Craigslist

I think it's important to mention how valuable Craigslist is to a working artist, especially in an industrial town like Baltimore. I've recently gotten in the habit of checking the listings every day, much like I check my inbox and Facebook. It's paid off- I got a GREAT deal on a vintage road bike that I now ride every day for my commute. The seller made all the adjustments for my fit and installed new bar tape for free. Nice guy, not as sketchy as I thought it would be.

I recently watched a documentary on Craigslist and the people behind the ads- it's pretty interesting, and you can watch it for free here.

Most of the time you'll only find crap, but every now and then something will come along that is PERFECT for the project you're working on. The diversity of things available is astounding, and its definitely worth a habitual gander.

Some interesting finds from my search today:

1500 plaster molds for ceramic casting

A cheap kiln for firing ceramics in your own basement

A whole pile of cut cedar lumber

A TIG welder for only $300

soooo many more tools...

Every now and then a contractor sells his extra tools and materials from a build, or a warehouse gets cleaned out and you can take all their storage units. Neat stuff.

If you check the housing ads, there's almost always some kind of spare room for rent to artists as a studio space. Sometimes a big warehouse gets bought, and you can purchase xft^2 for your own work space, which is an awesome deal. There's also ads placed for open call art shows, auctions, craft and festival booths, and art dealers.

As always, be careful who you talk to and what information you give. But if you're smart about it, Craigslist can be your most valued tool as an artist.