Indie Craft Parade has grown significantly from its scrappy beginnings.
The annual market celebrating Southern makers, which will be held this September 11–13 at Judson Mill in Greenville, South Carolina, now attracts 7,000 to 9,000 visitors over three days and generates a $2 million local economic impact.
Given those numbers, it’s easy to see how “people think it’s this big organization,” Erin Godbey, one of the show’s co-founders and organizers, says. “But there are only three of us—and we all have full-time careers outside of it.”
Launched in 2010 by Godbey and Lib Ramos, with Jen Moreau joining the team shortly after, Indie Craft Parade grew out of the trio’s shared passion for modern, handmade goods with a unique perspective. It was inspired by the rise of festivals such as Chicago’s Renegade Craft and Asheville, North Carolina’s The Big Crafty.
“That first year, we had no idea what to expect,” Godbey recalls. “But an hour before we opened, we saw people lining up around the block,” underscoring the event’s unexpected demand in a city that, during the past two decades, has transformed from a quiet Southern mill town into a bustling tourist destination.
Indie Craft Parade was inspired by craft markets and festivals such as Chicago’s Renegade Craft and The Big Crafty in Asheville, North Carolina.
