Renegade

while in nyc i had the chance for the first time to attend the Renegade Craft Fair, a celebration of all things DIY and handmade. Started in Chicago in 2003, it is now held annually in Chicago, Brooklyn, San Fran, and LA.





Brooklyn's McCarren Park played host to 300+ pre-selected crafters and artists from all over the country and an overwhelming amount of handmade goodies: the best of etsy in one place... not surprisingly etsy also had a tent.



















my favourite booth belonged to husband&wife team Something's Hiding in Here, who were selling plaster hearts, cross-stitched yo-yo's, mini houses, faux logs, and wooden mustaches with different personas (ie: the bartender).
















photos taken from Something's Hiding In Here's blog, which is definitely worth a visit. they're currently refurbishing vintage bicycles!
also, visit their etsy page here.


RCF goes home to Chicago, taking over Division St. on September 12 & 13.
i might just have to get my second helpi
in the meantime, RCF also has a permanent online shop.
shop here.

sight. see.

more nyc photos; less thematic.



tree scarves.

corner apartment.

gumshoe.

"don't forget to write"
bench & bottle.feet over brooklyn. Cappuccinotattoo.

Alice in the Mews.

i'd trust this little guy with all my secret messages.

more later when blogger is sucking less.

bicycle love

hello again! back from travels to the atlantic with pictures and stories to share. the following are photos i took of biycles in nyc as i was missing mine back home.



i've never met so many bikes with so much character, like old traveled souls.



observe.

@ nyu

for sale. jumble.

afro bike.
lower east.greenwich village.

worn & weathered.

bicycle lovers.

bicyle love triangle.

love your bike.

ticxtac.

made in windsor

i was so pleasantly surprised by all the talented artists and crafters who brought their wares to the made in windsor craft show on saturday.

i fawned over a table shared by sister designers Tina Thibert (Dancing Jellybean) and Coleen Thibert (Coleeflower Designs) for quite some time before finally settling on a set of lovely magnets, a wee little deer patch, some pretty fabric-covered earrings, and a sewing machine-patterned tote for my dearest friend.

check out Tina's etsy shop... i have my eye on this sheepy wallet:

+ click here for Coleen's.

i also met hair accessory designer Stephanie Martin (To The Moon Designs) while admiring a set of cupcake hairpins... i was later informed they were for little girls. however, she does take custom orders for big girls too! check out her web shop here.

precious! find me a baby; i want to stick something pretty on its head.

Jodi Green had these amazing screen printed treasures for sale (notebooks, messager bags, dresses) that were actually part of her MFA thesis, which you can learn about here. i really wanted a notebook, but they were a little out of my price range ($70)... i couldn't walk away empty-handed so i bought a teeny little matchbook-notebook for teeny little note-taking.

i'm still admiring that full size notebook from afar in her etsy shop.

check out her shop and then see how she turns the insides into works of art here.

last, but not least, i nabbed a greeting card featuring a photo from the series The Travels of Bonhomme Squelette by Laura Gould. look how pretty. i don't think i'll ever have the heart to send it away.

oh windsor, you're so cute sometimes.

go (mint) green

this makes me super happy: Jones & Co., Windsor's most lovely vintage shop, is offering a 20% discount to anyone pedeling in on their bicycle during the whole month of May!

buy something pretty & carry it home in your basket.

my bicycle is mint green.

p.s. i got this picture from Melinda Clynes' article "Hipsters Guide To Windsor." Reading about your own city is funny. Having someone point out your city's "hipster" places is even funnier.

book fest x 2

Ann Arbor Book Festival:
runs may 15-17th, featuring about 100 guest authors flooding the beautiful streets of ann arbor.

"The Ann Arbor Book Festival’s mission is to promote reading, heighten awareness of literacy challenges, and showcase the rich culture of the written word in Michigan and beyond."

http://www.aabookfestival.org/index.htm

highlights: 2009 literary symposium, breakfast with the authors, 2009 writers' conference, "the art of the play" @ the Arthur Miller Theatre

writers: they are currently (as of may 1st) accepting submissions for their Ann Arbor Book Festival Short Story Contest. the prize is $25o and publication. the entry fee is $10. you can go here for more info.

Toronto Small Press Book Fair:

"On June 13, 2009, from 9 to 5 p.m., up to 80 small- to medium-sized presses from the Greater Toronto Area—and a number from as far afield as Montreal, Calgary, and even Vancouver—will gather in the atrium of the Toronto Reference Library to sell their books, chapbooks, graphic novels, audio-books, magazines and comics, and a wide array of high-quality arts and crafts."
http://www.torontosmallpressbookfair.org/

some of my favourite small presses will be there: broken pencil, Carousel Magazine, Maisonneuve...

and a local one!: Rampike
and some i've never heard before that sound fun: Robot Kissing Booth, Sweetie Pie Press, & Peachy K Press whose write-up reads, "Drinking tea, sewing clouds, puttering,wandering,walking and wondering... welcome all to my opened suitcase."

see the full list here.

thank you mr. car

why i want to live in portland, oregon:

nuff said.