News About Public Radio

All Crafts Considered And More Holiday Events At The NPR Commons

By Caitlin Sanders,

Justin Winn, Kendra Gaskin

Published November 26, 2013 at 5:12 PM CST

We like to celebrate great traditions at NPR. Actually, it's fair to say we relish them.

For our first holiday season in our new headquarters, we're building another custom for the public radio cannon: All Crafts Considered. This arts and crafts expo brings together local artists for a lunchtime sale at the NPR building (1111 North Capitol St. NE, Washington, D.C., 20002) on Wednesday, December 11, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Come Shop (or Sell) at the NPR Craft Fair

All Crafts Considered has long been an end-of-year staple for NPR staff, and this December, we're opening the event up to the public - for free - with the help of The NPR Commons, a brick-and-mortar extension of the NPR Shop. The public is invited visit the NPR lobby to shop for unique and handmade products – produced right in the DC area.

Vendor application for 2013 is now closed.

If handmade crafts aren't on your 'to give' list this year, we've got a few more ways for you to get something for everyone on your list.

All through December, The Commons is hosting special events for the public. Shopping hours will be extended for your convenience and we've invited favorite NPR voices to serve as your personal shopping companions. Think NPR Hosts Rachel Martin, David Greene and one Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! judge and scorekeeper who is rumored to be on the ticket as well (tentative schedule to the left).

Sorry folks, mistletoe is BYO.

A peek at The NPR Commons, tucked inside NPR's Washington, DC headquarters.

Finding Common Ground

Since opening The Commons this summer, Barbara Sopato, NPR's longtime director of e-commerce and consumer products, and her team have turned the stand-alone shop into a social meetup space for guests, visitors and staff who pass through the NPR lobby every day. In addition to being a good spot to run into Scott Simon (yes, the Weekend Edition host of hosts), The Commons is a destination for shoppers looking to find eco-friendly and locally-sourced merchandise. And of course, NPR-branded goodies that celebrate and support their favorite shows and public radio personalities.

NPR Shopkeeper Barbara Sopato poses inside The Commons at NPR HQ.

"All of the products are built around the idea of a really good story, and our merchandise is designed to reflect the same quality and integrity that we strive for in our reporting," Sopato says.

They are currently building relationships and new products with local vendors and The Commons recently added organic baby onesies produced in Fairfax, Va., to their assortment.

Many of these items are also available online at The NPR Shop (shop.npr.org), which is running specials throughout the holiday season including a site-wide 15% off everything deal running from Black Friday (11/29) all the way through Cyber Monday (12/2).

You can follow @NPRCommons on Twitter, The NPR Shop on Facebook and #shopNPR for new products, deals and the latest news about wearing, toting and reading your support for public radio.

Happy Holidays!