Columbia's Crafty Feast Was a Big Hit!

I am very excited to report about Crafty Feast, the indie craft festival that happened in conjunction with the Eau Claire Ribs & Renaissance Festival (apparently a yearly occasion) this past weekend.

With a whopping 50 vendors, this festival delivered BIG TIME. Everyone was under one tent. I attended the Feast with my pals CS and JH. Once we had hooked ourselves up with some beers and a burger (yikes that line was so long!) we were properly equipped to shop. I decided that I was going to do one lap of the entire tent before diving into purchase mode. Here's the damage:

1) Snitches Get Stitches - how can you resist a tagline that reads, "We Make. You Buy. No one gets hurt."? The answer is, you can't. At least, I couldn't and that's why I snagged the following two cuties.

No, I have never been to a rave nor have I done ecstasy, but I did go through a hippy phase and it is for this reason I gave this necklace the moniker Hippy Trippy. Yes, that is glitter and a mushroom all in one pendant.



The resin-encased mushroom wonderland came dangling on one of those keychain/ball-based chains. I switched it to the silver chain you see in the above photo, then made the mistake of asking my husband if he liked it better on the new chain. He gave me his classic look and responded, "I don't like mushrooms used in art." Thankfully, he was a fan of the other item I snagged from Snitches, this Tim Burton-esque skull ring.



After SGS, I strolled (read: plowed) over to Token Emotion. I loved the name and the aesthetic of this Charlotte-soon-to-relocate-to-Asheville-based designer. She had linens, jewelry, stationary, china, etc. I got a set of 4 beautiful bird-printed napkins. I would have also purchased a silver flower ring, but it wasn't available in the right size.

I wrapped up the spending spree with The Small Object (check out that website - enuff said, right?). Here's a photo from The SO's website of the stickers I got. Don't ask me if I need stickers, the answer in this case is a resounding, "YES!"



Meanwhile CS did exceptionally well with a fabulous oxidized silver necklace from BEC Metalwork and perfect earrings from Heather someone who has pieces at Blue Sky Studio. And after much deliberation/thoughtfulness, JH got a couple of gifts for his sweetie who hopefully doesn't read my blog religiously.

It was a wonderful day. I felt the same way I had when I attended the first Runaway Runway last year -- thrilled by what can happen when creative, determined minds motivate in Columbia (three BIG cheers to the Crafty Feast organizer, Debi Schadel) and excited about the future of our small-but-growing town.