Held in Hangar 30 of Magnuson Park (site of former Naval Air Station) on August 1 and 2, this was Renegade Craft Fair’s auspicious debut in Seattle.
Even though Urban Craft Uprising has long been the end-all, be-all of craft fairs in Seattle (I vended there two summers ago – fulfilling one of my creative business dreams, yay!), I was so excited when Renegade Craft Fair announced it was coming to the Emerald City. I wasn’t able to sell here (full disclosure: I was rejected. wump wah), but OF COURSE, I came out to support my fellow handmakers and crafters. Also on the agenda — check out booth displays for ideas; interact with makers to help me better serve my own customers. A sizzling summer day spent doing market research plus shopping all rolled into one. Days like these makes it awesome to be handmade business!
I was solo that day – my kiddos were spending the day with their dad and my usual craft fair buddy was incapacitated by a craft show injury (true story!). So I was able to browse at leisure, make a flower crown, absorb the vibe of the show and chat it up with some vendors, which for me — a recovering shy person but proud introvert — is a big accomplishment.
Here is my photo essay of my first-ever visit to a Renegade Craft Fair. Enjoy! (All photos were taken by me, Cathy Pascual (unless otherwise noted). Feel free to share or pin my photos just please link back to this original post. Thanks so much!)
I’ve been following Julie Ann for years (to me, a quintessential Etsy success story), so I was happy to meet her in person! I took home three of her irreverent greeting cards with me!A regular of Urban Craft Uprising, Alexa of Foamy Wader was a familiar face at RCF. Love her delicate and sea-inspired jewelry and displays!Dinosaur terrarium mason jar and air plant terrariums by MakersKit appealed to my DIY side.Beautifully graphic and colorful hand-embroidered jewelry by An Astrid Endeavor.Hand-thrown porcelain ceramics by Land Bird. Love the mix of illustrations and bold color.This booth was delightful and full of these whimsical wool felt birds by Up in Flight.Love how Sires Eyewear told the story of their glasses with a three-dimensional comic strip complete with comic book style half-tone dots. And the award for most creative and stylish display goes to Sires Eyewear.Bunny Bear Press had a striking blue-painted pegboard display that definitely stood out among the other booths. I’m a big fan of Adina’s beautiful letterpress cards and stationery and so is West Elm Seattle.These pillows stopped me in my tracks because of the cuteness factor alone! Thank you Thousand Skies for even let me plump and rearrange the pillows before I snapped the photo!The name alone made me want to stop at this booth: Oh So Antsy. But I fell in love this world map necklace! So clever. And Jessica and her fiance were super-friendly. Turns out Jessica and I have attended a couple of the same creative business conferences (School House Craft and Craftcation). #smallworldI thought these “color me” greeting cards by Monorail Studio were brilliant! A great way to personalize your card.Stepping into this booth felt like walking into a brick and mortar boutique. Love the name too! Such Sweet Tierney.Vintage books. Hidden storage. Retro library cards as tags? Yes, please and thank you, Afterword.I also stopped by Knucklekiss’s booth of modern handcrafted jewelry (I have had my eye on her knuckle rings forever!) And don’t you love that shop name? According to her website, it means “a punch in the kisser, but also a peck on the hand.” p.s. I borrowed this photo from Angela’s Instagram feed – because my photo turned out blurry. Too busy chatting it up with Angela 🙂I wish (oh how I wish!) that I had taken a photo of Goat and Kettle’s entire set-up. It was a stand-alone booth that you could walk around. It was right at the entrance so it got tons of foot traffic and his branding, display and product (hand-forged jewelry from antique keys and hardware) were so on point! Favorite “booth” of RCF!P.S. I contacted Justin of Goat and Kettle and he sent me a this photos of his display. Thanks Justin!After I made the rounds a few times, I circled back to the entrance and made my first ever flower crown. A soothing processing of twisting, wrapping, contemplating flower and foliage choices, I made this out of wire, floral tape, fresh flowers and the help of the volunteers from La Fleur Kitchen. If you’re curious what it looked like on my head, you can click over here to my Instagram feed @catshycrafts.More souvenirs from my RCF visit: business cards, my flower crown, and photo booth shots arranged on my bulletin board at home. Business pictured (top to bottom, left to right): La Fleur Kitchen (flower crown). Oh So Antsy. Julie Ann Art. Bunny Bear Press. Up in Flight. Land Bird. Pocket Square Clothing. Julie Ann Art. Afterword. Foamy Wader. Thousand Skies. Monorail Studio.Magnolia Photo Booth.
(all photos taken by Cathy Pascual//Catshy Crafts (unless otherwise noted). Feel free to share just please link back to this original post. Thanks so much!)
