urban craft uprising, day 2

Day two of UCU was just as fun as the first - and today I had my wallet with me. I went with my friend Jess and James at 11am this time, when the fair opens, and much to my surprise, we were close enough to the front of the line to get swag bags! The goodies inside were totally rad, too. The combined contents of mine and James' bags:

1. Handmade vegan soaps, Estrella Soaps
2. Bottlecap pin from Tami Potts
3. Handmade glass bead, Hammer and Torch
4. Selected buttons, Creation Station
5. Gorgeous forest green ribbon from Midori Ribbon
6. Little sheep (!) pouch, Maluhia Designs
7. Needlework scissors from Pacific Fabrics & Crafts
8. Fabric buttons from Laura Bucci
9. Mega-super-adorable blue gingham buttons from Midori Ribbon
There was also a headband from Texture but I forgot to throw it in the photo (whoops!).

Pretty incredible freebies, to be honest. UCU does it right. And as for my purchased goods...

I'd say I did okay! In the back is a gorgeous print from favorite Jill Bliss. Also pictured: an adorable card from Sycamore Street Press ("Great job on that thing you did, really super!"), some iron-on patches and a wooden button from R and L, and a DAVID BOWIE NECKLACE! from Fable & Fury.

And as I mentioned, I collect a big stack of business cards as I go along, and you can see a few of the favorite vendors I've written about tucked in there:

And speaking of favorite vendors, here's a few more additions to the list I started yesterday:





Locket 2 You
locket2you.com
These lockets were both adorable and amazing, and the folks are super nice. They're based in Portland and they rotate their designs seasonally, so there's always rad new designs on the way.





MuchoDesign
muchodesign.etsy.com
These guys had some stellar embroidered artwork and really, really gorgeous jewelry. If I remember correctly, much of the embroidered work was made with reclaimed textiles, which is really awesome. Also: embroidered Spock?! What's not to love?





Princess of Patterns
princessofpatterns.com
Sarah's got a huge selection of gorgeous vintage knitting patterns available. Being a fan of both knitting and vintage clothing, I was swooning over her patterns just a wee bit...




Bison Bookbinding & Letterpress
bisonbookbinding.com
These guys had some gorgeous cards but my favorite were the ones pictured above - letterpress notecards with recipes on the front!


And for good measure, here's a few more photos...

Brad slings Estrella Soap



Jess peruses Attic Journals


Gorgeous yarns from Yarnia


Adorable laser-cut wooden plant labels from RandL


Pretty little notebooks at the Jill Bliss booth

urban craft uprising, day 1

One of the largest craft fairs that happens here in Seattle, Urban Craft Uprising, is going on this weekend at Seattle Center. I got to go for the first time last December (they do a winter show and a summer show), and for anyone who has an affinity for the cute and the handmade, it is the ultimate collection of Stuff You Want to Buy. There are some mega-talented people selling stuff this weekend, and it feels great to be able to meet all the wonderful folks making rad stuff in the northwest.

I swung by today for a quick peek at who was selling, and I'm headed back tomorrow to make a few purchases. One of the great things about having all these amazing artists in one place is that you can start a collection of business cards as you make your rounds, stash them in a box, and then pull them back out when a friend has a birthday coming up or the holidays are coming or you just want to buy something nice for someone (or for yourself). As a designer, it's always really fun to see what folks do with their cards, too. I thought I'd share a few of my vendors this time around, starting with...



Jill Bliss!
jillbliss.com
I've actually been a huge fan of Jill's stuff for years now, so it was pretty thrilling to see a whole booth full of gorgeous Jill Bliss artwork, and to get to meet her too! She tends to illustrate plants and animals and natural things in some not-so-natural pastel shades which makes for a combination that is both striking and delicately pretty.




Sycamore Street Press
sycamorestreetpress.com
I discovered these guys at the last UCU in December and I am such a huge fan of their letterpress notecards and prints. I was really happy to see them selling again this time around. Eva's business card is totally gorgeous, too - letterpress (of course) on a nice thick cardstock. It's a great card in that it totally represents what these guys are all about (which a good business card should do, truly). Somehow these guys are both chic and cheeky and it totally works.




Blue Diamond Stamp Company
bluediamonstamps.com
I love stamps, but somehow I'd never come across these guys. The coolest thing about Blue Diamond is that they sell acrylic stamps - the actual stamp is a clear polymer that sticks to an acrylic block. You only need one block for all your polymer stamps, so you save a ton of space on storage. Plus, the acrylic block is totally clear, so you can see exactly where your image is going!


I'll write about a few more vendors tomorrow, as well as share a few images from the event. If you're in Seattle, it's going on from 11-5 at Seattle Center!