Renegade Craft Fair

Going back just over a week, Alicia and I hit up a festival in our neighborhood called the Renegade Craft Fair. Taking place in McCarren Pool, an old empty pool, the fair features craft sellers from around the area. We're talking a lot of knit items, a lot of art, a lot of printing press stuff, and tons of non-fancy jewelery.

Alicia and I attended last year, and I wasn't very impressed. It was a lot of over priced knit items, almost entirely geared for women. Plus, it was very sunny last year, so sun burns commenced.

This year was different! It was packed, a lot of variety, and while there was a lot of female-centric items, there was also hipster paraphernalia. Alicia got to see several printing shops that she had looked at online previously when checking out wedding invitations, and I got to be tempted into purchasing two items.

The first is kinda ugly. But fantastic. I can't help how much I like it. Pictured here, it's a mug with some strange brown glaze and about twenty steel studs sticking out to act like a handle. I still don't know why it appeals to me so much, but it does. I drank coffee out of it the next day, but it is currently serving as a pencil cup. The steel studs aren't very comfortable to hold, but it's necessary to avoid burning your hand.

My second purchase is a new bag. I've been shopping for a new bag for quite some time now. I've got my giant Laptop bag, a big and shapeless Brooklyn Industries bag for when I'm schlepping a lot of things. There's my bag from Office Depot back in Duluth that I even took to Italy. All these bags have a good reason for them, but I was missing a small bag to just hold a few items if I'm not going out to carry much (no groceries, just maybe taking a two books to study at a coffee shop).

One problem I've encountered is that it seems the size of bag I was looking for has bordered on being a purse. Alicia frequently turned down several other bags I liked because they were too much like a purse.

Enter this bag. It's bigger than a purse, designed specifically to go over and around your left shoulder, and it is made using old tire rubber on the outside (in stripes) so it must be manly. The inside is simple, but big enough to carry my math books. It's great! Outside my trip to Ikea (where I wanted a big bag to carry Ikea swag), I've used it every chance I get. It has a great adjustable strap for keeping it squarely on my back, and it seems pretty high quality. Plus, it's basically one of a kind. The woman who made it doesn't really have a store, only a website (which I can't seem to remember). So I won't be passing people on the street with my identical bag. That isn't a huge selling point, but it makes my bag feel special. I guess I'm a sucker some times.