Welcoming and safe spaces are of major importance to queer folk looking to turn their passions into a business. For the Queer Craft Market, a pop-up market dedicated to supporting local queer artists and craftspeople, leadership changed hands a few times between 2017 and 2019. Then Jeffrey Krsul (he/him) and Katie Oldaker (she/her) stepped in, pursuing an end goal of turning the volunteer-run event into a “community space for our vendors, shoppers, and friends.”
The Queer Craft Market will host two events this month. One will take place on Sun., June 11 in partnership with Crafts and Drafts at East End Brewing in Larimer, during which the brewery will collect donations for Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQIA+ youth arts organization. Shoppers can also find Queer Craft Market on Fri., June 30 at the Union Project in East Liberty.
Pittsburgh City Paper talked with Krsul and Oldaker about their experience running the market, how Pride in Pittsburgh has changed, and the importance of creating a spaces for queer makers.
How has Queer Craft Market changed since you began leading this group?
Jeffrey and Katie: A lot of things definitely have changed since we took the reins in 2021 — we lost the great (and free!) venue that was the Ace Hotel gym. Trying to find venues as we’ve grown has been difficult — we’ve begun having to jury the applications because we have more applicants than spaces, which is always a bummer. We have continued to grow the market in terms of the diversity of types of crafters, as well as our vendor and audience demographics. On the upside, we have definitely noticed a resurgence in interest in handmade and small-scale craft since 2020, and we hope the trend continues! We continue to consider our more vulnerable populations within our community regarding COVID precautions with each market, and our upcoming indoor market is “masks encouraged.”
You guys are both craftspeople as well. Can you tell me about what you make?
Katie: I make candles as Oh! Candles, though I am in the process of closing my business due to an upcoming move. I wish I were as creative visually as our artists, I feel like I’m only creative in scent blends and words!
Jeffrey: By day I’m a professional florist at my shop The Bearded Iris, but I also have worked in a variety of other media. Everything from historic photographic processes, natural dyeing, sewing/quilting, ceramics, etc. I’m a Sagittarius so I love learning new skills and challenging myself!
What is it about your craft that excites you? Why do you love making things?
Jeffrey and Katie: We both love the joy that our craft brings to people. Extending the opportunity for other makers/crafters makes us even more excited these days. We especially love seeing our younger vendors flourish and evolve too!
Do you think your own creative practice has grown or changed since meeting new artistic people?
Jeffrey and Katie: We are both constantly inspired by the other creatives we encounter through the market. Seeing our peers evolve year after year is a great motivator to continue to hone our skills in a very encouraging and non-competitive way. The market is also a great place to push the envelope, and it’s always a great reassurance when people within your own community respond positively to something you think might be too “weird” to the average consumer!
Why is it important to you to have a creative space for queer craftspeople?
Jeffrey and Katie: The space for connection is the most important thing to us, as well as keeping money in the pockets of queer people as much as we can. Pride has become so big that it can feel like there’s no room for smaller artists or crafters. We want to provide a space for someone who is still getting used to tabling and maybe we put them next to someone who they end up being friends with. The two of us met at the very first Queer Craft Market in 2017, and now, here we are!
We are also a non-censored show. We truly believe in giving our community a place to showcase their work, especially when many markets have decided to become more “family-friendly.” We leave it up to families to decide what kind of content they are comfortable with, and never reject makers because some might consider their work “risqué.”
I feel like most people don’t expect Pittsburgh to have a strong queer community. Can you talk about how the queer community here has grown or changed?
Jeffrey and Katie: Since the dismantling of Delta Foundation’s more corporatized Pride, we have noticed a fracturing of Pride events. At first, we thought it might be a bad thing to not have a big, flashy, unified event for the community. Then we realized that these smaller and more intentional events and programming have fulfilled a lot of needs in certain populations that might have felt left out of a more mainstream Pride. The Queer Community is not a monolith, so having more Pride celebrations that can include a wider range of folks has been a positive change in our opinion. There are other craft markets similar to ours, with different demographics, and we think that’s great!
I saw you guys have some upcoming markets in June. What can someone who has never been to one expect to see?
You can expect to see the unexpected at our markets! We try to emphasize smaller makers when we can, so there’s always something different happening that you won’t see elsewhere! We’ll have everything from A+ vintage to zines of many topics. We hope to see you there!
Queer Craft Market
Sun., June 11th.12-4 p.m. East End Brewing. 147 Julius St., Larimer.
Fri., June 30th. 5:30-9 p.m. Union Project. 801 N. Negley Ave., East Liberty.
instagram.com/queercraftmarket
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2023.
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