Tuesday, August 2, 2011

LOVIN' The Renegade Craft Fair

A couple of weeks ago, 3 of my long time friends and I
stole away for a girls weekend to celebrate our birthdays.
It was a huge weekend for us...
one of the girls moved away 4 years ago and
we have not all been together since
(heck, this was the first time I have seen her since!).

As we were planning, I discovered that the Renegade Craft Fair
was going to be in L.A. that weekend
(this was also Carmageddon weekend...
the great L.A. freeway tragedy that never happened).
So, what else is there to do, but hit the Fair!
Giddy! Giddy! Giddy! I was!
I think - I know - I was the most excited.

The Fair was held at the L.A. State Historic Park in/near downtown - lived there my whole life...never heard of it! But if it is near downtown - we got this in the bag...I also had a little walk down memory lane - years of school and work there - it all came flooding back. Then we happened upon the park..it was lovely!

Now, I have been trying to get to the Renegade Craft Fair up in San Fransisco and have never made it, so I was beyond myself to finally be at one...and it did not disappoint. So many creative, artistic, inventive minds! I also enjoyed seeing what my friends reacted to as they do not ready crafty blogs "all day" and I suppose I am the craftiest of them...I liked hearing what they thought was fun, new and interesting.
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Here's my recap of my faves:

This was my splurge -
I knew if I did not buy one of these I would regret it.
"modern porcelain with a vintage beat"
Yep...a vintage jar re-done in porcelain...LOVE!
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Then I saw Zooguu - a collection of plush handmade toys to steal you heart. I had the hardest time deciding...I ended up with a small pink octopus - she is sweet! The owner, Jen was absolutely fabulous too! I see a go-to place for many, many gifts in my future. There are also free kiddo activities to download from the site.
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In the same booth as Zooguu was Jen's husband,
Brian Gubicza who had the coolest art illustrations.
I picked up his version of Medusa. Love her!
He has fun free stuff on his site too!

Hi style is fabulous...you must go take a peek!
(image from Brian's site)
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I almost fell over when I saw the sweetness at Le Petit Elefant -
my friend actually saw her first and said I MUST go visit.

What a fabulous collection of toys, illustrations, and ideas.
Oh boy I love this style.
How cute is that balloon floating above the booth -
that is how to do balloons people!
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Oh the jewelry of Kendra Renee made me go weak in the knees.
She has a gorgeous selection of necklaces, earrings - you name it.
I truly wanted one of each!
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I love me some bath products....
Ella + Billie create luxury artisan bath products.
Oh the scent of heaven was in her booth.
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Laura Cooke Ceramics was definitely one of my favorite booths -
sadly I ran out of time and did not make it back to purchase anything that day...
THANKFULLY I have the Internet to rectify that!
 (image from Laura Cooke Ceramics etsy shop)

Isn't that gorgeous!?
There is a pitcher that I am putting on my Christmas list!
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I also loved Ark Collective...a socially responsible company - for every pack you buy one is given to a student in need on your behalf - AWESOME! I did not pick a pack up that day because my son is very specific and I want him to pick. But what an amazing idea!
 (image from Ark Collective site)
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School starts next week and these reusable sandwich and snack bags from graze organic are going to be perfect. Look how fun they are. Each kid got their own little collection!
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OK, so some highly crafted food product was their. p.o.p. candy was truly fun, unique, and delicious. P.O.P. is all natural candy made from clean ingredients.
I bought Fire Pistachio Butter Crunch, Rosemary Almond, and p.o.p. mixed butter crunch.
I see holiday gifts in my future!
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As we were heading out, we spied it...the Moveable Type Truck -  a 1982 Chevy Step Van - and inside was real letterpress...I made this awesome bag!  Ooooo...Letterpress makes me swoon.
 (sorry...scary photo!)
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I just wanted to share some of the great things I found at the Renegade Craft Fair.
I have no affiliation with any of these companies or people above. I just happened upon them at the Fair and loved what they did...and they were all super nice too! No compensation involved! Good product, good peeps deserve some recognition!

The December show in SF is on my calendar!
Can't wait!

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6 comments:

  1. Awesome awesome awesome! This looks like such a wonderful event!

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  2. So many cool things. I think my favorite are the reusable sandwich and snack bags.

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  3. Oh! I wish I could have gone. It looks so FUN. I've never been to a craft fair that is truly cool lol. ;)

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  4. Wow!! What a wonderful time. So many amazing vendors.

    Ruth

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  5. what a fun fair and a perfect name for some girls on the loose! Glad you had a good time...and yes, she wants my help...she wants some peacock feathers, too. Lezlee

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  6. Sounds like time well spent Holly--and glad you all survived the big construction project going on then.

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