Not Your Mother's Craft Fair- Part 1

It's that time of year when I gather up all the cash I can get my hands on and head to San Francisco for the the always inspiring Renegade Craft Fair!  This years fair will hit 6 cities;  Austin, Brooklyn, S.F, Los Angeles, Chicago and London.   I am so lucky to live right across the Bay from this fantastic event.

Even the posters and flyers are fun and original works of art.

This year I decided that I would love to get to know some of the artists exhibiting at the show and to pick their brains a bit about their experiences working the show.   I chose my 11 favorite artists (there were like 200!) and will be featuring them here, over the next few weeks.  The range is broad, from jewelery to plushy monsters.  If you want a sneak peek at their work, the artists I will be including are:
Carla Madrigal, madrigalembroidery.etsy.com
Alison Simonian, missalison.com
Gold Fools, http://hillarywebb.blogspot.com/  http://www.facebook.com/artmakesyousmart
Lisa Anderson Shaffer, zelmzrose.com
Sofia Masri, sofiamasri.com
Jen Hewett, jenhewett.blogspot.com/
Eling Chang Despres, migrationgoods.com
Joelle Medici, mrsogs.etsy.com
Jacob Deatherage, bookjournals.com
Ryan Hansen,magicindustrie.com
Faryn Davis, fernworks.org

I wish I could have bought something from all of these wonderful artists, but alas, I am a starving artist myself.  So, here are the goodies I did purchase...

Last year I bought  pink pair of porcelain earrings from Sofia Masri, and this year I knew I had to get a second pair, this time in purple.

 The colors, detail and texture in Carla Madrigals embroidered jewelry made me swoon.

As a person who uses sketchbooks a lot, I just couldn't resist these sketchbooks or journals made from vintage books, by experienced Renegadian Jacob Deatherage.

 

There was even an amazing and free photo booth that captured me and the girls in rare form!

Next week I will feature Carla Madrigal and Alison Simonian, so come back and check it out!
And, the fair will be in Los Angeles this weekend so if you're in the area, go!!!
You will never see so much creativity and innovation under one roof...