Renegade Wrap-Up and Giveaway

Very spontaneously, I drove into San Francisco on Sunday to attend another fabulous Renegade Craft Fair SF as our family’s weekend plans had changed and I was so excited to be able to make it. (Here is my review of last year’s fair.)
This year was more of the same fabulous vendors and so many new ones as well. The goods were incredible and the displays simply awesome. Thankfully I remembered my camera again and was able to get some shots of the day’s favs.

My very first photo was at the booth of Nous Savons. I love the beautiful simplicity of their paper chain signage. Just as the show started, I was having a nice visit with artist Lisa Cogdon, (you may know her by her very cool undertaking: A Collection A Day, 2010) and her friend/assistant Clay, when....the loud fire sirens went off and over the loud speaker everyone was asked to leave through the nearest exit as a fire had been reported in the building.That was about a 15 minute inconvenience and we were all back in as if nothing ever happened. I’m not sure what really did happen, but I think one of the food vendors had a minor kitchen incident. Oh well, the smaller kids seemed to really enjoy the fire trucks, so that was actually a bonus.

I couldn’t help but stop two fashion plates for a quick photo. Sue Eggen of Giant Dwarf Design and Twinkie Chan had become friends online but this was their first meeting in person. I’ll bet that happens a lot at these shows.Michelle McCoskey was sporting her brilliant gator scarf. One of the coolest online stores/websites that I LOVE, ReForm School, was there in full form with Tootie, Billie and little Tallulah.Artist/Photographer Sean Finocchio of 33 Stewart Avenue was my pick for best art of the show. I’ll be putting his website link under my husband’s nose around November in time to order my Birthday/Christmas gift.
I had a lovely visit with Jennifer Cooke of raeburn ink. I pored page by page through Jennifer’s fantastic new book, Design Your Own Tees. Definite recommend!Forgot to ask his name, but I bought that gorgeous blue-on-blue design T-shirt in the top row for my daughter, Sarah, from this handsome gentleman of maryink. Sarah headed off to church camp wearing it this morning.I bought a rockin’ T from hot-young-designer Regan Smith Clarke for my other two kids to fight over.I snagged up these delicious greeting cards with retro letterpress graphics by printer/piemaker Hannah Berman of Pie Bird Press. Aren’t they great! Major highlight of my day was meeting super-nice Robert Mahar of Mahar Drygoods. If you’ve never been to his website, stop everything, go now! (Ok, then come back here again...) I snagged that gorgeous yellow strap/white-on-black owl tote illustrated and crafted by artist Shana Kent of Survive Design. Should have been my first purchase as my hands were full by the time I found her! Isn’t it fabulous?I could NOT resist this original acrylic on canvas painting by Elsie Flannigan of Red Velvet Art and A Beautiful Mess. Should it go in my studio? Should it go in my sewing nook? I can’t decide.Cutest Artist Couple/Most Talented Partnership award goes to designer/bookbinder/illustrator Erin Zamrzla of erinzam and husband, artist/illustrator Ben Schlitter of Studio BenBen. Talk about complimenting styles! Super nice folk.Rick of Seattle Show Posters cracked me up. His prints were the best and I grabbed the very sweet, waking up next to you is always the best part of my day print for hanging in our master bedroom. (Thanks for making me laugh, Rick!)The “MADE MY DAY” award, hands down, goes to sweet Margaret Haas of Paper Pastries. There with her boyfriend, Tony, she made me feel like a superstar celebrity, to the point of blushing. When you check out HER shop, you’ll see why I was sooo flattered! (Thank you Margaret, very wonderful to meet YOU!!)I purchased this beautiful One Way woodblock mount from Photographer Misha Ashton. Shot in Vatican City, Italy, this incredible piece will be going straight into my studio, pointing up.Other great peeps I had the pleasure of visiting with were:

• Nicole Lavelle of Scout Books. Check out their website and see how you can publish your own pocket notebooks. Remember, you can NEVER have enough sketchbooks.

• Cristin Bisbee Priest of Simplified Bee. She does home organization and design. Absolutely delightful.

• Jessica Herning, husband and baby Scarlet, of a little birdie told moi. Precious family, precious goods.

• And so many, many others- just the kindest, most talented group of artists, designers, crafters, and photographers you could ever imagine in one place.

But no Renegade Craft Fair SF would ever be the same without Jacob Storm Deatherage’s popular book journals. Fun and funky vintage books turned into blank page journals. He even keeps some of the original book pages and places them throughout the binding. It took forever for me to even get a good photo of this guy, the crowd around his table was constant and hard to get through.
I met him this time last year and he was kind enough to send me two awesome books to keep for myself and two to give away. Yesterday, he sent me home with FOUR book journals to giveaway to my readers! Could he be any nicer? (Thank you Jacob!)

Here are the choices, leave a comment and let me know your first and second choice and I’ll draw random winners on Friday, August 6. Deadline to enter is Midnight Thursday, August 5.Where YOU at the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend? Share your favorites! Didn’t make it? Don’t worry, they’ll be back for a SF holiday fair in December, or check out the show coming to a city near you!

UPDATE: The giveaway is closed and the winners are below and have been contacted. Thanks everyone for participating- so many more fantastic giveaways to come, so be sure to visit often!!

#59 Melanie
#27 Janel
#101 kiddo
#57 Catherine