Rock N Roll Craft Show, Reviewed

If you are local, I hope you made it to last weekend's Rock N Roll Craft Show at the Third Degree Glass Factory in St. Louis.  Oh my goodness- there was so much great local talent- I was floored.  It was a show to remember and I can't wait to go again next year; I just hope Hannah and I can get it together in time for FlyChicks to be represented!

Hannah is moving this month and was busy the day we went, so I, along with my mom, her husband, and my son Quentin (who guest posted here!) piled in the car and drove less than a mile (I guess we could have walked, but I'm still recovering from surgery) to the show.  First of all, the building is amazeballs and if you all have a chance to go, the third Friday of the month is a sort of Open House and you can see all the cool people blowing glass!

The sun was inTENSE on Saturday, so please forgive some of the pics I took.  But here are just some of the great finds you can come to expect at a fun, alternative event like this one:

(disclaimer: I didn't intend on doing a review, just happened to have my camera; I didn't get the names of each vendor, so please go to the RRCS website for more info OR if you know the names of the talented crafters and want them mentioned here, please email me and I will put the info up asap.  I tried to link to either their etsy sites or their blogs.  Thanks!)

My son loved these kitschy little necklaces!

The Red Anvil

I loved the display- especially how the prices were marked on playing cards and other repurposed cards.

These plush guys were amusing, offbeat, and just plain cool.

Cranky David 

various artwork by

Hosey and Pod, Sarah Wyman, Anchovy, and more

Um... I LOVE.

Hosey and Pod

there were tons of little notebooks all around the place

mostly from All Along Press

(my new step-cousin, Serena Perrone, just did an artist in residency here in September; she is a fantastic printmaker!  If interested, go to her blog, Print Me Pull You, for some serious inspiration)

Quentin and I loved these handmade journals!  He's like his momma when it comes to journals, sketchbooks, school/office supplies- you can never have too many.

Janice Wallace

photo album or large, square, blank sketchbook made out of an old record album- genius!

These journals were probably my favorite- made from vintage hardback books, with blank pages inside for jotting down notes, sketches, ideas- oooo, I covet!

The Fancy Lamb

cute bibs for babies...

and crayon rolls for the older kids!

Owlette Collective

(the crayon rolls remind me of our blog friend, Sam, who makes crayon aprons- so cute!)

Quentin and I took a load off for a few minutes to watch this guy work on a glass blowing project- didn't get his name, he was workin' hard.

We also strolled around the glass blowing studio area and took a look at some of the artisans' products that were also for sale.

Quent and I got a big kick out of this "flattened" bottle!

Beautiful vase- enchanting design!

The colors in these pillows really caught my eye; they'd be great on my couch.

Bruk Longbottom

Thought these were fun!

Wonderful Handmade

Duct tape clutch

Eleven Peacocks

Clutches- I love the one with the doily.

Fancy Lamb

Little coin purses/wallets

Tyrone's Toys

I really dig the tweed and the braided leather- perfect fall/winter purse!

Daughter Designs

All sorts of fun stuff here!

Katatomic Labs, Thrift Store Junkie, Ebba Handmade, Tyrone's Toys

Those green, turquoise and blue felt brooches remind me of another blog friend of ours, Katie of Blue Eyed Freckle.

Felted bracelets

Hypercraftive

Glass blown ornaments by artisans at the Third Degree Glass Factory

Loved this display with the knobs on the frame!

Lala Lori

I also really liked the display of The Foundrie's jewelry.

Sweet roll-up tote

Squaresville

Screen printed apron

Ebba Handmade

I pretty much love this...

Par-tees

and these- anything with elephants, really.

If anyone knows who made the plethora of plaque mounted animal heads that were everywhere, please inform me- I got such a kick out of all of them!

And, there you have it- I hope a lot of you can make it to next year's show.  It will be in its eighth season by then.  I didn't even mention the wonderful line-up of live music, the coffee, wine, and beer that accompanied this fabulous craft show!  So, now I have.  Go. Eat. Drink. Listen. Buy handmade. Support your local craft community.  My mom and her husband actually got a lot of their Holiday shopping done- yea!

Jewelry Chic

I can't remember which blog I got this idea from, but I'm so glad I remembered it!  (If you happen to know, please let me know so I can give credit)  My jewelry "heap" has now gone to jewelry "chic"...

My "before" makeshift jewelry organizer

and the ensuing knots that inevitably happen when storing your jewelry in said manner- ugh!

But look what happens when a little free time and inspiration hit:

so much more aesthetically pleasing, don't ya think?

all I did was use a couple of branches from outside and some nails, and voila!

(I originally had cuter, thicker branches but they proved especially difficult to get the darn nails through)

It was so fun getting out all of my jewelry and shining it up all nice and pretty (I took a photo of the jewelry cloth I used to show you all how bad things had gotten, but you'll thank me for my last minute decision not to post it- it was really disgusting)! 

Each piece of jewelry sort of  retold its story to me while I was polishing it.  Like the two elephants kissing ring that an exboyfriend used to hold together a scroll of  paper asking me out to our first date (an old style circus); I'm a sucker for elephants.  Or the chunky, all-silver ring that I learned how to cast when I was student teaching.  And the cute little owl ring I snagged for $2.95 at Forever...(er, hmm)32.

If I told a story about each piece, this would be a very long post, so I'll spare you.  But each piece is certainly special in its own, unique way.  How about you?  Do any of your pieces speak to you?  In what way?  I'd love to hear about it!