Stitchrock - Indie Craft Show

South Florida is not the mecca for indie crafts, but it is slowly getting better. Miami has always had it's own hip and cool scenes but not in the way that I like to see - like the craft fairs in Austin, Boston, Portland, L.A., - you know what I mean. For the second year in a row, however, a group of like minded individuals have come together to put on Stitchrock, an indie craft show that is absolutely wonderful.

Held in a vintage gymnasium in Delray Beach, around 50 vendors or so set up in every available space to sell everything from jewelry and t shirts to pickles and decoupaged furniture. I went with a friend and we had an absolute blast. We arrived early enough to get a little swag bag with candy, promos, a magazine, and more. We found all kids of things that were unique and handmade and we couldn't live without. She bought the most fabulous necklace - a silver chain with an astronaut painstakingly crafty our of clay. I found a cute cap (I love buying hats. I look pretty good in them. Should wear them more.), a cute stuffed creature with the best color scheme that I want to use him as inspiration for my kitchen, and a great skirt with a screen printed koi fish.

Highlights for the day included a indie fashion show (which we missed because we had already been there for a couple of hours) and a live painting by the Miami artist LEBO.
I was so amazed by his work that I bought his book and had him sign it. I want to own one of his mixed media pieces. That would look so awesome in my new house and his artwork is terrific.

My favorite store for cool things in South Florida, Tate's was there once again selling their oh-so-cool things.


I wish the venue was bigger so more vendors could sell. I will be looking forward to next year's show.

Temptation

The collage sheet for the Crowabout weekly collage challenges contained images of a cat, birds, fish, and a bunny. The feline being tempted by her surroundings jumped into my head and this is what was created.

I am excited to attend the only indie craft fair around my area, Stitch Rock. This is it's second year and is held in a vintage gymnasium in Delray Beach. Last year was so much fun - I was so impressed that the first year brought out so much talent. I am always envious of the more craft saturated regions, so any indie events in my neck of the woods is fabulous!

More Craft Show Finds!

I was only able to mention some of the finds from Felt Club's Holiday XL craft show in L.A. on the 18th. I shared my plush finds and some goodies I brought home for my kids. I had a blast shopping for myself, naturally, and snapped up some terrific pieces of jewelry to adorn myself this holiday season!

I just adored the jewelry and artist at J-is for Jewelry! There are two designers who create very different styles but equally fabulous! One artist creates silver and colorful enamel pieces, of which I bought these two necklaces (one for me and one for a gift, so if my friends are reading this and you receive one, act surprised).

I had my eye on a ring but my big size 8 fingers couldn't fit into any of them. The artist prefers to do rings to order so they fit properly so I plan to have one made special!

The other artist creates pendants with little, tiny dioramas inside. I saw her on HGTV's Crafter's Coast to Coast (I tivo all the craft shows, zip through them, and keep the ones I like.) I remember being fascinated by the process of getting little people and animals to stay in the resin. When I saw them in person I just had to have one for my self. (Since taking the jewelry class I have an even greater appreciation for the work that goes into creating pieces of unique art jewelry.) I chose this zebra pendant.

My photos don't do this justice. You have to check them out yourself!

Crafty Mommy Shops L.A.

For the first few days in Los Angeles, while exploring all of the different fabulous areas like Melrose, Santa Monica, Malibu, and Beverly Hills, my husband kept asking me why I wasn't buying anything. I let him know that I like to buy things that I can't find at home and that nobody else will have. And certainly not emblazoned with the store name across the chest or sneaker. I told him to wait until Sunday and he'll stop asking. He went to the Automobile show, I went to the Felt Club Holiday XL craft show. I want to share some of my favorite finds and terrific people I met along the way.

I was first on a quest for things to bring home to my kids. For one son, that meant something stuffed. I was excited to meet Narumi Ogawa, author of the Mr. Funky Super Crochet Wonderful book. The very first amigurumi I crocheted was Sebastian from her book.

I promised her I would post his photo for her! I purchased an owl for myself along with this stuffed donut from My Paper Crane.


A bear came home from Hotdog N' Bun - each bear seemed to have a unique personality so I had to choose carefully. I always seem to go with the chubby ones. Must have something to do with all of the cupcakes I ate!


My son's favorite item from the entire trip was the slug monkey from Planet Tokki.

(This photo is from their adorable gallery - I haven't been able to take ours away from my kid long enough to photograph him. It snuck to school with him each day in his backpack!)
Each creature has a story told on a little booklet that came with him. If it is a little odd, my son loves it. This one was a big hit!

While I am in L.A.

Dare I tell my husband what my plans are while I am in L.A.? I don't know if he shares my passion for peacefully perusing the aisles of the handmade, indie, slightly offbeat craft shows making chit chat with very friendly vendors (of course I havent' been to many like this!!) Felt Club's Holiday XL show just happens to be when I will be in California.

Maybe I'll just have him drop me off and come back a few hours later. I already have one of those fold up extra bags to add to my luggage on the return flight.

Stitch Rock Rocked!

The first indie craft show was held in my area yesterday and it was so much fun! Held in a real vintage former school gymnasium, the event was sold out at 40 vendors. It received some good press and when I arrived about an hour and a half after the doors opened it was pretty crowded. Attendees seemed to be a mix of the cool, hip young adults that are familiar with the indie scene (that included the friend that I invited along) along with folks that wanted to check out new and different craft show. It was overwhelming to see all of the creative offerings from the artists and crafters at their booths. Lots of fun jewelry, vintage and created-from-vintage clothing, t-shirts, soaps and cosmetics, vegan doggie treats, collaged tables, artwork, handbags and more! And very popular cupcakes. I got to meet a fellow Etsyfest member (many of the vendors had etsy stores)and I discovered there was not one but two awesome stores in the Fort Lauderdale area that sell the funky things I like to collect. I will be visiting the Pink Ghost and Tates very soon. Tates has a boutique and gallery upstairs called Bear and Bird. They have art shows regularly. I picked up some of the new little Munny's that were at their booth. I realized when I left that I was so overwhelmed with the interesting assortment (and my ever popular thoughts that "I can make that") that I didn't buy that much.

My friend and I each bought a tshirt from Owl Movement. They print artist tees and they are awesome. We had a hard time choosing. Given the month we are in, I chose a kinda cute monster tee. I also visited the Pink Ghost booth and picked up a cute pink plushie (I think it came from Australia. I can't remember. The plushie just wanted to come home with me.) I picked my son up a little ugly doll on a clip for his backpack. My friend picked up this little hat reminiscent of a ladies hat from the 1940's. I'll have to sift through the cards I picked up to see where she got it. When the weather cools a bit she will look totally hip when she pairs it with a black blazer out on the town. She can pull this off (I don't think I can.) I might have to step up my jewelry and stuffie production a bit and get a booth next year. My friend really wants me too as well. She wants to be part of the scene. Who can blame her. Creativity was in the air (as was the smell of cupcakes) and everyone was so nice!