Rock Craft

My buddy told me about this Rock and Shop market in Raleigh this past weekend. It was pretty cool - reminded me of Brooklyn! I barely bought anything. My one purchase was a good one, though:

It'll be a perfect prop for the photobooth at our wedding.

There was a lot of talent at the market, and my two favorite artists that I can't afford both made really pretty jewelry: Haden Designs and bec.

check them out!

My Fair Lady

What a busy weekend. I had training for the summer, a birthday party, a playoff game to watch, (go Redwings), Greece prep to do, and in the midst of all this, fairs to check out!

First up, the Greek Fair near Atlantic Ave. There isn't much to look at, but the tirapides I had were delicious. I also got to spoke to some kind folks from Greece who clued me in on a few things to eat while I'm over there. I also checked out the Atlantic Art walk - not as big as I anticipated, but lots of cool art to look at. My favorite is Cannonball Press. Cool and mildly disturbing woodcut prints for $30.

Sunday, I hit up the much-anticipated Renegade Craft Fair. I behaved myself very well. I don't look at these fairs as an opportunity to buy everything in sight; I mean, I'm not one for necklace containing fabric or fibers, and soon, all the tshirts and prints start to look the same. But I do enjoy grabbing all the business cards from my favorite booths so I can buy later or share the love. So that's what I'm doing. I think later, I'll post sites from fairs and events past, because God knows I have enough business cards in my rolodex.

New York-Centric
Ceramics by Denise Long- really cool ceramic tiles of iconic structures around the city.

On the Walls
Tugboat Printshop - Interesting etchings and woodcuts
Dolan Geiman - Awesome works of art, though a little pricey. "Contemporary Art with a Southern Accent". A perfect description. Ideal for a New Orleans home.
Seattle Show Posters - Self-explanatory. They've also got some non show prints - I got the one for $5.
Brainstorm - cool prints. They had a neat bike poster I considered buying.

Tees
Chalkboard Tees - self-explanatory. I wouldn't wear one, but would make a great gift for a kid or silly adult.
Clothmoth - cool tshirts, inluding one that says "Yay Seratonin!" . Appeals to the psych dork side of me. I bought some buttons but that's all.

Etc.
May Day Studio - Journals and albums made from Bingo cards. Love them!
Final Approach - Ridiculously awesome custom suitcases. Great gift idea for a traveler, or if you're just looking for something unique for yourself. I can't imagine wanting to take these on a real trip though - they're just so nice!

Not that New Orleans is lacking in culture, but I'm gonna miss these little craft events. Thank goodness for etsy.

Montauk Memorial Day

With all the sandal excitement I forgot to mention that I spent this past Memorial Day weekend in Montauk with friends. We hung out on the beach a lot (though mostly by a bonfire and not in the freezing water) and Boyfriend and I even biked out along Montauk Highway to the tip of the island. Beautiful. To my pleasant surprise, the Montauk Fine Arts Festival lasted throughout the weekend. It pretty much consisted of art and jewelry I can't afford right now, but maybe someday. My favorite was U.P. Charts. The artists carve maps of lakes into wood - depth and everything. They are awesome. However, framed work retails for upwards of $800. Yeesh. This is definitely an adult purchase for later, maybe a present for Boyfriend. For now, blog candy.

Some Retail and Handmade Mischief

I almost forgot to share my finds from the weekend! As you've probably gathered, I am both a label whore and a supporter of handmade goods. Call me a waffler, a sell-out, or just confused, but I like what I like. I'm not a label person in the most conventional sense, but still...Like I said, I hit up Woodbury Commons in Central Valley, NY. I picked up my pal in Bay Ridge and we arrived by 10:30 in the morning. There were hardly any people walking around, which was clutch. That still didn't result in any lack of line to get in to the Coach factory store. My friend spent nearly twice as much as I did, but that isn't to say I didn't mildly outdo myself. In the end: 1 pair of Diesel Jeans, 1 dress from Theory, 1 skirt from Kenzie, 2 belts, a tshirt, a dress, and a romper (yes!) all from American Apparel. Not too shabby. Big disapointments were Barney's (found a great Liquid dress but ultimately couldn't justify the price), Kate Spade (decided I have too many Kate Spade bags. I actually found one I had forgotten about, bringing the tally up to 4. Bad.), Coach (not only was it a shit show in there, but they didn't have the one thing I would have bought - the Gigi Tote from the legacy collection featured in Bride Wars), and Joe's Jeans (will think about buying the Provacateur petite jeans, but from Century 21. Or Ebay). My friend and I made a pact to return before I leave New York in August. Until then, I need to stay far, far away.

All that spending made it difficult to want to spend money at the handmade cavalcade the next day. I bought a mere bar of pine tar soap - supposed to be great for troubled skin - from Nordea's Soaperie. Can't wait to try it out. Boyfriend's parents were in town, and his mom came with me to the craft fair. She bought some great earings decoupaged on coins from Wabisabi for a friend. Glad she found something a bit more substantial than me. The market was sponsored by the {NewNew} of Metro NY and will be doing more events like this in the future, as they've been doing in the past. Also, the Renegade Craft Fair is coming in about a month. I freakin love this one. I went last year and it was great. Got my Readymade subscription for $5! Between that and the Theory sample sale coming up, I have to keep the purse strings a little tight.

Good Thing it's 75 Degrees and Sunny

I am typically inappropriately dressed for the weather, but for me to impose this super late gift of a scarf on Boyfriend's sister is just wrong. But oh well...a gift is a gift. The scarf was done in Rhode Island colors, where Boyfriend's sister has just finished her second year. Their parents are in town this weekend en route to URI, so this will be one more thing they get to pack up and bring back to Michigan. I did it in a simple 1x1 rib, using Brown Sheep Company's Bulky in Creme and Winter Blue. Turned out nicely. Should be super warm and will match the mittens I knitted her back in December.

Also this weekend: the Handmade Cavalcade at the Bell House in Brooklyn will feature over 30 vendors selling handmade stuffs. I'm going on Sunday. Would go Saturday but that's my big trip to Woodbury Commons. It's like the mothership is calling me home.

Venturing to the Other Side of the Gowanus

This morning, I ventured out of Carroll Gardens over to the Brooklyn Lyceum on 4th ave and President for the Anti-Depression Craft Market. I used to be in this area more often, when I lived near the Gowanus Canal. Everything was under $30, which was great. I didn't go nuts at all though, and escaped with only this great print by Dailey Crafton. I got it in navy ink and it is very reminiscent of places I've lived in New York.

Afterwards, I stopped by Brooklyn Mercantile on Fifth Ave and 4th St. in Park Slope . I had been to look around previously, but this was before my interest in sewing began. The setup is nice, as they have a lot of kitchen and household wares for sale in the front of the store. The back is dedicated to fabric and notions. It didn’t seem like they had a ton of selection in the fabric department; I’d definitely turn to Brooklyn General, around the corner from my house, first. They actually have a good amount of notions, and I was able to score a tailor’s chalk pen, bobbins, thread, and embroidery floss. But they didn’t have a great assortment of colors for the latter two items, and none of the displays were in good order. Maybe they were between things, I don’t know, but it seems like you would want your store to be in tip top shape for the weekend. They do offer an array of classes, which I may be interested in sometime this summer. Apparently, there is a sewing room downstairs, but I didn’t get a chance to check it out. I'm not writing the place off, but feel the same for this place as I do for Fiber Notion - I won't be making any special trips.