Our Fair Director, Carrie Nardini!

Carrie Nardini is an artist organizer. A self-proclaimed “Market-ress” her work centers on creating opportunities for artists to launch and grow small businesses revolving around their unique talents. Carrie began crafting at a young age jumping from ceramics, to metals, to glass and settled on creating jewelry in ways that wouldn’t burn down the house. She was able to experience the pop up artisan market life in high school, partnering with a professional metalsmith who provided her with apprentice work and an introduction to selling to the public.  From there it was a constant – college work was as the manager of a bead department in a local shop resulting in creating more than 2,000 macraméd necklaces. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family and experiencing the ups and downs of self-employment helped to shape her sense of how a business’s structure impacts more than just sales. So she completed the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh for additional theoretical and practical knowledge. When the opportunity arose to fill a need she saw in the Pittsburgh community her first brand, I Made It! Market was launched and has now been providing opportunities for artists for nine years. Carrie has since developed the Neighborhood Flea brand and helped to launch the Cleveland Flea and Propelle and is the Fair Director for The Pittsburgh Craftsmen’s Guild’s annual show, A Fair in the Park. She consults with emerging creative businesses in her spare time.