A Guest Blog From the Renegade Craft Festival
Just before Thanksgiving, two MSLO employees, Katie Gastley – Interactive Designer and Christina Tobia - Associate Project Manager, took part in the wonderful Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, New York and would like to share their experience on my blog. Their photos are supplemented with others taken by Ron Palacio – MSLO Social Media Content Director.
For me, the only thing that kicks off the holidays better than shopping my local holiday fairs is being a part of one! I was so excited to hear that the Renegade Craft Festival would be making their first ever holiday stop in my neighborhood of Brooklyn. As a veteran seller at the Brooklyn Summer Renegade with my paper goods company, Rocket Ink, I couldn't wait to take part in the holiday version I'd been envious of other cities for hosting in the past. Great local food, paired with a stellar selection of local craftspeople, make for a festive event that gets any bustling Brooklynite into the holiday spirit!
I asked my friend & co-worker, Christina Tobia of Tobia Bakes, if she'd like to partner up and share a booth & we decked out our space in eye-catching metallic silver and gold streamers. We anchored our area with a stunning tree, which we made by bundling white branches trimmed with handmade mini metallic piñatas along with silver and gold ornaments by Martha Stewart Living for The Home Depot, which were kindly lent to us from our friends on the Home Depot team! With our booth sparkling and showcasing our goods, we were ready to sell and shop, 'til we–quite literally–dropped! Here are a few of my snaps along the way.
1 The Renegade Craft Fair is a large scale marketplace event, showcasing the work of contemporary indie-craft artists. Besides Brooklyn, the fair is also held at Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and London.
2 Featuring hundreds of artists at a time, vendors travel from all over to sell their handmade goods and original artwork.
3 The First Ever Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market was held in Brooklyn on November 17th & 18th at the East River State Park on the Williamsburg Waterfront.
4 Katie Gastley - Based in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, my side project–Rocket Ink–is a boutique paper goods company with an environmental conscience. http://www.rocket-ink.com/
5 I create each design from my original paintings, which lend a purposely hand-made quality to digitally produced cards & prints.
7 MSLO employee, Christina Tobia, has a little business called Tobia bakes. http://www.tobiabakes.com/
9 There are also figs stuffed with a whole roasted hazelnut & chocolate ganache, dipped in chocolate with crushed hazelnuts on a bay leaf.
16 Haus Leather creates very handsome, quality leather bags, belts, and accessories. http://hausleather.com
21 Aaron, Haus Leather owner, was very busy tending to his many customers who were eager to make a purchase.
22 Michelle Krassy is owner of Nestle Berry, based in Vermont. She says, "It's hard to find pretty things for the eco-friendly home." So, she makes them! http://www.nestleberry.com
26 Among the many beautiful towels and aprons and bags, Michelle also hand-crafts cute eco-friendly outlet covers.
27 Noelle Ventresca is owner of Impish Lee - Handmade Couture Lingerie & Accessories. http://www.impishlee.com
29 You can find Noelle's unique creations on her Etsy site. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ImpishLee?ref=pr_shop_more
30 Dani Golomb and Rudi Munroe of Rabbitbrush Gifts, had a very creative and wonderfully arranged booth, showcasing their beautiful handmade jewelry and trinkets. http://www.etsy.com/shop/rabbitbrushgifts
35 Grace Colon (middle) has a wonderful skin care line specially formulated for skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis. Ingredients are natural and organic and the entire line is produced in Williamsburg Brooklyn. Her husband, Tony, and her daughter, Nicole, help run the business.
36 Her extensive line can be found in various health care stores and spas throughout Brooklyn. Find a dealer or purchase right from her website at http://www.pielnyc.com/.
39 Bhavesh Shah and Samara Mahendru of Muny had a very beautiful selection of children's clothing, blankets, and scarfs. http://www.munyshop.com/
40 These particular scarfs were made by formerly abused and unemployed women in India, who are now empowered by and affiliated with the wonderful Women Weave organization. http://www.womenweave.org/
43 Former MSO employee, Dani Fiori has created the wonderful Sweet Dani B company, where she creates her yummy and gorgeous signature custom-made cookie treats. http://www.sweetdanib.com
45 In her booth, Dani decorated a feather tree with her treats. She asked her customers to write down what they were thankful for and she hung those thoughts on the tree.
46 Holly Slayton of Artikal is a master in the art of millinery and had an impressive selection of handmade hats. http://www.artikal.com
48 Karen Lai and Annie Lim endeavored to write a children's book in 2009. When the publisher suddenly passed away, they decided to make children's clothing using the characters they created for the book. Their company, Twinko, was born. http://www.twinkoNYC.com
51 Brooklyn Assembly sells kits and patterns that make it easy to make amazing things with your hands. No experience necessary. http://brooklynassemblykits.com/countdown-to-launch/
54 Specify a location, and you'll receive a custom template with instructions in your kit! If you don't have the skills or time, she can also stitch a custom map for you! A perfect unique wedding gift!
55 BRYR is a shoe manufacturer. Bryr means to care in Swedish and is pronounced like the English word briar. http://www.bryrstudio.com/
57 Her shoes, crafted in American leather and European soles, are made in Minnesota, where she travels on a monthly basis to oversee the shoemaker's handiwork.
58 You can choose from a variety of styles and designs, but each pair is made to order, making these a super special splurge!
60 This booth is Docksmith. Lee Goodwin fashions these fantastic electronic docks out of Maine driftwood. http://www.etsy.com/shop/DOCKSMITH
61 By flattening one side of the wood and carving a well-placed hole for the electronic components, Goodwin crafts the perfect union of form and function.
63 Alice Saunders, from Boston, hunts estate sales and flea markets for beautiful vintage textiles to make into her sturdy totes & bags.
64 Military prints & salvaged historical prints are her favorite finds and most often become the signature marks of her company's goods.
66 Aimée Schiwal of Hook & Matter in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn designs fabulous pieces of jewelry in laser-cut acrylic. http://hookandmatter.com/
68 She also works in porcelain and crochet to add finer detail to her one-of-a-kind pieces. Her jewelry ranges from subdued enough for an everyday accessory to far-out & fun statement pieces.
69 MGMY is the shared studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn of Michiko, Megumi & Christine. The trio met 5 years ago in ceramics classes at Parsons School of Design & they enjoy showcasing their complimentary works together. http://www.etsy.com/shop/mgmy
70 Michiko specializes in casting animals and figures, Megumi creates tiny planters and cups, and Christine casts skulls and other ephemera of the animal kingdom!
71 MARKET GROWN - Catalina Rozo from Greenpoint, Brooklyn sews these handy market totes. https://www.facebook.com/MarketGrown
73 They are lined with waterproof material on the inside - perfect for taking home produce from the farmer's market!
74 Vanessa Lianne is a metalsmith & jeweler working from the East Village in NYC. Her work is made by hand-fabrication and features detailed hammering, stone setting & casting.












































That is a lot of talent in one place. WOW!!!
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | November 29th, 2012 at 12:24 am
Thanks for sharing this wondering blog. I'm interested in the skin care product for my brother. He has a bad case of eczema. Not sure what to order though.
Posted by: KLBrown | November 29th, 2012 at 1:41 am
Thanks very much Martha for inviting Katie and Christina to write this blog. I just love American made and I now have some new sites and products to try out!! Renegade Craft festival is wonderful.
Posted by: Gail Hildreth | November 29th, 2012 at 6:28 am
Katie, I love your paper goods, especially the heart painting shaped by all the states in pic #7. Christina, the maple bacon peanuts and peanut crumbs look so yummy, and the stuffed figs, my goodness, so beautufully presented! I can't wait to check out both of your websites.
Thanks for telling us about the Renegade Holiday Craft Festival, I just missed it in Austin this past weekend but I'm going to put it on my calender for next year!
Posted by: Cindy F | November 29th, 2012 at 7:51 am
Lots of talent here for sure! I'm all for American made and what's better than a large scale marketplace to showcase so many wonderful crafts. Even better when sales are brisk, which I'm sure they were. Thanks for sharing. Trish
Posted by: Trish | November 29th, 2012 at 8:52 am
Hi Martha, How nice that Katie, Christina, and Ron shared this fabulous blog and photos after attending that great Renegade Craft Festival event in Brooklyn! The three of you certainly gave us a lot of beautiful photos and great information about this huge festival! I love this tour and all of the other people sure had many great items to sell and beautiful crafts to share! The 3 websites you shared are awesome and there sure are lots of great craft items for sale at Home Depot, also! How nice that the weather was so lovely and that made it even more fun to tour this great festival! Hope all 3 of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving after this event and finally got rested up! I'm sure you are very much involved in the Christmas craft items now! Can't wait to see them, also! Hope you all have another great day and be sure to wish Martha another great day, too! Love to all of you MSLO members! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | November 29th, 2012 at 9:44 am
Hi Martha
I was amazed with that very unique leather bag. Very beautiful fair.
Thanks for the pictures.
Posted by: Maria Lúcia | November 29th, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Hi Martha,
Thanks so much for including us with all these other unique and innovative American-Made vendors. We're honored and excited!
Michelle
Nestleberry
Posted by: Michelle | November 29th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Hi Martha,
I will make more cookies and another bakery and food from your recipes
I'm new member .. Your cookies recipes very good I love its. I bake cookies for my friends they like my cookies from your recipes, Your products so incredible last Thanksgiving I gave my friend the food container from Martha Stewart he like it also and use for his lunch
Thank you for give us the best
Sara
Posted by: Sara | November 29th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Thanks for sharing! Great ideas for holiday presents - loved the Tobia Bakes nuts and figs stuffed with hazelnuts and topped with chocolate - reminded me of Florence!
Posted by: Rosary De Filippis | November 29th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
I see each photo and I love what he does, the fair and foulbrood in it are truly wonderful things
and its employees also do wonderful things, many more beautiful things and successes
< 3
Posted by: Made | November 29th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
oh my stars....Maple bacon peanuts? For real? I never knew they existed. I'm off to find some now. Thanks for sharing all these wonderful photos. I felt like I was there, except now I'm finding myself craving the peanuts.
Posted by: Cindy | December 1st, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Wow, thanks so much for this great tour...so many great artists and beautiful work. Lovely!
Posted by: Ginger A. | December 7th, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Hello Martha,
Thank you for sharing our driftwood iPhone docks. We are honored to be apart of this blog and we can not wait to do The Renegade Craft Fair again.
Best regards,
Lee
Docksmith
Posted by: Lee Goodwin | January 10th, 2013 at 1:43 pm