Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago!!! Apps Open May 10 - June 7

Chicago applications for the ever amazing Renegade Craft Fair are open May 10! I always believe it's best to get your applications in as close to the first day as possible. The Chicago location is said to be the best Renegade of them all! 

The Renegade Brick and Mortar shop is actually located in Chicago at 

Here is a little more info about Vending at Renegade! It also looks like they are accepting Vintage Vendor Applications too. If you have a cool stash of vintage items, especially clothing, purses, SHOES, jewelry, and other fun items, you might as well give it a try!

//  APPLICATIONS {on May 10}   \\

All images were created by the Regenade Craft Fair - All were found on their website HERE. Their new website and graphics are just wonderful.

Find Renegade on Pinterest HERE.

Have you ever vended at or attended any Renegade Craft Fair? Do share :)

Parsimonia Presents Spring Fling in The City (St. Louis Area) - May 11, 2013

This looks like an amazing show in the St. Louis area! 

Parsimonia Spring Fling 

May 11, 2013 (10am-4pm). 

They have already had a lot of people apply, so apply sooner than later! 

APPLY HERE
FACEBOOK
BLOG

Spring Fling in the City is all about love: love of vintage, love of handmade and love of local. It's an event inspired by times past, where old is new again and everything has potential. And what better place to showcase such a spirit than the beautifully restored Crown Square?

All the fun will happen from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 11 on North 14th Street between St. Louis Avenue and Montgomery Street and will feature 40-50 vendors selling vintage clothing, accessories and home decor, and/or vintage-inspired handmade items.

We'll also have some hands-on activities led by local crafty business owners; live music featuring local artists; and, for the children of the '80s, a video game lounge featuring those Mario Bros. we all know so well.

Food trucks will also be on hand to serve the masses with local fare, as well as local eateries Crown Candy and La Mancha Coffehouse. You'll also have the chance to shop local businesses while you're in the neighborhood, such as vintage/resale boutique Closet Repeats, Rambles Gift Gallery & Boutique and Therapy Boutique.

So come on out before the Cards game, find some unique treasures, eat some good food and celebrate the spirit of revitalization!

Upcoming Shows for September 24-25 and October 2

It's that time of year again. The end of the hot summer, the beginning of the cooler nights of Fall. The lovely weather also makes more people want to get out, buy art :) and just enjoying the outdoors. I will be in two upcoming events in the next few weeks.
Strange Folk Festival in O'Fallon, IL (their site HERE)
& our Carbondale Downtown Art and Wine Fair (DAWF) (our site HERE)

Both of these events are filled with wonderful, indie art, food, and good drinks! I would LOVE to see you there!!

Herrin Festa Italiana

In Herrin, IL last weekend, a fair took place. It was in the small, Southern Illinois town of Herrin. My boyfriend is now the Carterville/Herrin Newspaper official photographer, so I hope to be able to post a few of his pictures here soon. It was more of a carnival with rides and fair food. The claim of Italian Oriented was pretty much contained to their Bocce Ball tournament rather than the food one might expect from the name. But if you have kids, it is always fun to be able to take them to a carnival with rides and lots of other kids. They had live bands every night and one included Kansas.

Luckily for everyone, the rain stopped in time for Sunday night and there were TONS of people in attendance, so it was nice for Herrin to host an event such as this.

The best part, I believe, was these two monkeys, Popito and his sister. They were amazingly adorable, and their mommy sews them clothing! They kept eating those little suckers and were so cute!!

Their website is HERE to get more info for next year.

The Patchwork Show

Drum Roll Please...


Quite possibly the coolest idea EVER!!!

Just thought I'd share this show with a really fun name!! Looks like they had great weather and a nice mix of items/crafters.

72nd Annual Sanibel Shell Show (first Thursday of March Every Year)

When I was younger, my grandparents had a condo on Sanibel island. Right on the beach! Sanibel has been known for being a great shell finding location, so this event is totalyl appropriate for the island!! Sanibel and Captiva islands are just gorgeous, and I hope they have fulyl recovered from the storms years ago...
"Shells are such a great material to craft with and anyone who knows me knows how much I love them. My office is full of shells and sea glass that I have found scouring the beaches of Maine and Florida. One of the best places to go shelling is Sanibel Island in Florida. Sanibel is great because the island is actually made of shells. There are such an amazing variety of shells to be found there that Sanibel has become known for its magnificent works of shell art. In order to showcase the amazing shell art, the Sanibel Community Association and Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club host an annual shell fair and show. The show takes place the first Thursday in March every year." I found this info HERE.
Here is another Sanibel-Captiva Website.

Strange Folk Festival 2008 Praise

Best Craft Festival
Strange Folk
Community Park
401 East Fifth Street
O'Fallon, Illinois 62269
618-409-5005
www.strangefolkfestival.com

There must be some serious local shoppers out there who've seen passing references to the Strange Folk Festival, imagined Joni Mitchell cover artists and said forget it. What a pity. Strange name, maybe, but as craft shows go, Strange Folk is folkin' awesome. Hundreds of indie artisans from throughout the Midwest set up shop for two whole days under and around the O'Fallon Community Park pavilion at the end of September. The mix of wares — unique stuff with which to deck out your baby, your dog, your best friend (heck, even your bathroom), but most of all, yourself — ranges from pretty to punk. The free entertainment, like alpaca-petting (OK, maybe that's strange), never fails to amuse the kids in tow; tell the man of the house to bring the laptop for the park's free wi-fi. Many of the crafties can point out how to find their goods after the show via an online indie bazaar, so the wait till next year doesn't seem so long. And no bizarro folk music. Promise!
Found HERE on River Front Times.

Oxford Town Hall Marketplace in Cape Town

I am quoting a writer for the folksy blog when I say:

"It’s great having an online venue to sell and talk about crafts, like Folksy, but I just love well curated, real, markets where you can see and touch things and meet people. There’s a great one in Cape Town called The Neighbourgoods Market, from where the image, above, was taken. It’s lively, there’s an energy and a buzz about the place. The Maker Faire’s in the US run by O’Reilly are a great example too. However, most craft markets in the UK tend to be a bit ‘damp’ but I’ve high hopes for two that are upcoming:

Firstly, Handmade Oxford which is on November 9th at Oxford Town Hall. Then we have We Make in London on Saturday 6th Dec on Tottenham Court Road. We’re going to be doing a bit of something around We Make which I’ll talk about later but it’ll be a competition around Makes, which will (yes, honestly, definitely, no excuses) will go live by the 24th November. Woo. I know we wanted to get this functionality out in September but other things got in the way. Anyway, I’ll introduce that Making stuff properly, later."
I do not know the full name of the author, so the only citation I can give is the link to the BLOG HERE.

midwest art fairs . org

This type of Catalog is just great for inspiring images and stories of high-class, upscale art fairs. I believe they are more in the art realm than the craft realm. But, wow, wouldn't you like to be on the COVER??

November 8, 2008
Festival of Seasons Boutique
West St. Paul, MN

November 8, 2008
Great Hartford Craft Exposition
Hartford, WI

November 8, 2008
Holiday Arts & Craft Festival
Brainerd, MN

November 8, 2008
Holidays in the Heartland
Random Lake, WI

November 8, 2008
Holly Fair
Mora, MN

November 8, 2008
Monticello Women of Today Craft Show
Monticello, MN

November 8, 2008
Norsefest Craft Fair
Madison, MN

November 8, 2008
Pella Craft & Boutique Show
Pella, IA

November 8, 2008
St. Helena's Christmas Boutique
Minneapolis, MN

November 8, 2008
The Craft Show
Grand Rapids, MN

November 8-9, 2008
16th Annual Edwardsville High School Craft Fair
Edwardsville, IL

November 8-9, 2008
ABWA Craft Fair
Nevada, IA

November 8-9, 2008
Annual Holiday Craft Show
Byron, IL

November 8-9, 2008
Holiday Art and Craft Show
Fergus Falls, MN

November 8-9, 2008
Holiday Arts, Craft, and Gift Sale
White Bear Lake, MN

November 8-9, 2008
Holiday Craft Show
Virginia, MN

November 8-9, 2008
Holiday Craft Show
Ottumwa, IA

November 9, 2008
Grace Art and Craft Festival
Milwaukee, WI

November 9, 2008
Holiday Arts Festival
Waterloo, IA

November 12-23, 2008
Applewood Hills Boutique
Stillwater, MN

November 13-15, 2008
Four Star Promotion's 23rd Four Seasons Mall Fall Show
Plymouth, MN

November 13-16, 2008
Autumn Festival - An Arts & Crafts Affair - 26th Annual Tour
Shakopee, MN

November 13-16, 2008
Holiday Gift Show
Eden Prairie, MN

November 14, 2008
Holiday Bazaar
Madison, WI

November 14-16, 2008
Country Treasures Craft Show
Quincy, IL