In 2003 Amy Carlton and Cinnamon Cooper decided that there was so much amazing and local talent that Chicago needed a locally-focused indie craft show to give those creative folks of all DIY ventures a venue to show their stuff to the city. But more than a one-day-show, they wanted to give the creative community a leg-up in development. They wanted people to see the value of being able to look the
person who made something in the eye. They wanted to create a place where people could start a small business and see it grow. And that is exactly what happened on a cold and rainy November day. As years passed and the creative DIY community changed, evolved, and grew, so did the DIY Trunk Show. The show grew to be more than Amy and Cinnamon could handle, and Cinnamon had met all the other Chicago Craft Mafia members through the DIY Trunk Show, the Mafia seemed the perfect group to take over the bulk of the management and planning, but Amy’s radical suggestion of “Hey! We can do that!” is the spark that started the show, and the spark that has been felt at each show since. In 2011 the show moved from Pulaski Park (which had been a wonderful home for 8 years) to the much larger Broadway Armory. The Edgewater neighborhood embraced the Chicago Craft Mafia and the DIY Trunk Show. Alderman Harry Osterman and the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce were very instrumental in making the 2011 show the biggest, best attended, and most dynamic yet. While we miss the fantastic mural and the great staff of Pulaski Park, we adore our new home, the staff of Broadway Armory, and every fantastic business owner who was happy to see our shoppers wandering through their businesses after they left our show. In 2013, the show is growing and changing yet again as Blue Buddha Boutique, one of the world's largest chainmaille jewelry suppliers based in Chicago and top sponsor of the show since 2011, takes over ownership and operation. This transition will allow the show to grow its reach and continue to improve and strengthen the craft community.
