, $250, and Best Booth Display, $150. The Master Craftsmen Award is selected by previous masters attending the show, and exempts the artist from the jurying process for future shows. The Best of Show Awards are selected by members of the jury; Best New Exhibitor is selected by your peers through a ballot vote; and the Best Booth Award is selected by the show co-chairs.

PROMOTION & ADVERTISING

Standard promotion for 100 American Craftsmen includes paid newspaper, radio and TV advertising, billboards, listings in national craft show publications and websites, postcard mailing, street banner, year-long features in the Kenan Center's newsletter, designated page on the Kenan Center website, listing in two bi-national brochures with distribution of more than 200,000, and extensive regional publicity. In addition, the Kenan Center develops feature stories in several regional publications, distributes hundreds of posters, and sends out weekly E-news to a list of over 1,000 members, art organizations and cultural institutions, and past participants.

EXPANDED 40^TH ANNIVERSARY PROMOTION!

In addition to our widespread marketing efforts, this year the Kenan Center will be selling 40^th Anniversary logo merchandise exclusively online through Zazzle. Watch for details when these items become available! We’ll also be giving away show tickets and merchandise to our E-News subscribers and Facebook fans, offering $1.00 off coupons online—with a link that all exhibiting artists are welcome to add to their own websites. In addition, artists will have the option of receiving 150 free 1” labels with the show name, date, location and $1.00 off discount or printed postcards with space for your own label for a nominal fee. Information will be provided with your acceptance/pre-arrival packet. The Kenan Center also hotlinks your name on the 100 American Craftsmen page to your website, and we invite all artists to provide a link on your website to the Kenan Center. Links work! In search results for 100 American Craftsmen in 2009, over 20 artists’ websites were listed in the first five search pages on Google! Even more is planned, so stay tuned!

GUIDELINES & SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants are asked to submit five slides or digital images on CD (4 product/1 booth) along with a $35 jurying fee and $200 exhibitors' fee. Corner booths are $240. All work must be original and made by hand, or with the appropriate tools. Work must be produced entirely by the artisan making the submission and must comply with the defined categories in this application and with the standards for craft quality as spelled out below. Absolutely no buy and sell items will be accepted. Artisans who are submitting work under a medium category (i.e., glass, wood, paper, metal, etc.), must restrict their booth display only to the product stated in the application. If you plan to sell jewelry made from your media, you must state this in the application and indicate the percentage of your product that will be jewelry. The Kenan Center reserves the right to request a limitation or total restriction of jewelry that has not been juried under the jewelry category in fairness to those jewelry makers who are exhibiting in the show. The artisan whose work is represented in the slides must be present at the festival. No exceptions!

New Artists Requirements. All new artists (those who have not been accepted previously into 100 American Craftsmen) are asked to provide a studio photo, CV, or print out from your web page. We ask this in an effort to insure that your work is handcrafted by you and not manufactured or produced by others.

DEFINITION OF CATEGORIES

For jurying purposes, work submitted must fit one of the following categories. If it is determined that the artisan has not appropriately submitted to the appropriate category, the Kenan Center reserves the right to designate the appropriate category.

Basketry: Functional & sculptural works where material used is woven or plaited.

Ceramics: Functional & sculptural work where the primary material is clay.

Fiber Decorative: Wall hangings, quilts, rugs, etc. where the primary material is fiber.

Fiber Wearable: Work where the primary intention is to be worn and where the primary material is fiber.

Glass: Functional and sculptural work where the primary material is glass that has been handformed, handworked, handblown and/or handcast. (Not including jewelry.)

Wood: Functional and sculptural work where the primary material is wood.

Paper: Functional and sculptural work where the primary material is paper.

Leather: Functional and/or wearable work (handbags, belts, datebooks, footwear, etc.) where the primary material is leather.

Metal: Functional and sculptural work where the primary material is metal. (Not including jewelry.)

Jewelry/Precious Metal: Work made primarily from materials including 14k gold, 14k gold & previous stones, sterling silver, sterling silver & precious stones, and enamel on 14k gold or sterling silver.

Jewelry/Glass: Work made primarily from glass that is handformed, handworked, handblown and/or handcast.

Jewelry Other: Work primarily made from non-precious metals and/or other materials such as wood, glass, clay, paper, fiber, wood, leather, polymer clay, or a combination of materials.

Mixed Media/Other: Functional, sculptural or wearable work that is a union of two or more media, or is not primarily made of any media already defined. Soft sculpture, handmade brooms, kaleidoscopes, gourd art, or polymer sculpted figurines are included in this category.

NOTE ABOUT FEES

Checks are deposited upon receipt. Refunds of booth fees to artists who are not accepted are made following the final determination of exhibitors, between March 12 and 31. We understand that this can be an inconvenience for many artists, however, the Kenan Center deposits funds to insure the security of your payment and makes every effort to issue refunds as soon as possible following the completed selection process.

NOTIFICATION—Why Didn’t I Get Accepted When I’ve Been in the Show Previously?

This is not an unusal circumstance. Each jury is different and is made up of accomplished artisans and university-level faculty in various disciplines. No two juries will vote the same. In addition, the number of artists applying in any given category, and overall, changes. When there are a large number of artists applying to the show, the competition becomes tighter. Selection is based on the cumulative scores of the jurors, with those with the highest scores being accepted, up to the maximum number of spaces available. Those artists who have the next highest scores are put on an alternates list—you can accept or decline to be an alternate, but if you choose to remain on the waiting list, you will not receive a refund of your booth fee until you are given a space, or we notify you that no more spaces are open. The Kenan Center does not provide juror’s scores.

NYS SALES TAX COLLECTION

If you still need to apply for a NYS Sales Tax ID Number and Certificate, please do so early! All artisans must have a NYS Certificate to collect sales tax, even if you are doing only one show in the state. For form and instructions on how to apply, go to the New York State Department of Taxation website You will need to fill out form DTF17 a minimum of 20 days before the show. Artists cannot exhibit without a tax certificate number!

Jury Reports. All booths/booth slides will be reviewed by jurors as part of the jurying process for acceptability, quality, design, and meeting application requirements. Any comments regarding the slides or booth, which the jury believes need to be communicated, will be on your notification letter. If no comments are included, your booth and/or booth slide were considered to have met the application requirements. Our goal is to assist you, the artisan, in making the best presentation of your work. We strongly advise artisans to provide the best images of your booth possible—impression counts! Images should be bright, clear and in-focus; show the complete booth; feature your most current merchandise; and be designed as carefully as you would a gallery or retail space. Remember—there is a “Best Booth Award” presented, and this year it’s been raised to $150

HELPFUL ARTICLES

We’ve culled our resources and found some great articles that could be helpful to both new and veteran exhibiting artisans. Click the link below to download a pdf on the story. (Since these are large files, it may take a few minutes to open the documents. We recommend saving to your desktop.)

Craft Shows: Ticket to Success, Patrice Lewis, The Crafts Report, August 2007

What Does Attitude Have to Do with Sales?, Tom Young, The Crafts Report, June 2008

Beyond the Product and the Price: Tell a Story and Sell Your Art, Bruce Baker, The Crafts Report, August 2007

In the Mood, Making the atmosphere in your booth a sensory experience, Bruce Baker, The Crafts Report, June 2008