Guest Blog: Chicago Renegade Craft Fair

Our friend attended the Renegade Craft in Chicago this year and was kind enough to write up a post for us on the great things she came across in her travels.  So, here's a little guest blog treat for you from our fabulous craftfair correspondent, Hillary.  Take it away, Hil:

The windy city was more hot than windy during this year’s Chicago Renegade Craft

Fair (RCF) in early September. More than 300 vendors filled Wicker Park – where

Renegade got its start in 2003 – for two days of crafts, workshops and good local

Chicago food. With so many vendors it was hard to pick a handful to highlight but

here is a short round up of some interesting finds!

Known as the strongest shape, triangles were all over the craft fair in a variety of

forms. Whether as tents (see bottom of this post), banners or jewelry – like the

above necklaces from NICE by Caitlin Holcomb – it was clear that the triangle is

trend in the craft world right now.

The triangle necklaces below were only one of the many cute items on display by

Chicago-based accessories designer Wanderlustings.

Letterpress items are usually my weakness when it comes to booth hopping during

a craft fair and this fair was no different. While a lot of vendors had their best

letterpress cards on display, I particularly loved these super cute 2012 letterpress

calendars, complete with little wooden stump bases, from OneCanoeTwo. Though

we’re a few months away from 2012 and the holidays, this calendar is a great little

gift and is perfect for a cute desk accessory.

While it was difficult to think of the cold weather ahead during this warm

September weekend, there were a number of knit items on display at this year’s fair.

In particular, these colorful crocheted flowers from Mojo Spa got me thinking about

what jackets I could add a fun flair to.

Beyond the typical prints, baby clothes, stationary and jewelry you’d expect at a

craft fair, this year’s Chicago RCF also showcased these interesting wood ties from

Wood Thumb. Certainly a unique spin on a typical go-to gift for men, the Wood

Thumb website claims this fancy tie “gets you into all the clubs.”

Know a crafty kid? Another popular and eye-catching craft at this year’s Chicago

RCF were Hip Huts. Designed with brightly colored, fun fabric, these small tents

could be crafty additions to the typical child’s playroom.

While these items were only a snapshot of this year’s Chicago RCF, there were many,

many other talented vendors that had unique crafts on display. I would also be

remiss to not mention my boyfriend Bryan – Yardsale Press – who was busy selling

prints and coasters at the Chicago fair. Thanks Jen and Saira for allowing me to guest

post! Much love to PDR!