UPDATE: I'm HERE!!  And I'm live-blogging off and on today in the Storque room of the Virtual Labs!

[This was originally published on March 25]
I'm so excited! I'm going to San Francisco to unite with other people in the handmade movement!  I will be representing Etsy at the April Craft Congress. Matt went to the last one in Pittsburgh and got a lot out of it.

About Craft Congress:

"Craft Con was born in 2007 as Craft Congress in Pittsburgh, PA . This launch event brought together more than fifty indie craft show organizers from across the US, Canada, as well as the UK, to share knowledge, skills and experiences. Topics ranged all the way from guerrilla marketing strategy to securing corporate sponsorship. Colleagues from across the world were able to meet face to face for the first time. Establishing a strong and supportive network for those who attended, the event also sparked crucial discussion about the future of the craft movement.

Read more about 2007:
New York Times
Washington City Paper

Craft Con 2008 heralds huge growth for the project. The event in San Francisco has been planned via the internet by crafters from all over the world. April’s conference will welcome participants from all areas of crafting, making a special effort to connect younger and upcoming crafters with the experience and savvy of their antecedents. Craft Con will facilitate much broader discussion and planning in key areas of concern for the movement, in particular the viability of sustainable business and enterprise and establishing the permanence of crafting in society."

Take the CraftCon's Survey:
Part of the mission of the Craft Congress is to conduct some research about crafters. Please help out the movement by taking this survey. It will help us get a more accurate picture of how we crafters get supplies.

How Etsy is Helping:
Etsy is donating money to sponsor three people who want to attend. We give the money; the Craft Con decides who gets a leg up.

How to Register:
Go here to register. Be forewarned: we have a sneaking suspicion that their form doesn't like Firefox. The organizers announced that they've had some problems with registration. So if you haven't gotten a confiramtion, you may need to register again! 

"If you had filled out an application but did not receive a copy of it in your own inbox, then we didn’t get it either. However, we really want you to come to Craft Con, so you should definitely head over to the application page and give it another shot. There is little more annoying on the internet than losing info you typed to a glitch in the system, and we apologize for any frustration this may have caused. Please contact us at info@craftcon.org if you have any questions."