Barbed-wire t-shirts, kimchee hotdogs, and a hand-painted portrait of your beloved ten-speed bike.  When Deb Klein organizes a craft fair, she makes sure to mix it up. Klein, who’s been running the Food and Craft Market series at the Brooklyn Lyceum for the past two years, has quotas for popular items like jewelry and soap. This way, she makes room for more unique artisans–like Tianna Meilinger, who makes messenger bags out of recycled bike tubes and sail boat awnings, and Donna Block, whose cakes look like Converse sneakers.

Crafters fill out applications with links to their websites and photos of their goods months in advance. While most vendors are based out of New York City, last weekend’s Spring Food and Craft Fair had artisans from far away as Cleveland and Portland, Maine.

“At first, it was hard to convince vendors it was worthwhile to come out,” Brooklyn Lyceum’s programming director Eric Richmond said. “There are so many auto and glass places around here.” But Klein’s vetting process and the fact that crafters often advertise the fair on their own blogs mean word has spread and the Lyceum’s craft fairs are really taking off. The spring fair had a steady string of customers, and with 120 vendors, was the first fair to use two floors, entrances, and balconies of the space.

Brooklyn Lyceum is Park Slope’s mini-convention center that houses break-dancing competitions, chess tournaments, and Zine Fests.

Plus, it’s craft fair season! Melissa made this map of upcoming fairs and shows around the city:

View 2010 Fairs Around NYC in a larger map