Urban Craft Uprising recap

Every time I go to a street fair or art fair I get a bunch of great business cards from the merchants & crafts people, expecting to blog about it... and then never do. Today I'm rectifying that with a recap of my two (yes, two!) days spent at Urban Craft Uprising this weekend!

Well, maybe not a recap. More like a shopping list for the future. :-) I got a lot of great Christmas gifts from the vendors, but of course there's always so much more you want to buy than you can really justify. Happily, there were a ton of people at Urban Craft Uprising and it was really great to see so many supporting our local artists and craftsters!! It almost makes one optimistic about making a living in the handmade business.

I did most of my shopping on Saturday, but was so impressed with the vendors that I came back early on Sunday to wait in line for a swag bag. My two hours in the cold ended up being well worth it.

Here are some of the vendors that most caught my eye:

• Imps & Monsters (Justin Hillgrove)
  Very cute & unique prints & paintings. A lot of his work has a dark or lonely quality to it, but then you'll find one that you can't help but smile at. I may or may not have gotten a few of these as Christmas presents. :-)
• Texture
  Comfy, classic, casual-chic clothing made in Bellingham. After ooh-ing and aah-ing over the booth on Saturday, I went back on Sunday and got this irresistible skirt. Their palazzo pants looked pretty cozy, too.
• Belle Epoch
  OMG feathers! This was another booth that I drooled over on Saturday and came back to on Sunday. They collect molted feathers from fowl and make them into rockin' jewelry and hair accessories. From long & dramatic to irresistibly iridescent, their stuff is eye catching in every form.
• Queen Bee
  Everyone I know was drooling over her baby-soft faux leather bags and their beautiful embroidery. I was lucky enough to get this adorable coin purse in the swag bag I got on Sunday (squee!). When I went over to thank her I think she giggled at how excited I was. :-)
• The Sprinkle Factory
  Jewelry that looks like CANDY! This stuff was seriously adorable and looked good enough to eat. They have all manner of rings, necklaces, clips, charms, etc. that look like cookies, cakes, lollipops, sushi, donuts, and more. I got my mom a cute necklace that I think her kids will like (she teaches at an elementary school).
• Foamy Wader
  Delicate, sophisticated gemstone jewelry. I got a koi necklace here for someone who hopefully doesn't read this blog. :-P
• Jewels Curnow
  I liked these folks' gemstone rings, and had an interesting chat with Robbie. This full lotus ring was one of my favorites. They also had these cool rings where the stone is set off to the side so it looks like it's sitting between your fingers.
• Mermaid Empire (Rachel Rader)
  Rachel makes these great little flowers out of polymer clay—her earrings & brooches in particular grabbed me. I love her use of color—she stacks three or four gradations of color together to create a lot of depth in such small objects. I love combination of solid colors so this was right up my alley.
• Bella Sisters
  Painfully adorable jackets. They take thrift store jackets & vests and make them into new, stylish, you'd-never-recognize-it fashion items by adding felt appliqués, lace, bustles, embroidery, and awesomeness. I didn't even look at the prices because I knew it would only make me sad... it was all lovely and oh-so-hip.
• Slow Loris
  Screen printed clothing of all colors & shapes. This rockin' polo shirt dress caught my eye immediately. I'm not really into the bicycles, though, so I discovered that the base garment (minus the screen printing) is on sale for $17 right now...

Sooooo now you know what to get me for my birthday (you've got two weeks!). ;-)