Handmade Arcade

Handmade Arcade is a great place to find unique gifts for yourself or friends & family members. Everything is handmade or locally manufactured by artists and crafters from the ‘Burgh and surrounding areas. This year I went to the holiday gathering at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and got most of Christmas shopping done and everyone loved their one-​of-​a-​kind gifts! The event was 11a-​7p, my friend and I got there around 4:00 and it was still pretty packed, lots of traffic coming from both directions and baby strollers galore made it difficult to stop and look at tables sometimes, so we had to make a few laps but eventually we got to take a gander at everything we wanted to.
I really enjoyed that they had an activity center where kids and adults could take a break from the hustle and bustle. We didn’t engage in all of the activities that they had to offer, but had fun decorating wooden tree ornaments and doing spin art on records (M plans on making a clock with his).
By the time we got ready to leave (around 5:30ish) the crowd had really thinned out so I suggest waiting until the last minute to go if you really hate fighting the crowds. Don’t be worried that the vendors will run out of product, all of the tables had plenty of products to sell.

I have gone two years in a row and I’ve not been disappointed. Wonderful artists from Pittsburgh and surrounding states come to sell their stuff. Some are not my taste, others are so cool and a few only sell here.

I love events like this around town. Instead of having to make multiple trips to different areas, you get it all in one stop. This is especially great around the holidays. Don’t take that as me knocking the local businesses, I’m applauding them for coming together for the convenience of the community.
I came here in attempts to finish off my Christmas shopping and all that I ended up doing was buying things for myself. I always start out with good intentions and then end up getting sidetracked. It’s not hard to do when you see all of the goods up for grabs here. Small shout out to Steel City Cotton, not sure what it is with you guys, but every single time I see you at any event, I end up buying a tee from you guys.
Although I enjoyed browsing the best part of this was the interactive part. I know it was more aimed towards kids, but aren’t we all kids at heart? I made an ornament, took close up pictures of microscopic items with my phone, and the best thing was making an old, unwanted vinyl record a piece of art. I am currently looking for a clocking mechanism to make it a talking piece in my home.
It was such a great time here, I look forward to it next year.

Great place to go shopping for local, creative and innovative arts and crafts. The organization of space was pretty good. Some things seemed over price, and I was looking to buy for cheap.
Great time to go wander around! And get your hands on a gift or two.
AND, got a pair of gloves, for free, from Unilocal.Thank you.

This was a last minute find and I am happy I went. I actually purchased a wooden Christmas or ornament for a friend. It wasn’t very crowded even thought we went as soon as it opened in the morning. There was a variety of items to choose from. It was pretty cool.

I LOVE creative markets like this one. It’s so inspiring to take in and appreciate so much art from so many craftsmen, all together in one place.
It is a little confusing when you find a cheerleading competition in the Convention Center instead of a craft market. Keep looking and you’ll find it in the far left corner of the second floor in the right half of the building (from the river side). No need to spend the extra $ for the Early Birdie admission; I hear it was just as crowded as the regular hours.
This was my second Handmade Arcade. A lot of the same vendors from the previous year’s arcade and from the other handmade craft markets had booths, but there were plenty of newcomers as well. The Arcade is unique to other local craft markets because of the make-​your-​own section, where anyone can choose a particular activity table to get in on the fun and make things. The DJ and eye-​catching, costumed stilt-​walkers are also a nice touch.
Markets like this are a great place to find unique, local treasures that you won’t see anywhere else, and a great way for local craftsmen to find support for their efforts. Definitely swing by when you see one!

Poor Lawrenceville — it must have been struggling! All the hipsters appeared to have swarmed to the Handmade Arcade. Hipsters aside, the event was fairly good. I expected a lot more stalls and a larger space given that it was held at the Convention Centre. My favourite stalls were those with various Pittsburgh related kitsch items — t-​shirts, prints, woodwork, pierogi aprons etc. However, I do draw the line at spending $ 25 on a mug merely featuring a generic Pittsburgh bridge around the base.
Overall, it was a fun way to spend an hour or so of my weekend and likely serves well for those you want to find unique and quirky holiday presents for their friends and family.

I heard so many great things about handmade arcade and could not wait to check it out! I adore art and craft shows and love supporting small businesses and artists, so I knew I had to attend this year.
Their website was easy to navigate and informed my family and I that parking would be free in any Pittsburgh parking authority garage! Which was awesome to know because the other option would be to pay $ 12 for parking in the David Lawrence convention center.
Admission was free! Maps were provided to locate the artists you were looking for. And of course there was an awesome Unilocal booth where I spun the wheel and won awesome free sunglasses! :)
There were TONS of booths. Lots to look at. The one thing that drove me a little insane was how crowded it was, which is to be expected. I also couldn’t help but be happy that it was so busy– for all the artists sake. They also had tons of recycling bins which made the Eco conscious nerd in me super happy.
Compared to other craft shows, this one is pretty pricey. I could not afford to come here and get all of my gifts for Christmas. Although– the gifts you will find here are unlike anything you could find in some store and the quality of most of the products is unbeatable as well.
Overall, I had an awesome time admiring the art in handmade arcade and am looking forward to attending next year as well!

Here’s to Handmade Arcade’s 11^th year of business! It’s cool but unsurprising that they’ve succeeded this long, especially in a community-​centered city like Pittsburgh. This was actually my first year at the official HA — I’d usually catch mini-​arcades or a couple of their regular vendors at other events, but I’d never make it to the convention center for the actual HA.
Firstly, I heard from friends I ran into on the street that I missed the busiest part of the day — and I am not complaining! Going later in the day meant I could more easily explore the booths. This year’s vendors were selling things like reworked vintage jewelery, original prints, homemade clothing and accessories, and oh so much more. My favorites were the vintage jewelery and homemade candles, especially the ones sold in decorative teacups and mugs. Simple, unique, and the perfect gift!
I didn’t stop for any of the hands-​on activities so I can’t comment on those, but there are indeed booths where you can get your own projects going.
Shopping and craft-​making with music and artwork in the background — what’s not to like? The fact that everyone and everything is local is just the cherry on top in my opinion. Definitely add this award winning, ever growing show to your list of things to do in the ‘Burgh — it’s a must!

This has been my second Unilocal event. It was great! I’m a craft person and a jewelry fanatic, but then again what girl isn’t. They had a lot of booths with my exact taste! I loved it and I’ll definetly be going back!

Imagine Portlandia and all the types of hipsters there. Like, even the subcultures with no names.
They’re at Handmade Arcade — with all their styles, all their wares. One day a year, in one place, you can stock up and become the best kind of hipster there is: the Ironic Pittsburgh t-​shirt Yinzer Hipster. Doesn’t get better than that. I should know…

We are seeing a variety of crafts. Some are fantastic and some. .. Not so much. I love the environment. It inspires me to be more creative myself. I am loving the organ grinder as well as the female dance troupe. Glad we decided to come downtown and check it out.

This was an excellent event and I was extremely happy with the quality of all the locally produced goods. There was something for everyone there, I ended up blowing way too much money at this place. I couldn’t believe that there was no entrance fee! Bonus mo money for the vendors. I can’t wait for next year!

I’m guessing there were at least 100 vendors today; made this a great place to holiday shop!
Handmade Arcade is a total experience, including kid-​friendly activities, live music, and dance performances. Can get crowded, but being at the Convention Center, traffic moved well through the venue.
Loved the non-​typical DJ spinning classics from the 50s; nice added bonus.