Calling All Crocheters!!
Our first World Amigurumi Exhibit was such a huge success that we’ve decided to make this an annual exhibit!
Our goal is to completely fill our gallery space with at least 3,000 amigurumi. We want to turn the gallery into an “amigurumi room”, filled to the brim with cuddly and cute! This is a unique exhibition in that it’s not displaying an individual artist, but a concept. The concept, amigurumi, is a culture that began in Japan, but is now cherished by crocheters all over the world. We were so inspired by the amount of amigurumi artists out there that we decided to embark on a journey to create an exhibition showcasing the united, global love of this cute craft! To make this a successful exhibit, we need amigurumi contributions from crocheters everywhere!
Go on a video tour of last year’s World Amigurumi Exhibition!
Exhibition Theme Description
What started as a unique Japanese crochet art only a few decades ago, amigurumi is now spreading across the globe. As a Japanese cultural center in New York, RESOBOX is looking to uncover and explore the core of what makes amigurumi so loved through this exhibit.
In order to examine how the amiguurmi culture is developing in each area of the world, we want each artist to show a characteristic or feature of their country or local area in their amigurumi pieces. Some ideas you can use are: amigurumi with your country’s colors, a special type of yarn or other materials (beads, embellishments, fabric, etc.) well known in your country, amigurumi wearing cultural clothes, etc. Feel free to come up with your own ideas as well! We want to show each country’s unique features while connecting them through the common medium of amigurumi!
Theme Example: Amigurumi Bear With Colombian Wayuu Bag
This amigurumi was designed and created by Jennifer Ramirez from Colombia.
Wayuu is one of the many Amerindian tribes that exist in Colombia. Wayuu (also Wayu, Wayúu, Guajiro, Wahiro) is an American Indian ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela.
In this piece, Jennifer successfully combines a part of her culture (the Colombian Wayuu bag) with crocheting to create a cute and unique amigurumi!
Photographs by Jennifer Ramirez
Basic Exhibit Information
- Duration: December 11, 2015 to February 28, 2016
- Location: RESOBOX, 41-26 27th St, Long Island City, NY 11101 | www.resobox.com
- It would be great if you could come to NY during the exhibition, but you don’t have to. Our staff will take care of your amigurumi (sales, display, shipping, etc.)
- Artists must submit a minimum of 10 amigurumi pieces.
- All pieces from the various contributing amigurumi artists will be for sale during the exhibition term.
- Artist retains ownership of all work consigned to or represented by RESOBOX Gallery.
- Each work should have a small loop (fishing line, thread, yarn, etc. is fine) and tag. The tag must include the following: a) artist/brand name; b) baby safe or not baby safe; c) price; d) item number (RESOBOX will send this number in mid-October), and; e) any other information you want to include.
**NOTE: Each artist who is participating MUST submit at least one amigurumi piece that is part of the exhibit theme. So, if you send us 50 pieces, at least 1 out of those 50 pieces must show a local characteristic and the rest of them can be free-style – whatever you want to exhibit.
Interested artists must fill out the following form by October 15th:
Application Closed
Shipping Your Amigurumi To Us
Please send up to 100 amigurumi pieces eligible for sale to:
41-26 27th Street
Long Island City, New York, USA 11101
Please note:
- The artist is responsible for the transport of amigurumi pieces to and from the gallery, including any costs related thereto.
- Each artist can send up to 100 amigurumi pieces. All pieces must be for sale.
- All amigurumi must arrive by November 30th at RESOBOX Gallery. If your amigurumi does not arrive by November 30th, we can not guarantee it will be on display for the exhibit’s opening party.
- The artist should certify each piece as being “baby-safe” or “not baby-safe”. A piece is “baby-safe” if: a) the eyes are safety eyes or embroidered; b) the little appendages can’t be pulled off and swallowed, and; c) the stuffing can’t be pulled out
- The artist should certify either that the pieces are his/her original pattern, or that the person who created the pattern has given them the right to sell that particular design (please check the original creator’s website).
Fees and Commission
- Retail sales prices: The prices for each piece will be established by the artist. If we feel a price is unreasonable, we will contact you to negotiate. If you do not hear from us, please assume your prices are okay.
- Commission when sale occurs: Commission varies depending on the number of pieces.
21-50: 25% commission to the gallery (75% to the artist)
51-75: 15% commission to the gallery (85% to the artist)
76-100: 10% commission to the gallery (90% to the artist)
- Payment will be sent within 10 days after the end of the exhibition unless there is a special request by an artist.
- The gallery is responsible for all marketing fees of the exhibit such as postcards/flyers, drinks for the opening reception, event webpage, promotion to media/press, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please thoroughly read this section before emailing us with your questions.
– Are you going to publish an article about this exhibition anywhere?
Yes. We will create an English press release and deliver to as many media outlets as we can all over the world. Unfortunately, we can’t have all images of all artists’ works included in the press release, but will list all participating artists’ names and web pages.
Additionally, if this exhibit is featured in blogs, magazines, newspapers, etc. we will post links to these articles on the exhibit page, our Facebook page, and on our Twitter account. Last year, we were featured in publications such as:
- The Lion Brand Yarn Blog
- Happily Hooked Magazine (Issue 11)
- Simply Crochet Magazine (Issue 27)
** We may ask each artist for some media contacts in your local area.
– What type of amigurumi are you looking for?
Please see the description of this year’s theme at the top of this page. Each artist must submit at least one amigurumi that shows a characteristic or feature of their country or local area.
**We WILL NOT accept any amigurumi based on licensed characters. If your pieces are based on licensed characters, we will not display it during the exhibit and we will send them back to you immediately.
– I didn’t create the patterns for my pieces. Is that okay?
Please check the original creator’s website. Normally, there are some comments explaining if you can sell the pieces based on their pattens. We will only accept works that are originals or have permission from the original creator.
– If my amigurumi arrive at RESOBOX after the November 30th deadline because of a post delay, is that okay?
If your pieces arrive after November 30th for any reason, we cannot guarantee they will be on display for the opening party (Friday, December 11th). In order to ensure that your amigurumi arrives on time, please ship your package(s) in a timely manner.
– Commission
The commission that the gallery takes varies depending on the number of pieces to be exhibited.
10-20 pieces: 35% commission to the gallery (65% to the artist)
21-50: 25% commission to the gallery (75% to the artist)
51-75: 15% commission to the gallery (85% to the artist)
76-100: 10% commission to the gallery (90% to the artist)
– May I send all the things for gift-wrapping the amigurumi (paper bag, ribbons, etc…)?
Please do not send anything for gift-wrapping the amigurumi. We will gift-wrap your amigurumi when a sale occurs. We cannot accept custom gift-wrapping from each participant. Thank you for your understanding.
– Can I include my own tag?
We require that all artists attach a tag to their pieces. This tag can be a piece of paper, your business card, etc. However, all tags must include the following information:
- Artist/brand name
- Baby safe or not baby safe
- Item number (RESOBOX will send you this number in mid-October.)
- Price
- Any other information you want to include (website URL, Facebook page, etc.)
– Who will bear the shipping and return shipping costs if my items aren’t sold?
Artists are responsible for all shipping costs (to and from New York). Unsold pieces will be returned to you, or with your permission, donated to local kids’ organizations. The gallery will not buy your pieces. We will first calculate the cost of the shipping of your unsold pieces and the profit that you make during the exhibition. And then, if there is a surplus on your side, we will send the unsold pieces as well as the profit that you make to your account through PayPal or bank wire. If not, once we confirm the payment received from you, we will send unsold pieces back to you. You need to pay to us the cost of shipping from NY to your place. Once we confirm the payment received to our account from you, we will ship your unsold items back to you.
– May I send the same character with a different color scheme? Do the pieces submitted all have to be different, or can they be duplicates of the same piece?
Duplicates are okay whether they are the exact same or different colors/styles.
– Is it possible to send business cards to go with the amigurumi to gain exposure?
If you would like to send business cards, please attach them to your amigurumi. See the tag instructions above.
– How will you establish the retail prices?
Each artist will decide the price for each of their pieces. After we receive your price list and amigurumi contributions, we will contact you if we believe a price is inappropriate. (If you don’t hear from us, please assume that your prices are okay.)
– Will there be any kind of opening reception?
Yes. We will have an opening party on Friday, December 11th at 7PM. If you can make it to New York, please join us!
– Do you need a detailed list of all of the amigurumis I’m sending? And if so, what information should be on this list?
Yes, we will need a detailed list of amigurumi from each artist. Please send the following information by email. The list does not need to be included in the package:
- Name of each piece with a photo of each (or at least a description of what the piece looks like)
- Price for each
- Baby safe or not
- Any other things that the gallery should know
– Do you take full responsibility for the amigurumi stock during the exhibition?
We cannot provide artists with compensation for lost/stolen items. However, reasonable efforts will be made to protect consigned artwork from accidental damage, breakage or lost items but insurance liability for accidental damage or breakage is not provided by the gallery.
