Battle of the L.A. Craft Fairs!

Wow, talk about an embarrassment of hipster-holiday-shopping riches! This weekend, December 11th & 12th, Los Angeles will be home to not one, but two of our favorite killer craft shows. That’s right, amigos, the Renegade Craft Fair is returning to duke it out with her older, more-established sister show, Unique L.A.…on the exact same dates no less! Crazy, huh?

If we didn’t have such a busy weekend planned, we’d probably try and hit both shows, but the fact is, we do have a busy-ass weekend planned, so, it’s looking like the Renegade Craft Fair might win out this year.

Sorry, Unique L.A., we still love you and all, but the other show has a lot of the same kind of stuff, and best of all, admittance to the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale is totally, 100% FREE. So, guess which price we like better?

Check out the flyers for more information on both shows. And whichever artsy L.A. gift show you chose this weekend…happy shopping!

Renegade Craft Fair: Los Angeles

We might not have made it to Comic Con this weekend, but we did spend the afternoon hanging with some insanely-hip DIY geeks at the second annual Renegade Craft Fair: Los Angeles, so, I’m not complaining.

A twisted sister of sorts to the home-grown Unique L.A. independent design show staged twice yearly at the California Market Center, the Renegade Craft Fair is being held this weekend, June 24th and 25th at the Los Angeles State Historic Park (aka “the cornfield”) in downtown L.A..

Unlike Unique L.A., which highlights mostly local artists, the Renegade Craft Fair is open to hip, crafty vendors from all across the country. So, while you do get a little of bleed-over — we saw a lot of the same stuff we saw at Unique L.A. this past April — the Renegade Craft Fair definitely had a grittier edge.

It might have been the open air venue (which was gorgeous!) or the free-flowing concert-in-the-park feel (several of the vendors we browsed were shirtless and maybe a little high too boot!) but the stuff on display was all very cool, so, though we got a bit dusty on the drive in and out (again, just like an all-day concert) the groovy, laid back feel of the event made everything A-OK.

So, if you’re looking for some fun, outdoorsy shopping, or even just browsing — seriously, there was some truly stunning one-of-a-kind art on display here —  slap on some sunscreen and head on down to the Renegade Craft Fair: Los Angeles.

Oh, and parking and admission is totally FREE, gotta love that! For more information on the event please click here.

Unique L.A. starts today!

Longtime readers are probably sick of hearing us rave about how cool the Unique L.A. independent design show is, but for the rest of you, please trust me when I tell you that Unique L.A. rocks, yo! This weekend will mark our third trip to the show and if history holds true, we are sure to come home with loads of groovy stuff and tons of great ideas for projects of our own.

Most of Greta’s favorite outfits and toys — not to mention a good chunk of the super cool artwork in her nursery! — were purchased at the last two shows and though we came home with dozens of bags, the prices at Unique L.A. are beyond cheap. Seriously, there are deals to be had here, amigos. And best of all, you’re supporting local artists and designers instead of, you know, Target and shit.

So, if you’re looking for art, clothing, home goods, jewelry, hell, even just some rocking-good food, Unique L.A. is the place to be this weekend. We’ll be there all day Sunday, so, if you see us foraging through the sale bins at Misha Lulu, by all means, stop and help us. Seriously. The more hands, the better!

Unique L.A. is being held today and Sunday, December 5th & 6th, at the California Market Center in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. For directions, hours, parking, vendor and ticket information, please visit the Unique L.A. homesite here.

Unique L.A. – May 2 & 3, 2009

Good news, amigos! This weekend, May 2nd and 3rd, 2009, Unique L.A., that super cool “independent design and gift sale” that rocked our world last December is returning to downtown Los Angeles. Yay!

I never got around to blogging about how awesome this rocking two-day event was, but now that it’s coming around again, I gotta tell ya, Unique L.A. rules! Not only do they feature work from over 230 artists, designers and musicians, but they also feature said artistry at a totally reasonable price!

Last time we came home with bags full of cool baby duds from Misha Lulu, some killer prints for Greta’s nursery from Etsy artist Brigette B., incredibly-cool little burp cloths from Baby Eggi and a pair of free frilly panties from our friend Nic’s kick ass line of fancy panties, Knickerocker. Thanks, Nic!

Actually, Nic and her equally-talented husband, Dan, are the ones who turned us onto Unique L.A. in the first place. When we heard Nic was displaying her wares there last December, we were there in a heartbeat. And while we knew Nic’s stuff was gonna rock, we had no idea how groovy the rest of the show was gonna be.

I mean, seriously, there was some really hip, one-of-a-kind shit on display, and almost all of it was totally affordable. Even cooler was the fact that you got to actually meet the artists who made the stuff since most of them were manning their own booths. Way cool!

So, if you’re in the market for some truly unique art, jewelry, clothing or even music from some swinging local hipsters, check out Unique L.A. this weekend at the California Market Center Penthouse.

For information on tickets (which are a total steal at only $5 per person!) and parking, click here. We’ll be hitting the showroom on Sunday afternoon with the stroller in tow, so, hope to see you there!