10 Best Cities for Crafting

It’s easy to let your creative energies flow in these top crafting towns that are chock full of inspiring places and collaborative spaces.

By: Erin Gifford

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Where to Get Crafty

When you’re ready to get crafty, there’s a city with all the fairs, festivals, studios and makerspaces, even art supply shops, to help you hone your creative skills. Meet, greet and create with fellow artisans as you derive inspiration from the cityscapes around you.

LawnStarter looked at the best cities for crafting types, taking into account such factors as the size of the local crafting community, volume of art classes and workshops, number of crafting events and festivals, and access to art supply stores. Here is the ranked list of crafty and creative cities.

10. San Jose, California

San Jose is home to a vibrant creative community that supports the arts through makerspaces, flea markets, craft fairs and art workshops, even museums. The San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles focuses on quilts and textiles as an art form, filling a void for artists who work with textiles. San Jose Made serves as an incubator to help local makers and creators grow and thrive, hosting pop-ups, film festivals, art markets and craft fairs, including SJMADE Fest, a large outdoor craft fair with more than 300 vendors. For handmade crafts and gifts, look to Cottage Crafts Boutique.

9. Denver

Denver has a notable crafting scene and is home to a variety of craft fairs, art shows and creative festivals, like the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. This annual festival is organized by nonprofit CherryArts, whose mission is to make art education and experiences accessible to everyone. The organization hosts art camps, mobile art carts and K-12 arts outreach programs. Denver is also home to top craft fairs, like the Horseshoe Market and the Firefly Handmade Market. There are plenty of makerspaces, even at the Denver Public Library. Five library branches have ideaLABs, which are free community spaces open to anyone who wants to make anything. For supplies, look to The Craft Box, a thrift store dedicated to crafters.

8. Miami

Miami is home to an innovative and collaborative creative community filled with makers and artists eager to share their passion and knowledge with others. At Miami Industrial Arts, Miami’s artisans of all levels can tinker, create or take classes to advance their crafting skills. Crafting classes and workshops are offered across town, whether you want to make candles, stamps or wood décor, which you can do at Nailed It DIY Studio. On Fridays, stroll Historic Overtown, a historically and culturally diverse neighborhood that hosts monthly FolkLife Fridays to showcase locally made arts and crafts, including handmade jewelry and soap.

7. Atlanta

Atlanta has a top-notch creative scene, with crafters and creatives of all kinds, including muralists, jewelry makers, woodworkers and quilters. There are numerous craft fairs and festivals that allow artisans to display and sell their wares, like the Piedmont Park Arts Festival and the Atlanta Original Sewing and Quilt Expo. Atlanta also has makerspaces, like Freeside Atlanta, where crafters can go to create and learn, both from workshops and fellow artisans. Want to take a class? In Atlanta, the options are plentiful. At The Craftivist, get schooled on all techniques related to knitting and crochet. Or, head to Atlanta Clay Works for pottery classes for all ages. The Beehive is a popular boutique for locally made crafts. And definitely check out the Indie Craft Experience (ICE) founded by creative duo Christy Petterson and Shannon Mulkey Green, who since 2005 has been hosting craft events throughout Atlanta that bring together crafters, artists, makers and vintage sellers from all over the country. Attend an ICE event to buy one-of-a-kind goods from indie crafters or find out how you can get involved as an exhibitor.

6. Austin

Austin has a fun and flourishing creative arts scene that encourages collaboration and experimentation. At the Pecan Street Festival and Round Rock Market Days, makers come together to display and sell their handmade arts, crafts and gifts. Creatives can hone their crafting skills at Asmbly a non-profit makerspace in Austin, which has a metal shop, wood shop, laser cutters and a fleet of 3D printers. Asmbly also offers classes that range from metal shop safety to creative crocheting. At the Black Makers Market, more than two dozen Black artisans and makers come together to showcase and help grow their creative brands. Many get their supplies at CRAFT, Austin’s DIY creative hub.

5. Houston

In Houston, it’s easy to get crafty, whether you want to learn new skills, like woodworking or glass blowing, or you want to create beautiful objects for your home. At the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, crafting types can sign up for artist-led workshops, like clay glazing and upcycling jewelry, as well as admire art works on display and stroll the outdoor craft garden. The Bayou City Art Festival is Houston’s iconic art festival that features works from more than 300 creatives. At TXRX Labs, makers can hone their skills at this non-profit makerspace thanks to a wide variety of classes, including welding, ceramics, airbrushing and laser cutting.

4. Seattle

Seattle has a vibrant creative culture and a thriving artistic community with an abundance of craft fairs and markets that allow creatives to show off their wares. Among them is Urban Craft Uprising, Seattle’s largest craft fair for indie makers, which allows creatives to connect with fans of their hand-crafted goods, which include jewelry, furniture, candles and housewares. Seattle is also known for glass art, thanks to Chihuly Garden and Glass, as well as the Pilchuck Glass School, which was founded by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Creatives look to grow their craft and community at makerspaces like Seattle Makers and North End Makerspace. For locally made crafts and curiosities, look to The Handmade Showroom, which features handmade items from more than 170 artisans and makers.

3. San Francisco

For crafting upcyclers in particular, San Francisco is the place to be thanks to SCRAP, a creative reuse center that helps foster crafting and artistic works using unconventional materials. Workshops on crochet, sculpture and quilting, even flower arranging, help participants create in new ways. For crafters who need extra creative supplies, FLAX art & design has been the place to go since 1938. It’s even been called a “candy store for the creative.” San Francisco has also been supporting artists and crafters with developmental disabilities for more than 40 years with Creativity Explored, an art collective that strives to foster creative potential. At the Museum of Craft and Design, explore design-focused exhibits and collaborations.

2. Los Angeles

Los Angeles has a strong craft scene, with a range of organizations that support local crafters. Renegade Craft gathers local and national creatives twice a year to allow more than 225 craft makers, artists and designers to sell their handmade goods and connect with local craft-lovers. At Craft Contemporary, a craft media museum, visitors can be inspired by multimedia craft exhibitions and sign up for workshops, like embroidery and basket weaving. The Los Angeles Public Library also makes creative tools, like 3D printers, laser cutters and sewing machines, available to artisans at the Central Library’s Octavia Lab. For handmade gifts and crafts, look to CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles.

1. New York

New York is widely known as a city with an abundance of inspiration for creatives, so it’s no surprise that the Big Apple is tops with crafters and makers of all kinds. Popular craft festivals and fairs include Grand Bazaar NYC and the Renegade Craft Fair. Even the annual Easter Bonnet Festival is a major to-do for crafters, eager to don their most outlandish and creatively inspired Easter hats. For creatives, NYC Resistor and Gowanus Studio Space are top makerspaces and include wood shops, metal shops and print shops. For make-and-take classes, look to CraftJam, which offers 100+ crafting workshops that range from calligraphy to macramé.

10 Best Cities for Crafting

Related To:

Shop This Look

Where to Get Crafty

10. San Jose, California

9. Denver

8. Miami

7. Atlanta

6. Austin

5. Houston

4. Seattle

3. San Francisco

2. Los Angeles

1. New York

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