I love attending craft shows, and I have many fond memories of my parents taking me to Christmas craft shows growing up and allowing me to pick out something to buy. I was always astounded by the things that people could make and I thought it would be so neat if one day I could have my own booth of handmade goods, meeting many interesting people along the way! Although I never ended up having a booth, I do have this blog to display my projects and I have indeed met MANY interesting and wonderful people through it 🙂 I still enjoy attending craft shows and seeing people’s creativity and handiwork displayed in full force!
This past weekend, we attended “Make It! The Handmade Revolution”, a large, hip, urban craft show in Western Canada that takes place in Edmonton and Vancouver. It was the very first craft show that we took Myla to when she was less than two months old and we perused the booths with her strapped to us in the carrier a year and a half ago. It was our first time attending their spring show this past weekend and I was very excited to see what vendors were participating! I wore this pink crop top that I got from Forever XXI over my long black belted maxi dress from Old Navy. I brought along the “Crochet Mesh Bag” that I made last year and hoped that I would be able to fill it with some wonderful handmade goodies! The step-by-step blog post and link to the free pattern for this mesh bag can be found HERE in case you didn’t see it before! It is the perfect accessory for all your spring and summer adventures coming up at the beach or farmer’s markets!
“Make It” has a beautiful venue as the high glass ceilings allow natural light to pour in, giving it a very open, bright, airy feel. It’s also a very popular event, so it was hard to maneuver around at times. I wish I could’ve spent more time looking at each booth, but time was of the essence with a fidgety toddler! Pictured below are some of the items that we purchased- we were looking for some gifts for friends, so this craft show was the perfect place to buy them!
– Wooden Bow Tie by Dear Fawn Inc: I first met Loan at a different craft show last summer, and Ryan and I were really impressed by her crocheted handiwork and sewing skills (and killer sense of style :D). She has since focused her company to selling bow ties, and she offers fabric bow ties with some really fun prints (Star Wars, Ninja Turtles) as well as fresh and modern wooden bow ties! We couldn’t resist picking up a wooden one for a stylish little boy who we know 🙂 If you act fast, you could win two Storm Trooper baby bow ties by vising the Dear Fawn Inc facebook page HERE (giveaway ends tonight [Wednesday, April 16] at 8 PM MST)!
– Bunny Earrings by Foe and Dear: We were really impressed by Katherine’s beautiful booth as her jewelry was gorgeously displayed on books and vintage trays. I love wearing stud earrings and I was immediately drawn to these adorable little bunny studs! They are incredibly cute and lightweight as I can’t even feel them when I wear them (I hate wearing earrings that are too heavy!). Katherine does a great job with packaging too!
– Spring Shoes by WildCotton Gifts: We picked up these pretty little shoes for our friends’ baby girl and had a fun time looking around Kara’s booth. Her sewing skills are amazing as she had beautiful boots, blankets, bibs, onesies and shoes on display with gorgeous prints and designs. I really admire people who can create so much with their sewing machines….I have yet to use mine again since sewing the curtains for Myla’s nursery -_-’
We absolutely fell in love with the work by Caitlin Bodewitz of “CMBPrintWorks” as they all had a beautiful, romantic, ethereal feel to them. It was fun choosing what to get and hang in our house, and as soon as we saw this wood print, we knew it was perfect! We love the quote and the beautiful image. We hung it up in my workspace as soon as we got home and it reminds us that we’re adventuring together as husband and wife through love, faith, family, travels, crafting and life till we’re old and grey, paving new territory and taking risks along the way!
We had a great time at the craft show, and I enjoy connecting with local crafters and hearing them excitedly and proudly explaining their work and what they make. I would LOVE to hear about what your favourite craft shows are from your hometowns or places you’ve visited! Wouldn’t it be absolutely amazing to attend craft shows all around the world and see what the local artisans are doing in each city? Thanks for reading, and I’ll be blogging about an amigurumi that I think you’re going to love next week!
