Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Diederich and Melissa Shipley.
Sara and Melissa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Jackalope Arts began with a passion for handmade. We (Melissa and Sara) met while sharing a cubicle wall in 2014 at an international arts organization in Downtown LA. From there we decided to create a new adventure for ourselves in starting our own artisan fair and focusing on the shop small idea promoting one of a kind small business.
It all started with a vision, and quickly turned into reality as we made plans to bring Jackalope to both of our home cities, Pasadena CA and Denver CO, bringing thousands of shoppers to each of our events.
Today ,we’ve hosted 15 Jackalopes and are gearing up for some exciting news in 2018.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For starters, finding the perfect venue was a challenge for us. We wanted to find something that checked all the boxes and thankfully Old Pasadena’s Central Park did that for us. However, being a multi-city event, it was a real challenge to find an ideal location for our Denver fair. We needed a large space in a nice part of town, that was indoors with an open concept to avoid potential weather disasters. Three years later, we’re happy to finally have venues that feel like home in both of our cities.
Speaking of weather, mother nature has still thrown us some curveballs. We will never forget our first fair in Pasadena where it rained pretty much all day. We still have vendors who were a part of that event remind us of that dreadful day. However, many of them have fond memories from the rush of it all. Us, not so much.
When we first started, there was a learning curve when it came to the ins and outs of permitting, licensing, and the many behind-the-scenes steps involved in putting together events in public places.
Once we found the perfect location and put together some of the bureaucratic steps, we had to begin to build community support and awareness. This one is a big challenge in and of itself. We are proud to say that in Pasadena, we are now an Old Pasadena Sponsored Event, which is a testament to how our relationship has developed.
As our business has grown in the past few years, we’ve made adjustments to our team, and really come to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This has helped us to work efficiently as a business and get to where we are today.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Jackalope Arts – what should we know?
We’re very passionate about representing handmade artisans in our community. Our mission is to create a shopping experience with the highest quality of locally handcrafted goods. We want shoppers to meet the makers behind their one of a kinds products. We are one of the few fairs that do not accept any resale or vintage items, everything is 100% handmade by our showcased artisans. Being a juried fair, you are guaranteed to find a unique and highly curated artisan lineup.
Going along with our mission of supporting handmade, our fair has free admission. We want our attendees to spend their money at vendor booths, not with an admission fee to the event.
We are also passionate about bringing DIY to the forefront and allowing shoppers to experience what it takes to create these one of a kind products through crafting activities we setup throughout the weekend of the fair.
Location also sets us apart. We’re one of the few large events of our kind on the Northeast side of Los Angeles. We love sharing handmade with the Pasadena community and even bringing people from all parts of the greater Los Angeles area over to Pasadena for the afternoon to explore.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
We’ve always had an extreme attention to detail. Everyone who has worked with us, knows that we are quite type A in everything that we do. We want to make sure that our artisans, staff, attendees… anyone who is a part of our event in any way has a clear idea of what to expect from us.
We make ourselves available to artisans and patrons so that we can personally answer questions.
One of our biggest compliments is how organized, friendly, and communicative we are with our artisans. We pride ourselves on that. Without the artisans support we would not be where we are today, so it is important to us to give them all the tools they need to succeed.
Pricing:
- Free event admission
- Pasadena Full Booth: 10’X10′ booth space $275
- Pasadena Half Booth: 10’x5′ booth space $200
Contact Info:
- Address: 275 S Raymond Ave
Pasadena CA 91105 - Website: www.jackalopeartfair.com
- Phone: 323-989-2278
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/jackalopeartfair
- Facebook: facebook.com/jackalopearts
- Twitter: twitter.com/jackalopefair
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jackalope-arts-pasadena
- Other: snapchat.com/jackalopearts
Image Credit:
Gil Riego Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
