On behalf of the team organizing Indie Untangled, I want to address my actions related to compensation of special guests at my events. ⁣
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I owe Denise Bayron an apology for not offering to provide monetary compensation for her time at a for-profit event when I first asked her to appear. It was wrong to assume that publicity or exposure was sufficient compensation in this instance, and to make it her responsibility to ask to be paid. I know the historical baggage that is attached to asking women, especially BIPOC women, to do work in exchange for less than they deserve. ⁣
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Additionally, in my sincere effort to make sure Indie Untangled was an inclusive event, I recognize that specifically asking a person of color to do something that benefits my business can look like tokenism. That was not my intent.⁣
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Of course, one of the things I have learned over the past several months is that intent does not cancel out the impact of one’s actions. It is obvious to me now that I have not fully absorbed this idea, and have a lot of work to do to truly understand how this kind of situation can come from good intentions.⁣
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I also want to take responsibility for the initial response when the details of the compensation discussion were made public. The response that we thought would “set the record straight” only led to more miscommunication and bad feelings. ⁣
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On a related note, I need to apologize to Stephen West for making the details of his compensation public, without his consent. ⁣
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And, finally, I want to apologize publicly to the vendors who entrusted me with their reputations and livelihoods. We all know that running a business isn’t easy in the best of circumstances, but that doesn’t negate the hurt that my actions have caused. ⁣
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This situation has given me a greater insight into the discussions that have been occurring in our industry, and I will be using this experience to inform the guidelines and standards I will be setting for future events. ⁣
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I sincerely hope that what happened doesn’t tarnish what has always been an enjoyable weekend.

Thank you to everyone for supporting the Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show, a small event I dreamed up as part of one of my favorite weekends, and that has grown in popularity each year. Tickets to the marketplace sold out in minutes today as we had to balance incredible demand with the capacity of the venue.

The ticket sale page was viewed more than 40,000 times. Unfortunately, our venue cannot hold tens of thousands of people. I’m very sad to have to turn people away from the show.

We have searched long and hard for a big enough indoor space to be able to accommodate everyone who wants to attend, but unfortunately haven’t found one. Using an outdoor venue would require much more bandwidth and funds than I can provide. We are incredibly fortunate to have found a home as warm and welcoming as Saugerties, and to also have a wonderful fiber festival that can accommodate huge crowds.

At the moment, we are at full capacity for the event. As we work with our partner businesses, both vendors and sponsors, we are going to recheck capacity and we will inform everyone if we are able to make more tickets available.

Even if you can’t attend the show, you are welcome to come to the Indie Untangled after party/Rhinebeck kickoff at the Dutch Ale House in downtown Saugerties, enjoying food and drinks, as well as live music during the later seating, and, of course, crafting and fun with fiber friends old and new. Tickets are still currently available.

And a huge thank you to the vendors and sponsors for helping me create an event that so many people want to attend.