DIY Street Fair 2010 Recap!

Posted by Crystal

I went to my first DIY Street Fair in Ferndale last year.  I loved it so much, I had to go back again this year.

I am soooooo glad I did!  I met tons of new crafters with really awesome products.  And, I got to see all of my crafty friends from past shows.  :)

Plus, the food was excellent (I heart pulled pork sliders!) and the music was really, really good.  Allow me to take you through my afternoon at DIY:

Of course, the first thing I see upon entering is Chris from Detroit GT with his awesome truck!

And, then, I see magnets from an FH favorite, Jason of Kill Taupe, at the 323 East Gallery booth.

I took a little music break and really got into this band called Oblisk.  To me, they sounded a bit like The Bravery from The Sun and The Moon album.  I don't usually pay much attention to the bands at craft fairs, because there are just so many great handmade goodies that catch my eye.  But, I really dug these guys and I even bought their CD.  Hmmm...that might an interesting future blog post series...cd reviews of bands I discover at handcrafting events!  ;)

I got back into the swing of shopping and continued my love affair with the photography of Janna from LilacPOP.  I first met Janna at Leon and Lulu's Fall Artist Market (blog post to come!) and she has some of the best photos and jewelry.  I am currently courting one of her fantastic photos of a row of turquoise swings.  I love turquoise and I love swinging, so it's kinda meant to be.

I saw some soap from from Rochelle of Cellar Door Soap Company that I really just wanted to eat.  It looked that much like fudge.  Mmmmm.

I've worked with linoleum blocks before and FH has hosted a blockprinting workshop, so my eye was drawn to these lovely prints by Unfolding Creative.

It's official...I love pennant-type banners.  They always look so fun and adorable like this one from Ani of EcoSqueeze.

Cameo pins featuring skulls and crossbones from Jenn of Blackened Ruby Jewelry?  What's not to love about such fabulousness?!?

I was so happy to see new tons of new products from Allie of Mitten Made.  These crocheted change purses are too freakin' adorable.

Ok, so here's something I haven't seen at a craft fair before...vintage magazine ads decoupaged onto wooden earrings and keychains and embellished with perfectly placed dots of paint.  I was just really impressed with this work from Casey of Fartsy Artsy.

More upcycled earrings!  These funky lovlies are made by Kyle of Say Everything Designs from spent plastic giftcards!  Ingenious!

Apparently, many of the women who shopped the Detroit Dollface booth were drawn to this shirt.  There's just something about a primly dressed Victorian lady about to stab a man that catches the eye.  What's the story?  Is she getting her sweet revenge for some heinous crime he committed against her?  Or, is she sick to death of the oppression faced by women and about to commit a political assassination to call attention to these grave injustices?  Fascinating.

Time for another music break!  Deadbeat Beat had a very "Fell in Love with a Girl" kinda sound, which I love.  So, of course, I got their EP as well.  I bought the very last copy at the cd booth!

Isn't this just a great photo of Jason Gibner and his fun paintings?  So happy and colorful.

Very sweet reversible t-shirt totes in the Jerry Shirts booth by Tracy of V.I.P Designs.

Just in time for Halloween...The Munsters!  And Vampira.  And Frankenstein.  And Jason.  And Freddie.  The whole gang is here in these pins by piercing studio/handmade store/pinmakers Adornment Deluxe.

Jade of Stick Nymph has the most adorable prints!

Ok, so I loved this table set up and had to take a picture.  On the left, Dang Argyle.  On the right, Courtney Fischer Jewelry.  I love the symmetry of the displays...how it looks like the photo could almost be spliced together.  Something about this, like something about rows and rows of neatly shelved library books, just pleases me immensely.  It feels as if the chemicals in my brain all line up in happy little lines.  Mmmmm.  When I figure out the name for this psychological phenomena, I will be sure to dork out on you all and let you know.  For those of you who want to dork out right now, see sidenote below.

Dorky Anthropology/Psychology Sidenote:  So, I was listening the "Falling" episode of Radiolab on Michigan Radio and a professor named Fred was taking about his research on the involuntary jerks some of our bodies make right as we're falling asleep.  I have ALWAYS experienced this and just call it my sleep shakes.  I like my sleep shakes because it means I'm about to fall asleep and I looooooove the sensation of falling asleep.  I never met anyone else who did this, so I thought I was just super special.  Turns out, these involuntary jerks are possibly leftover from the days of Lucy and other early humans who slept in trees and shook before they fell asleep to make sure they were wedged up there well and didn't fall out of the tree in the night and get eaten by ferocious beasts.  What I call my sleep shakes are actually called hypnic jerks!  If you REALLY wanna dork out, you can read a paper by the professor and his colleague that mentions hypnic jerks.  :)

I love when vendors use dressforms in their displays like this one from Meredith of Flossa.  Ohhhh, that would be a great blog post...a bunch of different displays using dressforms in interesting ways!  If you have a dressform display photo, email it to us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com.

Burkey of fourchamberforge has, hands down, the BEST carved wood jewelry I have ever seen.  I hope we can get him to do a Second Saturday Giveaway!  I bet his workspace is wicked cool and I know our blog readers would LOVE to win one of his fantastic pieces.  ;)

Anne (l) and Siouxsan from Green Daffodil Studio have such a cute booth setup!  I can't wait to go check out their studio/store in Ferndale...I sense a road trip coming on!

We love boys who love crafts!  These smiling guys were checking out the fascinating collages by Teresa of The Kitsch Lab. 

I absolutely adored these letterpress cards by Cindy of Paper Parasol Press in Chicago.  Next time I need a cute, quirky card, I know whose Etsy store I'm going to visit!  ;)

Ok, I was drawn like a moth to a flame by these beer/wine bottle candles by terra verde soap & candle co. from Cleveland!  Melissa makes the candles and her husband, Sean, cuts the glass bottles.  We love a man who helps with his wife's crafting business!  I've been itching to try cutting glass and this is just such a great idea...very unisexy.  ;)

Super cute stamped clay mini-magnets by Chrys Bonnay-Lewis.

Another craft I am itching to try!  I love these flaxseed-filled eye masks by Meghan of Uprising (meghan77@yahoo.com).  Heat one up in the microwave for a couple minutes and place it over your eyes to help relieve sinus pressure.

When I step into a booth that takes advantage of all the vertical space, including the ceiling, like this one by JuliBuli74, I feel like I have stepped into a little craft wonderland.  I am especially diggin' the fabric circles hanging on strings along the walls.  Wouldn't they make great mobiles?

Scottie (l) of SEEDS Studio and Jill of Barrel of Monkeys are just the sweetest vendors ever...they are always upbeat and smiling!

FH Director of Sales & Merchandising, Amy of Made With Luv, strikes a pose in front of her fabulous booth.  I love the homey touch of the lamp and antique sewing machine on the left!

Stephanie of Always the Forest has an adorable little checkout table and a curtained dressing room to her left (not pictured).  It's like a tiny boutique!

What a great way to display magnets...on the backs of cookie sheets!  Beth Amber creates these decoupage magnets, hosts a podcast and is a founder of Wonder Women of Detroit, a group celebrating women, art, performance and music.

As I was leaving the DIY Street Fair, I saw Heather from bettula and her tough-looking sweetheart of a dog!  Heather was rockin' the coolest asymmetrical bark earrings of her own design.  I know I've had a good day when I can enjoy crafty symmetry and asymmetry all at the same event!

I saw this garden on Troy shortly after I saw Heather and just fell in love with the lush fullness of the plants and the variety of foliage and colors.  I've heard gardening called "painting with flowers" and I really like that description.  I felt inspired by this garden and hope to use this photo to inform one of my future craft projects. 

My haul!  Besides the music cds, I really only bought one thing to take home from DIY.  It is an amazing black and white print of a line drawing by Nicole of Slow Gin Fizz.  She calls it (Sub)Tract Housing and I absolutely adore it.  I am very interested in Voluntary Simplicity and the Not-So-Big House Movement and this charming print captures both concepts beautifully.  When I decide where to hang it in my not-so-big house, I will post a picture for all to see.  :)