Pittsburgh hosts the first-ever national conference of independent craft-makers this weekend, with organizers hoping to position the city as a capital for the growing underground crafts movement.

The "Craft Congress" was organized by leaders of the Handmade Arcade, the one-day sale and festival each fall by do-it-yourself artists in Point Breeze. The arcade -- often featuring whimsical crafts with a feminist and environmentally friendly perspective -- has grown exponentially since it started three years ago, mirroring the growth in indie craft-making nationwide.

The conference will gather more than 50 craft leaders from around the country -- and one from Leeds, England -- to discuss growth in the subculture and its attendant challenges. Many artists who started doing crafts as a hobby are now hoping to do so full time -- with the help of Internet sales sites such as www.etsy.com -- but also seeing their merchandising ideas co-opted by major retailers.

The conference will also allow many festival organizers, Web site designers, DIY magazine publishers and others to meet for the first time.

Indie crafting "has grown because of the Internet. A good number of these people are Internet friends who don't know each other in the real world," said Handmade Arcade and conference organizer Gloria Forouzan.

"There were a number of questions about what are the best practices in fairs and how to teach vendors how to sell, and we thought, why not establish some real-life relationships and address the challenges we all face?"

Since indie vendors often sell over the Internet or travel to regional fairs, they can live virtually anywhere, so Forouzan said she and others also hope to use the Congress to "demonstrate how great Pittsburgh is" to visiting artists.

The conference is being held at the Spinning Plate Artist Lofts in Friendship. Attendance is closed to the public.