You Can Shop This Cult Favorite Craft Fair Online
While the Coronavirus may have shut down this year's iteration of one of the design world's favorite events, lovers of the famous Field + Supply Fair should plan to open up their laptops next week, as the beloved event launches its first ever virtual market, which will bring some of the best parts of the event (including meeting makers, listening to music, and, of course, shopping) to your computer screen.
A post shared by @ fieldandsupply on Jun 22, 2020 at 8:38am PDT
Field + Supply, the craft fair-meets-design marketplace-meets outdoor dining experience founded by designer Brad Ford, would have been entering its sixth year in 2020—when what would have been the second spring fair (added to the popular October one) was put on hold. But Ford still wanted to find a way to spotlight makers and encourage the sense of community the Fair brings—something we're increasingly missing in the days of social distancing.
"We wanted to really make it feel like the real event," Ford tells House Beautiful. To that end, visitors to the virtual market—which runs July 16-19—will not only be met with links to vendors' items for sale, but also videos of makers creating their wares, a playlist from the Field + Supply team, and recipes for favorite foods, all meant to reflect the fair's offerings of live music and food vendors in addition to maker booths. A virtual event map will guide digital visitors to various products and brands. In addition to process videos, some vendors will offer video conferencing, so customers can have one-on-one chats, just as they would at the real fair.
In the same spirit of community that defines the event, the virtual market will also spotlight a nonprofit about which Ford is passionate: Crafting the Future, an organization that aims to create more diversity and equity in the fields of art, craft, and design. "We need more of that," says Ford. Visitors to the virtual market will have the option to donate to the organization and learn more about its work.
The best part, of course, is that the virtual fair can be accessed from anywhere, no trip to the Hudson Valley required: "We're thinking of it as an opportunity for more people that can't physically be there to actually get to experience it," says Ford.
Another silver lining? Creating the virtual market also enabled Field + Supply to launch an ecommerce platform, which will remain live as a permanent part of fieldandsupply.com. "We had actually already been talking about starting an ecommerce site," says Ford. "And then when we had to cancel the spring market, we did a pivot to create that. And we wanted to have something special celebrating the virtual launch of the site."
To join the virtual celebration, register here. Happy shopping—and discovering!
Read more about Field + Supply here.
You Might Also Like
