2025 Handcrafted Holiday Market Artist Application
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Handcrafted Holiday Market, presented by GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, welcomes thousands of visitors to explore our historic, post-industrial campus and immerse themselves in the arts. Handcrafted Holiday Market aims to act as a conduit for established and emerging artists to network and sell their work, while showcasing the handmade process through live art demonstrations and hands-on workshops. The two-day event also features live music and performances, locally-sourced food and craft beverages, and much more.
Event Details:
Location:
GoggleWorks Center for the Arts
201 Washington Street
Reading, PA 19601
Dates & Time:
December 5th, 2025 5PM-8PM & December 6th, 2025 10AM-4PM
Set Up:
December 5th & 6th, 2025 - specific scheduled time will be given closer to the date. Complete set up by 5 PM 12/5.
Breakdown:
December 6th, 2024 - breakdown begins at end of show (4pm) and must be completed by 7pm. Breakdown should not start until 4 PM unless otherwise discussed. Free onsite vehicle parking, use of loading dock, freight elevator if needed. Carts available on a first come, first served basis.
Artist Experience / Benefits: Handcrafted Holiday
- Volunteer assistance with loading in and out
- Volunteer booth sitters
- Parking (1 vehicle onsite)
- Opportunity to demonstrate process
- Listing in printed program & event map
- Booth number & name tags
- Promotional event graphics, posts, and hashtags you can use on your website, Instagram, and/or Facebook page
Festival Promotion:
Handcrafted Holiday Market's attendance grows every year and we work hard to attract both our recurring visitors and fresh, new faces. In addition to the GoggleWorks’ website (659,000+ views), digital newsletters (22,500+ subscribers), catalogs (5,000 printed), Facebook (17,500+ followers), and Instagram (11,000+ followers), we advertise our event utilizing the following:
- Printed collateral (postcards, posters)
- Direct mailing to GoggleWorks mailing list
- Event Emails
- Advertising in regional newspapers and magazines and digital media
- Social media advertising
- Calendar listings in regional newspapers, online, and magazines
- Local media/community partnerships
Criteria / Guidelines:
- Applicants may choose to apply as an individual artist, emerging artist, or group (collective, studio, or gallery). Emerging artists must be 18 years or older with little to no prior experience vending. Group applicants are defined as a collective, gallery, or studio applying for one booth space that sells work from more than one artist.
- Juried selection of artists is based on creativity, quality, and originality. Items offered for sale must be the original artwork of the artist and must be representative of that which was described in the application. No craft kits or mass merchandise allowed. Jurors will work to ensure there is an equal division of makers of each medium.
- A three-sided booth is strongly encouraged. We welcome you to use our black Pro-Panels if you choose to use panels.
- Please consider including works that fall under a range of prices. Based on previous years, we have found that items priced somewhere between $45 and $100 dollars work well for our audience. Of course, please feel free to bring items priced above or below this range. We just ask that you consider shoppers of all financial backgrounds!
Applications must include 4 images of artwork, plus 1 image of booth or display. If accepted, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts reserve the right to use one or more of these images for marketing purposes, including social media and advertising. For group applicants, provide 1 image per artist. 4 images are required. If less than 4 artists, please upload multiple images from one or more artists. All images must be .jpg format at 300 dpi.
Applicants must self-identify their work in one of the following categories; for group applications choose one that best describes the majority of work to be sold:
- Ceramics
- Fiber
- Glass
- Jewelry
- Mixed Media
- Wood
- Printmaking
Fees:
Due upon acceptance:
Vendor Fee (second floor)--$50
Premium Vendor Fee (first floor, limited spots available)--$75
(Please inform the Signature Events Manager, Natalie Fenner (nfenner@goggleworks.org) if you need assistance with this fee or would like to pay it forward for another artist.)
[As a non profit community art center, we appreciate your commitment to our mission as a vendor at our event both with your presence and your contribution with this fee.]
Policies:
Waitlist: Waitlisted applicants will be held until August 4th, unless notified. Once accepted and processed.
Booth Location Requests: Booth placement is at the discretion of the festival and will be arranged well ahead of time. No booth requests will be accepted. Placement is determined by craft or art medium, pricing, and demonstrations to ensure an excellent guest experience, not on a first come / first serve basis.
About GoggleWorks Center for the Arts:
A prime example of adaptive reuse in architecture, GoggleWorks derives its name from the original structure from which it evolved—the Willson Goggle Factory, which opened in 1871 as the first factory in the U.S. to manufacture optical lenses. After a year-long renovation, and with generous support from the community and state government, the abandoned factory was transformed. One of the largest comprehensive arts centers in the country opened its doors in 2005. Today, GoggleWorks supports aspiring, emerging, and established artists through year-round arts education; including artist studios, workshops, classes, visiting artists, residencies, studio access, and exhibitions. Additionally, GoggleWorks offers a robust schedule of community programs and special events; including Handcrafted Holiday Market, Spring Iron Pour, Pumpkin Palooza and our After School Arts Program. The campus is open daily from 9am-9pm. Admission and parking are always free. Visit our website here