GGotS Event Review: San Francisco’s Renegade Craft Fair

By Dina Kaminska

The San Francisco Renegade Craft Fair is advertised as the “Bay’s favorite craft, art, design and DIY spectacular.” When I arrived at the entrance to Fort Mason in high spirits, I was handed a free tote bag to stash my purchases and directed inside into a whirlwind of locals in brightly patterned clothes and booths of knitted octopuses, witty screen printed shirts and posters, and cute handmade jewelry. Everyone was bustling around excitedly and every vendor I approached for a picture offered me a smile, a business card, free pins, and lots of gossip.

A little gem of a booth with adorable pop-surrealism style goodies really grabbed my attention. Scattered across a red tablecloth with blue flowers lay the cutest prints, wooden plaques, notebooks, totes, pins, and toys. The owner of the booth is Emily Martin and she is even more adorable than the things she sells in her little Etsy store, The Black Apple. I literally had to restrain myself from buying out her booth. The Dancing Bears tote bags are incredible, as are her Humpty Dumpty plushies.

Further down the aisle of booths was another great display featuring robots, taco trucks and California flags – the work of San Francisco locals Annie Galvin and Eric Rewitzer, who run 3 Fish Studios, a space where they design and display their art.  I love Eric’s Control Freak Series, which features the 12 most iconic video game controllers ever made, such as the Nintendo 64, Atari and Sega Genesis.

As an amateur crafter, I follow quite a few DIY blogs, so I recognized certain crafts without being able to put a face or name to their creator. Liz Dickey’s 1byliz collection of upcycled bike chain rings and reclaimed textiles was one of the things I’ve coveted from her Etsy shop and never thought I’d actually get to see in real life. So when I walked by a partition glittering with polished bicycle ring clocks, I had a fangirl moment right in front of Liz’s surprised boyfriend. He was really gracious and called over Liz for a chat and a photo-op of her and her wares, and stood by bemused while we chatted away.

Stumbling over dogs on leashes, I made my way through tables stacked high with handmade toys, steam-punk jewelry, whimsical prints and curiosities of all shapes and sizes. Sandwiched between an eye-catching display of hand-painted shoes strung up by their laces and old-fashioned traveling trunks overflowing with handmade vests with paisley linings and sink ties that looked like they came from a staunch British boarding school for boys was a table bedecked with Ritzy Misfit’s hand stamped, wax seal-esque pendants. These have actually made their way into the hands – and around the necks – of celebrities such as Playboy’s Kendra Wilkinson and two of the Bachelorettes.

The playful, fun feel of the event was probably the reason that over 200 artists flew in from all over the states and even from out of the country! David Murray, the head of SEIBEI and self-proclaimed Commissioner of the Intramural Zombie Hunting League, trekked over here from New York with a slew of witty and colorful tees, prints and bags in tow, all of which sold like hotcakes. Really though, who can resist a T-Rex in a sombrero demanding a taco? It helps of course that David is a funny guy and advertises his wares the best way anyone can – by wearing his own awesome merch!

If only all guys could be that honest, right?