Renegade Craft Fairs 2011

 

Hey! I've finally uploaded photos of ALL of the summer Renegade Fairs! San Francisco and Los Angeles from July, and of course Chicago from just the other weekend. To view all of the photos, have a look at Flickr or at the Nice page, won't you?

This Weekend

Chicago- see you this weekend at the Renegade Craft Fair!
Nice is booth #85. I'm located in the first group just east of the middle and food area, so on the north side, facing and near Smoke Daddy. I'm on a corner so hopefully you can't miss me! Be sure to stop by and say hi!

Exciting News + Shop Update

It’s a super special exciting trip! Please save the dates! I’m looking forward to meeting west coast pals! 

We’re hitting the road From Chicago to San Francisco, down the coast to LA, and back home. If you 

have any traveling tips or must see destinations along the way or through California (especially 

mystery spots, restaurants, special shops...you get it) - please comment or email me! 

I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Renegade Recap!

Renegade was so much fun this year! I have to admit, I've never been as behind with prep work as I was this year....It was a busy summer. We moved, I added new product, and for me it's always hard balancing work with summer. So the past few weeks have been SUPER stressful and busy..I didn't get much sleep the week before Renegade and by the time the eve of the event came, I kinda wasn't sure how I was going to survive the weekend! haha I just wanted to take a long slumber and watch some TCM or something.... James and I did manage to set our alarm clock wrong and oversleep by and hour, but that wasn't enough! So the rainy, misty, gloomy set-up weather of Saturday was sort of a bummer to my system. I was not into setting up at all..I tried to convince my dad (shout out to my family who are enormous helpers during Renegade times) that we should throw the ugly blue rain tarp on top of the tent, I guess I kept having flash backs to the Rainegade of 2008, and I figured better safe than sorry..he kept assuring me that the weather said sun later on, and I had heard that forecast as well, but at this point it was just so hard to imagine the sun ever coming out haha. I probably should have put some whiskey in my coffee or something.

The sun did come out and both days ended up being beautiful. It took me a while to get in the groove Saturday I think..I wasn't feeling very well, again, think my body was just ready to power down after the stressful prep weeks..and by the end of the day I was feeling dizzy and sick. My awesome brother came down to help James and I pack  up for the night so that was really nice. When we got back to our place we just took it easy and watched Maria Bamford on the internet hahaha. Laughter is the best medicine people. By Sunday morning I was feeling myself again, or maybe that's a tough call to make, because early in the day, right after the always stylish Danny from Renegade came to snap some photos of my booth, I did notice that my fly was down. Classy. Boyfriend or Brother, you didn't notice this?? Hoping it didn't show in the photos. I told you people, I should  not be photographed by people outside of my close circle. Update: While I'm writing this post I'm obviously multitasking and noticed the Renegade gang linked to their Flickr on Twitter....thankfully they posted a photo where I'm hiding behind the counter, as if I was aware my fly is down. haha

Anyway, all in all the fair was fantastic! I had so much fun, I truly love Renegade and I look forward to it all year. I had a nice talk with Sue of Renegade who I was fortunate to have as a neighbor this year, and she's got me thinking of Brooklyn and San Francisco Renegades. If I can, I will do it. I want to very badly. I had a great time talking with friends through out the weekend..Casey and her boyfriend Josh are always so much fun and she showed me a lot of the great things she picked up at the fair (she should be a guide, she makes a list!).. met many new adorable craft friends and saw old adorable craft friends.. Lisa, Katie and Elsie, Kellee and Matt, Esther, Sarah, Susan, Amie, Kara and Meagan, Lynn...and many more.

On to photos! Here are some things that I took home with me...

Wood block prints from Mat Daly (top left). When I saw these I immediately thought of James...this was a gift for all of his loving support! He put them up right away in his music room.

I met a lovely girl named Mona who is traveling from Mexico to report back on the handmade movement. She was the sweetest and stopped by my booth both days..the second she brought me this necklace!! I am still smiling about meeting her..

I snagged this beauty from Cursive after chatting it up with Sarah. I'm so glad she's in my town and I hope to see her way more often- we totally ran into each other the day before Renegade at JoAnn Fabrics, haha! It was like 1pm and I hadn't eaten yet and still had to get to the suburbs to pick stuff up and I was sooooo frazzled..so it was really great to take a break and visit with her! ..Her booth looked great as always and she had the prettiest display work...



Really want to ask her if I can have a garland made haha



Love these new pieces!



Think I want to add that black and grey piece to my collection next!



Amie of Thief and Bandit had these tassels hanging up as display in her tent and I was able to buy a set off her! I love them! Then yesterday I got a fantastic package from Anabela and one of the things included was a beautiful golden tassel! It was the perfect addition!!


Later, while walking briskly and trying to focus on getting back to my booth, Esther of Essimar called out my name while relaxing on the side of the street!So happy she spotted me as I missed her pinata making booth with the Chicago Reader. I can't wait to see photos- I know it was amazing! She was beaming and had great stories to tell about her day teaching. It was great to talk with her and she gave me this garland that she had made during the day and this pin (below) right off her outfit! What a sweetie, right?? I absolutly LOVE little random bits that people make..reminds me of art classes and getting odds and ends that friends made on the side of a larger project. Things like that are just very special to me (also why I love the Sarah and Amie's tassels so much!).
Esther is actually having a giveaway right now on her blog! Ends today!



And here are shots of my booth this year..
















This Bouquet doily light shade sold! I usually sell all of the shades online so it was really neat to see it go to someone in person. I am sad that I didn't get any good shots of it though!




New! Haven't named this one yet but it's made with lucite, vintage lace, handmade tulle flowers, and silver glitter leaves!



New! Crystal Garden light shade! These will be available in the shop soon..email me if you have any questions.




James and I at the end of Sunday. <3

There you have it! You can see more photos on my flickr. I'll be updating the shop with banners, new styles of Mini Deer Plaques, chalkboards, key hooks, light shades, etc. very soon! And seriously, if you were at the show, leave a comment at the Facebook page and you've got a pretty good chance of winning a necklace of your choice!

Hooray for Renegade!

Thank you so much to everyone who made it out to the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend! It was amazing as always! I'll post a recap very soon and will be updating my shop through out the week. Please feel free to sign up for my mailing list, on the left side of the blog, subscribe to my Etsy shop feed, or check out my Facebook page for Nice - If you stopped by my booth over the weekend, just leave a comment saying so and you'll be entered to win a necklace of your choice!

The Vintage Bazaar, #2

 

Sunday was The Vintage Bazaar! Thanks to all who made it out, and an extra huge thanks to my booth partner of the day, my mom, Mary.  I couldn't have done it without her and it was really nice to do this show with her. She loves vintage just as much as I do.

I'm still learning a lot, as this was my second time selling vintage in person.. next time I may have to suck it up and cut down on the amount of housewares that I bring...I am SUCH a sucker for vintage housewares, especially dishes, but they don't seem to sell quick enough for me to warrant the space and time it takes to pack them, etc.. We'll see.. It's really difficult for me to leave anything at home! My heart keeps suggesting, 'But what if today is the day for the gorgeous set of vintage glassware to meet the one??' Because things like that DO happen, haha! For example, I sold an absolutely beautiful vintage embroidered dress to a woman that was made to own that piece. It was a wonderful feeling..She tried it on over her clothing and even people who were walking by stopped to gawk at how lovely it was on her. One gentleman even came back a bit later to make sure that she had purchased it! She definitely was the one for that dress.

It was a great show and seriously, an amazing selection of vintage. It is kind of masochistic of me to vend at this event rather than shop... So many great vendors- check out the list, most of them also sell online!

I am still very tired from the weekend....and it's countdown time 'til Renegade on Sept. 11 and 12!!

See You This Sunday at THE VINTAGE BAZAAR!!

Just a little sneak peek of what I'll have this Sunday at The Vintage Bazaar! Can't wait and it looks like my Mom, a fellow vintage lover, will be helping me out! Nice is booth #152, stop and say hello!
If you see something in the shop that you'd like, you may want to snatch it up before Sunday!

Headed to Detroit This Weekend

This weekend I'll be traveling to Detroit for the Craft Revival show! It's on Saturday from 11am - 6pm at The Loving Touch (all ages) in Ferndale. I'm really excited to get back to that area (it was almost a year since James and I were last in Detroit), and this marks my second out of state craft show. Small steps it seems!  Anyway, if you're in the area, please come out and say hi! :)

The Vintage Bazaar!

It was a lot of fun! Just a 5 hour event, I still sort of feel as if it were a dream! What a whirl of a weekend! So much vintage goodness. With help from James, we were able to set up on Friday which was awesome. It was the easiest set-up I've had for a show..even got to stick around and calmly merchandise to the Cocteau Twins (which was pretty sweet since I more than often play them when I'm working at home, haha). Libby and Katherine are all around awesome ladies and did such a great job organizing this first-time event. I am very excited to see what they do next!

I don't really know how to recap other than just saying, if you love vintage and you weren't there, why weren't you there? Good finds and good people. I hardly got to shop at all..just standing in my booth, spying around, I could have found a handful of things I would want. I did end up scoring a lovely lace dress from my "across the street" booth neighbor, Karyn of Max and Chloe Vintage. Karyn and I actually use to work together and it was a great surprise to see each other! Neither of us knew that the other was busy selling vintage these days (though it certainly makes sense)! I'll have to get a photo of the dress..
Met new folks and saw other friends as well..Val (another old work pal) of The Nine Stories, I didn't get a photo of her booth, but she had a nice and simple set up and she made her own garment racks! Met a nice little lady called Tess of Tessaboo Vintage. Saw my craft show pal Lisa of Art Goodies / Vintage Goodies and she had such a cute booth. Also met her friend, Lisa of Lisa B's Retro Style, who had her booth behind mine which worked out so good for my set up!

It was a very busy day / weekend (did I mention that the line to get in was around the block??)- so thankful James was able to help me out. I really wanted to do the bazaar with my Mom, but she was very busy preparing for an event of her own that was Monday. It went well and was exciting for her, but she was missed and I know she would have enjoyed the bazaar- next time! And there will be a next time!

p.s. gotta give a shout out to Francesa of 1385 for the lovely turban that I wore!

This Saturday!

Hope to see you there! Visit TheVintageBazaar.com for more info!

-Caitlin

Come see me at the Vintage Bazaar!

Nice will be part of the first Vintage Bazaar on Feb. 27th! I'm really excited..an event like this is long overdue! It's going to be a real challenge for me to stay at my booth and not wander off treasure hunting.  I'll have housewares, clothing, and other finds..perhaps some larger pieces that would be too tricky to sell on Etsy. I hope you can stop by!

I've been neglecting this blog a bit.  I've been working on custom banners, organizing my supplies and such..and at the moment I have a cold that has really sucked the energy out of me! It really came out of nowhere.

Thanks for the painting encouragement from my last post! Maybe in a month or so we'll be able to tackle the job..still not sure. I've painted a lot of rooms in my life haha..never as big as this one though..I know you guys are right, that it's totally worth it..I'll have to keep remembering that..

Art vs. Craft next weekend!!

A week from today, Saturday November 28 James and I will be heading up to Milwaukee for Art vs. Craft! We are really looking forward to seeing a new town (neither of us have really been to Milwaukee, just little visits that hardly count), and it's going to be so much fun to be a part of this really cool fair put together by the famous Faythe Levine & Kim Kisiolek (of Handmade Nation and The Paper Boat Boutique)!  Also very excited to meet new vendors..this is my first craft show outside of Illinois!

We're heading up the day before, and hoping to do some exploring, so if you have any Milwaukee suggestions we'd love to hear them! And if you're in the area I'd love to meet you Saturday!

And Chicago peeps don't forget, it's not that far for a day trip! It's just under a 1.5 hour trip!
You could even take the train.
Here is a link to a google map.

Sooo much in the shop right now! Sweet action!
Be sure to use the sections feature on the top right of my shop for easy navigation!

phew!