This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Craft Bazaar

It’s the first day of December (which conveniently also happens to fall on a Saturday), which could only mean one thing – it’s time for the Holiday Craft Fair/Bazaar Extravaganzas to begin! There are at least six I know of in the SE Michigan area but alas, due to budget constraints I am only able to attend 1 – the Flint City Handmade Holiday Craft Market. Held at The Lunch Studio in Downtown, this cozy venue provided a great atmosphere for local artists to display their goodies and allow the rest of the craftily-challenged (like myself) to purchase a few unique holiday gifts for family, friends and others (like myself).

With 29 vendors in all, there were a number of handmade, repurposed and vintage items including totes/bags, jewelry, knits, plushies, notebooks, clothing, candles, and other assortments, as well as art and photography from Flint artists. The vendors and staff were in the holiday spirit, welcoming us first-comers with a cool goodie bag and first picks of a bevy of items and the artisans were more then happy to answer any questions and give you the lowdown on their pieces.  It’s just cool when you get to speak to an artist about something they created and have put a lot of work into; plus the fact that Flint has such an active arts & crafts scene is always inspiring.

So the few purchases that I made included 3 vintage/reworked T’s for the bros (Reware Vintage), a cool African fabric pillow (Empress Wears), 3 vintage bracelets (Ethereal Vintage) and a vintage necklace (Chump Change Vintage). I grabbed cards and flyers at the tables that displayed them, so I could add them to my fav stores on etsy.com or bookmark them and luckily, when I checked my goodie bag at home, they conveniently placed a diagram of all the vendors – fantastic!

Lesson Learned: Do not be afraid to ask if they have anything more behind the counter, especially when it comes to jewelry. The lady next to me asked if they had any more bracelets in brown and when she handed her an awesome vintage animal-print bracelet, even my most powerful psychic abilities telling her to put it down and walk away didn’t work. Damnit!

Vendors
Aisle 3 myspace.com/aislethree
Rock Star Art/Flint Icons myspace.com/timjagielo
Dirty Feat myspace.com/jessicanickola
2 Dimensions Portrait Production myspace.com/2dimensions
Frankenstitch Productions myspace.com/monstalove
Woolly Thinking woolly-thinking.blogspot.com
Kitty Litter Creations kittylitter13.etsy.com
Chump Change Vintage myspace.com/chumpchangevintage
Dorabean Collection myspace.com/dorabeancollection AND dorabean.etsy.com
Kill Taupe myspace.com/killtaupe
Heathermonster/Sakura Art heathermonster.etsy.com
Upshack Workshop myspace.com/macksdesk
chain chain chain chainchainchained.etsy.com 

Nicole Lindner (above) myspace.com/nicoleleondynamite
Shellie Sharee Jewelry shellie-sharee.com
Reware Vintage rewarevintage.com
Chris Ringler myspace.com/grimringler
Empress Wares, Urban Art Warfare, Lost Sundance Jewelry, Serve Thy Senses Studios, Ethereal Vintage, Nature Girl Creations, Felted Change Purses, Zig Zag, Itsy Bits, Emily Hudson, Nayyirah Crochets...

Also, check out www.Etsy.com, this is a great place to find handmade goodies from all over. This year I bought my holiday greetings from Earmark Invitations and byvik ink (handmade and eco-friendly!).

Looking for a Craft Fair in Your Area: Etsy’s Find Your Local Holiday Craft Fair! 

Other Local Fairs: Shadow Art Fair in Ypsi, Holiday Craft Extravaganza in Royal Oak, Big Holiday Baar Bazaar in Detroit, MSU Holiday Art and Craft Show, East Lansing, old Hartland HS, Hartland

Pledge Handmade:

http://www.buyhandmade.org/