Cool folks I met at Renegade

Dear Shayne,

Besides the cool stuff to buy, there were many cool people to meet at Renegade.

One such lovely person was Wexford Girl. You might remember that I won twine in her giveaway last month (we still need to do one of those!) She has a great personality and does fantastic work -- check out her shop here. (Psst... all of her bears are here.)

Her husband is also a talented artist and has been generating a lot of online buzz lately with his fantastic Prez print (click on that link -- it's the first item in his shop). Together they make up a very friendly team, as well as a sweet business: 3 Fish Studios. It was very nice meeting Annie and Eric and I imagine that I'll be seeing them around, since they are soon moving to my little town. Yay!

As I was motoring through the fair, I put on the brakes when I saw a sign for The Sweetie Pie Press. I said, "I think I sent you something in a swap once through Craftster!" It took us both awhile to remember what it was-- I just went digging through archives and realized it was October 2005!

When we finally did remember, I was sad because it took me forever to make the thing and I was soooo late sending it that I did not take photos. I wish I did, because I could show you it to you right now. It was a soldered pendant that I had the worst time making (sort of like this one for sale on Etsy, only that one is way better). I even took a class at the Craft Gym with my friend Micki and, well, we both swore a lot during that period of time. Have you ever soldered? Ugh. I really need to try again. I think it's one of those things that takes lots of practice...

Oh, well (tangent there -- sorry). The point of this is that I met someone I had previously "met" online and she was just a doll! She keeps a blog and I am really enjoying her stories from the road, as she is traveling to various craft shows this summer. Check it out here.

I also met the artist who created a print we have in our house. I bought it at Reform School in LA (awesome shop). When I saw her booth, I thought, "Hey -- this looks familiar!" (Funny side note: she is a collage artist and her booth totally smelled like Mod Podge. I love that!) Her name is Michelle Caplan and she does amazing work.

This is the print we have -- it's called Jeremy:
(click for a more detailed view)

(I am embarrassed that I could not remember the name of the print when I met Michelle. I could only remember that the text of that page in the upper left hand corner says "The Two Brothers." Michelle, if you ever read this post, I apologize for that awkward encounter. I'm a dork and you are lovely.)

One week later, this concludes my Renegade roundup. I probably should have taken photos, but I really just enjoyed looking around. Can't wait to go again next year when I have a bit more time to spend there!

love,
kelly