Deadline: Friday, May 2nd
According to fredflare.com: “The NEXT BIG THING contest is best suited for designers, artists, crafters and creatives who are serious about taking their business to the next level.”
In short, it’s a contest in which you submit your art/design/craft products for $5 an entry in the hopes of winning $1,000 and having your stuff sold on fredflare.com. There will be 27 finalists, each of whom gets a spot and a bio in the limited-time Next Big Thing Boutique section of the web site. Then in June, the polls open, and customers vote on their favorite product. The winning artist/designer gets $1,000 and Fred Flare will buy out the rest of their stock. In the future, if your item does well, they will keep you on as a wholesale vendor.
Although there are traditionally a huge number of entries and you face some pretty stiff competition (Jay McCarroll of Project Runway, Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching, and Amy Sedaris have all been finalists), there’s a lot to potentially gain and only $5 to lose. I’m definitely going to enter the Sweet Meats. One tip: read the rules carefully because they’re very specific.
Biz Miss 