Confession Time

Though I attended the Renegade Holiday Craft Fair a couple weeks ago with the full intention of ONLY shopping for loved ones, I in fact ONLY bought something for MYSELF. For shame, I know. Especially with my birthday and Christmas right around the corner. And because I am the loudest complainer when my dad—who rarely treats himself to anything and is SO hard to shop for—suddenly lets loose with the credit card and buys himself like 5 new things 2 weeks before Christmas that I TOTALLY could have gotten him.

I am a hypocrite and a louse and I don't care. I love these earrings and I have worn them everyday since guiltily purchasing them for myself at the Hook and Matter booth last month. [After long admiring her work.] I got them in gold and they go perfectly with everything. If you're interested in snagging a pair for a loved one (or yourself—no judgements) they can be purchased for $40 here.

- Cathleen 

Renegade Holiday Craft Fair!!!

Renegade is doing it again, holiday-style! Tomorrow and Sunday, November 17-18, 2012, from 11 am-6 pm at the East River State Park, the Renegade Craft Fair will be holding it's first EVER Holiday Market! Just be sure to wear your hat and scarf—it might be a bit chilly down there weaving among the booths stationed next to the river, but it will be worth it! What could be better than giving all of your loved ones thoughtful, handmade, one-of-a-kind gifts this holiday season? Nothing, I tell you! NOTHING! For more information on where to go and which hand-makers will be there shilling their wares, visit www.renegadecraft.com. 

- Cathleen 

Hook & Matter

Lasercut Neon Pink and Clear Starburst Necklace, $28 on Etsy 

Next in Renegade Redux comes Brooklyn-based Hook & Matter, another great seller that caught my eye at the craft fair. What I love about this company is the diversity in what they make—jewelry in metal, plastic, porcelain, and even pillows!—but everything has the same hard/soft aesthetic. Nice!

Simple Gold Bar Stud Earrings, $40 on Etsy

Porcelain Roll Gold Necklace, $58 on Etsy

Gold Stacked Square Earrings, $40 on Etsy

Links on Links on Links White Porcelain and Gold Necklace, $78 on Etsy

Square Geometric Gold Studs, $38 on Etsy

Pink Silkscreened Arrow Pillowcases, $46 on Etsy

- Cathleen 

Artist of the Week: Lisa Swerling

The Night Job

 

For my first installment in The Best of Renegade I bring you the work of Lisa Swerling who makes the miniature dioramas you see here. She is based in San Anselmo, CA, but ships these darling little scenes all over the globe. You can visit her website glasscathedrals.com to see more of her work and order a small world all your own—they come in various sizes and many are customizable.

 

All the Days

The Grass is always Greener

 

 

 

The World is a scary place, but I have Armbands

Evergreen

- Cathleen

[All images courtesy of the artist's website glasscathedrals.com]

So Much Booty

Just finished up one of the best weekends ever, due in no small part to the gorgeous afternoon Micky and I spent at the Renegade Craft Fair in Williamsburg on bright and sunny Saturday. There were SO many amazing things for sale this year that I cashed out pretty quickly and had to borrow 10 bucks from my sweet husband. Whoops! I couldn't wait to share the spoils with you guys so here goes: 

Photographic print by Debbie Carlos 

I've always admired this when I've seen it online 

and was SO psyched to see she was representing at Renegade this year. 

Purchase!

A pretty hand-printed gray and yellow tea towel from Ktaadn

This was in their samples bin because of a slight misprint, 

which made me love it all the more. (Cheaper AND one-of-a-kind!)

Sterling silver star post earrings from Queens Metal

I'd been looking for tiny star earrings for awhile. Yessssss! 

Two small illustrated recipe prints by Claudia Pearson

Another maker I was totally stoked to see at Renegade. 

Like I literally gasped when we came around the bend and saw her booth. 

Took me awhile to settle on just these two (I also really wanted this one), 

but I'm excited to hang them in our yellow kitchen. 

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty successful trip to arts & crafts wonderland this year. I also gathered loads of business cards from people whose stuff I loved and can't wait to feature on the blog in a series I'd like to call The Best of Renegade. Or maybe Renegade Recall. So I haven't settled on a title just yet, but this way we can make Renegade last ALL SUMMER!

- Cathleen 

Renegade Craft Fair!!

Oh my god, you guys. I am SO EXCITED for the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend! I've attended the last two years running, and I've got to say, as far as summer activities involving two of my favorite things (ARTS & CRAFTS) go, there is nothing I look forward to more. And according to their website, this year is going to be even bigger and better with over 300 makers and sellers stationed all over East River State Park in Williamsburg. We're going bright and early Saturday morning to get first pick, but things will still be going on Sunday too, so you should stop by between the hours of 11am and 7pm either day for more handmade goods than you can shake an artisanal cheese stick at. And if you can't make it, rest assured I will be featuring a slew of The Best of the Renegade posts in the coming weeks. I can't wait!!!

Visit www.renegadecraft.com for more details and click here for a list of all participating vendors. 

- Cathleen 

Coral and Tusk

Spotted at the Renegade Craft Fair this past June: beautiful embroidery by Coral and Tusk. I had actually picked up their very cool business card the year before and framed the thing I liked it so much. 

Thankfully they were fair-ing well again this year and are now back on my radar. I couldn’t decide what to get this time around (ok, I had already splurged at several other booths that morning), but I snagged her card again and vowed to online order another day!

Along with tons of pretty pillows, she’s got some lovely feather pins:

Awesome framed artwork (Essentials for a Snake Charmer):

Sharp looking threads! Maybe Grace and I should get matching Ts:

And really cute sky-writer stationary:

Love!

- Cathleen 

You Are Such a Doily

Doily from Vintage Scrap Co. on Etsy

A simple phrase Grace once pegged at me in high school that she thought completely described my essence, but made me feel pigeon-holed and totally misunderstood. Few like being summed up so easily, insisting they are far more complicated and mysterious than anyone can possibly understand! (Foot stomp here.)

In my old age I have transformed from a petulant teenager into a person who doesn’t take herself quite as seriously anymore, and can now appreciate that her best friend of 18 years knows her better than she even knew herself back then.

Resist all I want, I am constantly drawn to these little lacey things.

My mother draped doilies on every chair back and gleaming wooden table she could find in our house growing up. And I just recently discovered an amazing doily stretcher in my grandmother’s basement a lot like this one I found on Etsy.

Years ago, doilies were used to guard furniture from scratches, and shield the expensive upholstery of sofas and settes from the oils used to groom the hair of gentleman callers.

Two years ago, I made a doily out of my own hair during my second semester of grad school. 

Heart-shaped paper doily garlands were strung around the Knights of Columbus where Micky and I got married a few months ago.

And now I’m seeing them everywhere! At the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this past June, I met and snagged the heart-shaped metal dog tag calling card of maker Angela Spencer after browsing through her booth. Angela, founder of A.S.I.S, was selling some very rad T-shirts (see below) and stunning earrings.

Angela Spencer can regularly be found shilling her wares at the Brooklyn Flea on weekends (Saturdays in Fort Greene and Sundays in Williamsburg, 10am-5pm, rain or shine). I couldn’t locate the gorgeous lace earrings on her website that she featured at the fair, but you can take my word: they were divine! They looked like small snippets of intricately woven loveliness dipped in gold! Here’s a non-precious metal DIY version from Honestly WTF:

This next incredible piece isn’t exactly a doily per se, but I love the idea of a crocheted cobweb tacked up in the rafters of a dusty, musty attic. It's work from artist Shane Waltener, a beautiful reminder that knitter’s needles and a spider’s nimble arms and legs are not that far removed from one another.

Delicate, complex, and lovely, the doily evokes something pretty and sweet, with one lacey utilitarian toe planted firmly in the past. I suppose it’s not the worst thing to be associated with.

- Cathleen