Pittsburgh Crafters Make Etsy’s Open Call

Screen print artist garbella and ceramics studio Stak Ceramics will be among the artists meeting —and pitching — some of the nation’s top retailers.

photo courtesy of garbella
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Some of Pittsburgh’s local crafters may be coming to a retail store near you.

Screen print artist garbella and ceramics studio Stak Ceramics are among the 36 Etsy shops from around the world picked to participate in Etsy Open Call, a wholesale program — now in its second year — that lets makers meet one-on-one with national retailers to expand their brand and bring their work to larger audiences. The program’s retailers include Macy’s, Paper Source, Whole Foods Market and giggle.

On Aug. 23, the designers will head to Etsy’s Brooklyn headquarters to make their pitches on why their products should be in the national stores for the upcoming holiday season.

Once pitching is complete, representatives from the five retailers will assess the designers’ products and present at least one with the “Golden Purchase Order,” a guarantee they will buy from that artist.
 

photo courtesy of garbella
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As for the local crafters, garbella was launched in 2008 and features Lawrenceville artist Amy Garbark’s designs screen printed on textiles, T-shirts, kid’s clothing, scarves and more. Her stuff is sold at multiple stores around Pittsburgh, including Wildcard in Lawrenceville, as well as online.
 

photo courtesy of Stak Ceramics
 

Also sold at Wildcard is Stak Ceramics. Stak owners, and husband and wife, Myles and Heather Geyman use multiple ceramics techniques to create their innovative home goods, including — one of our personal favorites — a flower vase that also serves at a cell phone dock.