Requirements for Handmade Items

In an effort to ensure the highest quality of authenticity of items sold at the Market, the Renaissance Market Commission has approved requirements for various types of items. Click on a link below to learn more.
Coins Compressed Gas Torches Enameling Fiber Art Glasscraft Jewelry Leatherwork Photography Pottery and Ceramics Prints Sculpture Terrariums Textiles Woodcraft Miscellaneous
Coins
For a coin, domestic or foreign, to be used as a part of a craft, the coin must be dapped, cut, carved, etched or by some other innovative method of craftsmanship changed, altered, modified or transformed so as to render it no longer recognized, perceived or considered to be the United States of America or any other country's "Legal Tender." For example: A coin may not be simply soldered to a key chain, money clip or a cut piece of metal. Any and all coin sales presentations must be presented to the City of Austin arts staff at Parks.
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Compressed Gas Torches
Vendors operating compressed gas torches must meet City Of Austin Fire Code Guidelines as follows: Compressed gas cylinders shall be adequately secured to prevent falling or being knocked over. Fire extinguishing appliances of an approved type shall be kept at locations where torches are being used. Minimum extinguisher size shall be 2A-10BC. Compressed gas cylinders shall be placed far enough away from torch operations that they will not be unduly heated by radiation from heated materials, sparks, slag, or misdirection of the torch flame. Only approved equipment such as blowpipes, torches, regulators and hoses that have been examined, tested, and found to be safeguarded as completely as practical shall be used. Fuel gas and oxygen used from cylinders through torches shall be routed through a suitable regulator. Cylinders, valves, regulators, hoses and other apparatus and fittings containing oxygen shall be kept free from oil and grease. The maximum fuel gas or oxygen cylinder size allowed is 20 cubic feet. Torches, gas cylinders, and work area must be inaccessible to the public on all four sides of vendor’s booth. Vendors operating compressed gas torches must carry general liability insurance equal to that of city licensed vending carts (currently at $500,000). Vendors operating compressed gas torches are restricted to areas west of the drinking fountain. Vendors operating torches must obtain verbal permission from directly adjacent vendors who have set up or marked a spot. Vendors operating torches must inform potential neighboring vendors of a torch in use. Vendors operating torches are subject to inspection by the Austin Fire Department.
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Enameling
Enamel is defined as glass ground to powder and fused with heat to a metal surface. Pre-cut, pre-stamped metal blanks are not acceptable. Images must be original work by the artist; commercial stencils are unacceptable.
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Fiber Art
Fiber art is defined as macramé, crochet, knitting, and weaving begun with unknotted cord, string, rope, or yarn. Fiber spun or spun and dyed by the craftsperson can be sold unknotted and unbraided. Materials other than fiber may be incorporated to complement the design.
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Glasscraft
Glasscraft is defined as the product of Heating and blowing or shaping, or Chemically etching and sandblasting, or Cutting, arranging, and assembling of glass.
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Jewelry
Fabricated and/or Cast, Chains Lapidary
Fabricated and/or cast jewelry is defined as personal ornaments constructed and/or formed from raw materials such as gold, silver, brass, bronze, etc. Assembly alone does not constitute being handmade (such as hanging commercially made ornaments on an earwire). Jewelry made out of any metal, fabricated or cast, must be made by the craftsperson. Casting may be done by someone other than the craftsperson, but the item must be the craftsperson's original design and the craftsperson must do all finishing work. Pieces plated with different metals must be plated by the craftsperson themselves because plating is the finishing work. Commercial chains may be used only as a means of suspending the craftsperson's handmade piece and are not to be sold alone unless the chain is completely handmade by the artist. The chain can be no more than one-fourth the value of the total piece. Lapidary is defined as cutting, polishing, and or engraving stones. The craftsperson does not necessarily have to do their own lapidary (commercial stones are allowed as long at the craftsperson fabricates and/or casts the setting) but if anyone is selling cut and polished stones separate they must be able to prove and answer detailed questions about said work. Commercial designs or any jewelry not made by the craftsperson my not be sold on the basis that the artist just cuts the stone. Each piece must be made by the craftsperson who cut the stone.
Strung Bead Jewelry
Strung bead jewelry is defined as ornaments comprised of either handmade or commercially made beads designed and threaded by the craftsperson.   A bead is defined as a small piece of material pierced for threading on a wire or string.   When a central design element (pendant) is not a bead or natural object, it must be designed and constructed by the licensee. Natural objects such as seashells, feathers, etc., are acceptable as central design elements when the licensee polishes, drills, or mounts the object themself. Plain strands of commercial beads may not be sold or displayed (adding different beads at the end of commercially strung jewelry is not considered handcrafted.) The design of the finished product must be substantially changed from the original strand of beads. Up to 5% of the total display may be single color, single strand with a minimum of three (3) beads near the end of the strand on each side of the clasp. Beads handcrafted by the licensee may be sold individually. A jewelry component that is included as part of the main flow of the body of the entire necklace is acceptable. Plain strands of metal beads (gold, silver) are not acceptable as they add a very commercial look to the market and diminish other more creative work. All strung bead jewelry must meet the three-point criteria system to be acceptable. Three separate creative decisions must be made i.e. color, texture, length, etc.
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Leatherwork
Leatherwork is defined as any item made from uncut hide and worked through to the final product. All tooling, lacing, stamping, and staining must be done by the craftsperson. Pre-cut, pre-stamped blanks are not acceptable. Kits are not acceptable. Commercial metal decorations like conchos, medallions, etc.are limited to six on each finished item. Such decorations shall not be the only embellishment on the item on which they appear, but can only be used when handcrafted tooling, stamping, braiding, leather applique, decorative stitching, or beading is used also. Functional snaps, fasteners, buckles, eyelets and grommets shall not be counted as one of the six limited decorations. Metal studs and spikes can be the primary design element, however they must be handset by the artist. Commercial belt buckles cannot ever be sold separately. Commercial belt buckles may be sold attached to the handmade leather item. We all agree to this. Further it is decided that we shall price belts to include a buckle. Commercial watches cannot ever be sold separately. Commercial watch may be sold attached to the handmade leather item. We all agree to this. Further it is decided that we shall price items so that the price of the watch is only one fifth of the final price or less. (example: $7 watch face, final price must be at least $35)
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Photography
Photography is the art or process of producing images on sensitized surfaces by the action of light. The photographer must do the original shooting of the subject. The print shall be a custom print. The photographer/artist shall control the variables (cropping, tonality, burning, dodging, etc.) of the final print.
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Pottery and Ceramics
Pottery and ceramics are defined as wares made from clay, shaped and hardened by heat. Castings produced from molds or original artwork by the craftsperson is considered handcrafted. All glazing must be done by the craftsperson.
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Prints
Original prints are defined as engravings, lithographs, silk screens, wood or linoleum cuts — any impression printed in black and white or in color from one or more matrices conceived and executed entirely by the artist. All original prints must have the signature of the artist. When an edition is limited, the serial number and an indication of the total edition must be upon the face of the print. A reproduction of a print is defined as a copy of the artist's original artwork produced by a high-speed mechanical or photomechanical process such as an offset press, letter press, etc. When an edition is limited, the serial number and an indication of the total edition must be written upon the face of the reproduction.
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Sculpture
Fabricated and/or cast sculpture is defined as a product of carving, cutting, bending or molding wood, stone, clay, metal, resin, etc. into statues and ornaments. Sculpture produced from molds of original artwork by craftsperson is considered handcrafted.
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Terrariums
Terrariums are defined as enclosures for raising indoor plants. Commercial containers alone are not acceptable. If plants are used, they must conform to the plant criteria.
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Textiles/Sewn Items
The following guidelines are suggested for textile products offered for sale at the Renaissance Market. The criteria are designed to encourage artistic, creative, original and imaginative use of textiles, and to promote the intent and integrity of the Market. Sewn items are defined as products constructed from commercial bolt or hand-woven fabric cut and sewn to produce an individual item such as garments, toys, applique, pillows, quilts, etc. Any work the artist does to a commercially available product must at least DOUBLE the current wholesale value of the product. Single-color uniform dyeing of a commercially available garment is not an art form and does not merit licensing. USED media must be represented as such: The artist may do so verbally, items may be tagged, or a card or plaque to this effect may be displayed. If silk-screening is the art form being licensed, the slogans and/or designs must be completely the artist's own concept and in public domain and applied by the artist's own hand. No commercial slogans, products or trademarks may be represented; there may be no copyright infringements. The artist's studio may be visited by the commissioners and/or others if his or her work is in question. Receipts for raw materials must be provided if requested by the commissioners. The assembly of KITS is not considered an art form and does not merit licensing as such. Pre-fabricated "iron-ons" or appliques are not acceptable in and of themselves.
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Woodcraft
Woodcraft is defined as items constructed from unfinished boards, logs or slabs worked through to the final wood product. Commercial pre-cut, pre-routered shapes are unacceptable as any part of the final product.
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Miscellaneous
Items not specifically described by the above criteria will be reviewed and judged on their individual merits.
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