Kentucky Crafted: The Market, held February 26-29, at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center featured 300 exhibitors of craft, 2-D art, food, books and recorded music.  Higher admission prices resulted in gate income slightly more than 2003, total attendance is estimated at 8,600, which was down about 15%.

Based on initial reports from exhibitors, the audience attending was in a positive buying mode, and sales are projected to be comparable to 2003. Kentucky Craft Marketing Program (KCMP) has received an abundance of positive comments from exhibitors, buyers, and the public in regard to the overall quality of products, appearance of the show, and professionalism of the exhibitors. New exhibitors, who are very attractive to all buyers, seemed to have fared very well. There are good reports of reactions to the product development efforts, and exhibitors being approached to develop new or customized products.

Wholesale trade attendance was slightly higher than last year, with 407 shops attending, despite bad weather in the east that restricted travel from that area.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program, brought in retail shop owners and buyers from around the United States to Kentucky Crafted: The Market, 2004, through its "Fly the Buyer" program. Seven buyers received complimentary airfare and accommodations to attend The Market. Due to close proximity to the show, the eighth buyer received driving expenses. They represented galleries and shops with products ranging from two-dimensional art to fine crafts. The "Fly the Buyer" guests included: Sharon Yurkanin, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA; Marion Whitley, American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY; Jay Winer, Artcraft Collection, Savage, MD; Susan Johnson, Mercer Museum Shops, Doylestown, PA; Christopher Clark, Raymond Clark Contemporary Fine Craft, Charleston, SC; Richard Dabrowski, Shaker Workshops Catalog, Ashburnham, MA; Frank Burkhauser, Spirit of the Artist Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; and Kelly Thomas, Southern Highland Craft Guild, Asheville, NC.

“Attending The Market was a terrific and very productive experience for me. The Fly-the Buyer Program made it possible for me to attend this year and is a great asset not only for buyers like myself but for Kentucky artists and craftsmen.   I found 10 new artists that I will be introducing to my customers in the Charleston, South Carolina area. I will be returning to this market in the future,” said Christopher Clark, co-owner of Raymond Clark Contemporary Fine Craft, Niche Magazine’s Top 100 Retailers of American Craft, 2003.

Joining The Market for the first time were 57 new exhibitors, including three in the food section, 29 juried craft participants, 17 out-of-state guest exhibitors, two publishers, four visual artists, one Kentucky organization, and one Kentucky Wood Products Competitiveness Corporation exhibitor.

The gallery section, back for the second year, featured 48 exhibitors and was comprised of crafts and visual arts that are one-of-a-kind and limited-production items ideal for museums, collectors, and commissions

The Product Showcase area, “ The Nature of Kentucky,” featured products related to the garden.  “This was the second year the Market area focused on the garden because of the continuing trend among consumers who purchase these items for their home,” said Nancy Atcher, Product Development Coordinator.

The Kentucky Folklife Program featured members of the newly formed Mammoth Cave Basketmakers Guild who demonstrated basketmaking traditions of South Central Kentucky. Basketmakers taking part in the weekend demonstrations included Leona Waddell of Elizabethtown, Charles and Charlene Long from Upton and Beth Hester and Scott Gilbert from Scottsville. 

Approximately 38 teachers who received information on crafts and curriculum, KAC grants, and basket-making lessons from Clay County students, attended this year’s professional development teachers’ seminar, Crafts Across the Curriculum. Teachers toured the Market making contact with numerous artists and arranging for them to participate in school programs.

The Kentucky Arts Council's Marketplace booth represented 35 writers, musicians and music groups who were juried into the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory or who have received a Kentucky Arts Council Fellowship Award.  For these 35 artists and music groups, the KAC's Marketplace booth experienced a considerable increase in wholesale orders for CD's and books making this year’s sales better than 2003.

The Cultural Stage presented 13 individual performers and performing groups that included jazz, bluegrass, rockabilly and Ecuadorian music, storytelling and more.  Many of these performers were newly-selected members of the Kentucky Arts Council's Performing Arts Directory and they had their individual recordings for sale in the Marketplace booth.

The Kentucky Museum of Arts + Design, The Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, The Kentucky Historical Society, and The Little Loom House joined The Market this year to offer young visitors an experience in the hands-on educational art and craft area.

The Kentucky Retail Federation sponsored a buyers breakfast and workshop, featuring Linda Hurst, director of exhibits/graphics for Kentucky’s nationally acclaimed Corman and Associates, Inc. Lexington, presenting information on visual merchandising to approximately 25 retailers. Linda Hurst also acted as the official 2004 Market booth judge.

The annual awards dinner, sponsored in part by National Processing Company, on Friday night, February 27, brought together approximately 300 people and featured a silent auction. Speakers included Gerri Combs, Director of the Kentucky Arts Council, Robert E. Gable, Chair, Kentucky Arts Council, W. James Host, Secretary, Commerce Cabinet and Fran Redmon, Director of the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program.

Booth Design award winners were as follows: McDonald Fine Art, (Lexington), received the Best Of Show award; Schall Studio and Design, (Louisville), received the award for Best Overall Booth Design; Kathleen O'Brien Studio, (Harrodsburg), received Best New Exhibitor; KAE Tile, (Cookeville, TN), received Best New Out-of-State Exhibitor; J & J Pretzel Co., Inc., (Fort Thomas, Kentucky), received the Best Kentucky Proud Food Exhibitor award, sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture; and the Exhibitors’ Choice Award went to Theresa Jean Kibby,(Somerset). Tim Hall, Wildlife Carvings, was the recipient of the annual Purchase Award and his work will become part of KCMP’s collection.

The 2004 top retailers recipients were: Bluestem Missouri Crafts, for Top Out-Of-State Retailer; The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, for Top Kentucky Retailer; Lake Barkley State Resort Park, for Top Kentucky State Park Retailer; and Liquor Barn, for Top Kentucky Proud Food Retailer.

In recognition of long-term dedication to personal craft development and an exemplary level of accomplishment, three businesses were designated Kentucky Crafted Emeritus honorees and granted lifetime honorary juried participant status by the Craft Marketing Program. The three craft businesses honored were as follows: The Wooden Utensil Company, (Shirley Smith), Pine Knot; Berea College Craft, Berea; and Sarah Frederick, Studio Potter, (Sarah Frederick), Louisville.

More than 76 volunteers contributed their time in various areas of the market, including many juried participants of the KCMP and staff from the agencies of the Commerce Cabinet.

A delegation from Montana that consisted of Arts Council representatives, business and government officials, and legislatures, visited the Market, which they acknowledged as the finest model of its kind in the country.

The Kentucky Craft Marketing Program is a state agency in the Kentucky Arts Council, Commerce Cabinet, Commonwealth of Kentucky.  For more information, call 888 KY CRAFT (592-7238,) ext. 4801; or visit the Program's site at www.kycraft.ky.gov.

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Since 1981, the Craft Marketing Program's mission is to develop the state's craft industry, support and empower Kentucky artisans and craftspeople, create an economically viable environment for craft entrepreneurs, preserve the state's craft traditions, stimulate and support product development, and generate public awareness, public support and public/private partnerships.

The Program provides assistance to Kentucky residents, individuals, or groups wanting to develop as craft professionals through economic opportunities and training, to other outside entities (e.g., craft retailers, craft and art organizations, community and government agencies), and the general public. The craft industry in Kentucky contributes 252 million dollars in annual sales and Kentucky is recognized as a model state for its craft programs and its role in the $14 billion national craft industry.