of RCF, "this aint your Gramma's craft fair!" The event is held annually in Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles & San Francisco. Each individual fair draws hundreds of applicants and tens of thousands of shoppers from all over the country and abroad! What sort of things can one find at RCF? You'll find thousands of handmade items from apparel to jewelry, posters to prints, craft kits, letterpress and other unique stationery, handcrafted plush, home decor, and much more. For the creatively inclined, the RCF is a great source of inspiration. Rook No. 17 was happy to see a lot of creative upcycling and recylcing going on. Here are some of our favorite vendors that we had the pleasure to meet at this July's Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco:CHIAHATS: Absolutely the best hats ever! 'nuff said! (PICTURED ABOVE).
Willotoons (tagline: where geek meets n' roll)has some fun and original apparel for men, women and children. Our favorites were the Rock Squirrel toddler tee and their irreverent greeting card, "Your love of bacon makes my heart skip a meat"
Kittybabylove has just about the cutest crayons we've ever seen!
Yes, we at Rook No. 17 have taste for the odd. And at RCF we just about fell head over heels for the plush t-bones, ham-bones, and pork chops from San Francisco's own Sweet-Meats. Bacon aficionados will want to snuggle up to their "Shapin' Bacon" plush pillow, and the people the that love them (the bacon aficionados, not the aforementioned meats) can proudly wear the "I love you more than bacon" (also available in 'pork', 'steak' and 'ham' versions) button. Do not miss their special "Deli wrapping" if ordering a gift for your meat loving friend.
Our favorite jewelry find was Mamas Little Babies. This "wife, mother, daughter, sister, artist, gardener" from Santa Cruz has created the most unique line of Victorian Illustration jewelry. Each original creation is a work of art and a conversation piece to be sure. We love the artwork of Nate Duval. Check out his posters, art prints and t-shirts.
Ditto for Jen Skelley. We love her posters, art prints and especially her children's t-shirts.
The Rook No. 17 award winner for crative upcycling: KELSO DOESNT DANCE. Their etsy shop features wallets, billfolds, and card/coin carriers hand-made from vintage newspapers, maps and old dictionaries, birdwatching and garden books. They're durable, functional, and just plain cool! 
It is an oft reported fact that birds, especially black birds, like shiny things, so it's no surprise that this bird went looloo for Miss Alison:handmade vi
nyl accessories! This is what happens when Doc Marten collides with a bumper car and we love it! Those with a penchant for all that glitters won't want to miss her wallets, checkbook covers, purses and belts. So sparkly! So fun! Yummy!
Buy handmade ~ support creative endeavors~ shop these vendors
I Love TheHIVE
