Renegade Craft Fair

Although the weather was certainly not my first choice for walking around outside – it was that misty, annoying type of rain – I am so glad I got to go the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn yesterday.

Depending upon where you first enter the fair, it seems deceptively small it is definitely not. According the Fair website, there were over 300 artists! It’s probably good that it is two days because it can be a little overwhelming.

I found what I was going to buy right at the beginning of where I walked into the Fair. It isn’t always easy to wait to buy something I really want. What if someone else buys it? What if I forget? Although, that is why I wait. If I forget about it then I shouldn’t have bought it in the first place because while it might have been nice, it clearly didn’t have staying power. I used to be more impulsive but that just creates clutter that probably doesn’t get worn or used and wastes money for things I’ll see that will be just perfect. Also, there were so many tents there might have been another ‘something’ that I wanted more.

The major happy purchase was a necklace from Molly Rose Post Jewelry. It’s a beautiful flower necklace that was originally carved out of wax and then cast using the lost wax casting process. A plaster mold is made of the wax and then put into a kiln, where the wax melts away (is lost.) What remains is the plaster mold which is then injected with molten metal, in this case yellow brass. I wanted it immediately and my friends were in total agreement but I managed to maintain composure and hold off. I thought about it for the entire three hour walk around the fair and saw nothing else that pushed it out of my mind so now it is mine! I was so happy I put it on immediately and never took it off even when I went to bed. (I still have it on!)

The other coveted item was a skein of handspun artisan yarn from Faune Yerby. The texture of it is so lovely. It is made from various types of yarn and ribbons all linked together. I don’t know that I would have bought it if she hadn’t had a sample that she was working on because it was hard for me to imagine how it would knit up. It knits up in various sections, kind of like self-striping yarn, with each section being a different yarn, material and texture. It had a lovely vintage, dreamy feel to it. Sold!

My ‘impulse’ buy was for mom – honey from Bumbleberry Farms. She’s a big fan of toast and honey! I do wish I had tasted it, though, when the woman asked me if I wanted to and who knows why I didn’t. Boo.

My favorite memory of the day: a little boy with his dad who had a cape from Little Hero Capes. It was a bright, shiny blue with a big, silver star complete with collar! This little boy was so happy. He was running around and climbing on this piece of masonry stone and jumping off. So cute. If you go to the website, you can donate a cape to sick children and any regular purchase donates 10% to the Discovery Arts Program. That is a true superhero thing to do!