The first weekend in June Wayne and I hopped in the fully packed car and headed to Atlanta for the summer Indie Craft Experience. I had participated in the holiday show last year and had a great time, so it was exciting to be able to have Wayne along. Plus, it was the first event we've been able to actually do together in ages AND it corresponded with my birthday weekend, so we decided to use the trip as an excuse to get all extravagant and have a great time.
As with any good event, there was food to be had. The Good Food Truck was there serving their famous Poodles...
...while Ursa Minor provided coffee and and various drinks.
There were a few food options inside, one of which stood out hugely for Wayne and I. Bookie Macaron served what were officially the best macarons we've had since Paris. Really. They were made with local ingredients and a slight twist, and were so awesome that they sold out part of the way through the first day.
Folks definitely came out. Wayne and I were impressed with the fun mix of customers...
...and vendors. Some we knew from other shows, but lots of new folks as well.
Here's the required photo of our setup.
In a happy accident sort of way, our lip balm containers apparently didn't make the trip with us. We substituted an antique wood tray instead and I rather liked the look.
Enough about us though...how about the other vendors? This is only a quickie version of all the incredibly goodies that were available at the show:
I love Beautiful Briny Sea. Not only is the owner absolutely the sweetest person ever, but her salt is amazing. I'm a lavender fanatic, so anyone who wants to add lavender to salt is okay in my book, but the truffle salt is also highly recommended. Try it with eggs or (if you're feeling a bit naughty), just sprinkle it on some fries. Yum.
At the last Indie Craft Experience, I spent a while chatting with Brooke from So She Sews. I was excited to see that she expanded her line to include clothing.
I loved all the skirt fabrics and gorgeous colors.
Ester Lipscomb's soap dishes were fun. The picture doesn't do them justice, but each had a slightly different shape and design imprinted.
Another artist that I visited with at the last show was Jeanette Zeis. She had small bowls this time that I loved.
If you're like me, you can never have enough canvas tote bags. Really. I use them for everything. Moon Mud has some fun ones.
A Stitch of Whimsy (another great name!) was present and selling their creations. Something about them was just appealing. Can't tell you why...I just liked 'em.
Platypusfile was selling a variety of items, but I was attracted specifically to her drawings.
I also wanted to take home at least one of the adorable drawings from Katie Coleman. Or how about a Kitty Unicorn?
Several artists were creating during the show. One of these was Noosh Studios who was printing t-shirts as people ordered them. I wish I could have stayed to watch the whole process start to finish, but his booth was incredibly busy and I wanted to stay out of the way.
Fernworks jewelry is gorgeous and her display always makes me jealous.
My one (somewhat guilty) purchase at the show was a pair of earrings from Cameoko. Wayne insists I own enough earrings. Clearly, I disagree.
And our neighbors. We had a few minutes to talk with them and quite enjoyed the experience. On one side of us was Two Cardinal Day Press. Her display was pretty genius - a huge fold out covered in chalkboard paint. She put up her goods, and then draws/writes around it. Infinitely flexible.
Plus, her stuff is fun! The middle book (which came home with me) was entitled "Trade Secrets, Plans for World Domination & Probably Some Grocery Lists." Perfect, right?
The other side of us was Meg + Milo. It was her very first show, and both her product and display was beautiful!
I was amazed by the colors of her hand painted silk tops and scarves...so very pretty.
And now, on to the slightly less grown up section. I always love to check out the plush toys. Such imagination! Cellardwellars and Such was no exception.
Not sure why I love baby stuff so much. No babies here and absolutely no plans for babies in our lives, but little baby garb still makes me smile.
Check out the onesies from Lil Fishy. How adorable are they?!?
And the hand dyed socks from Willaby.
Finally, for the bigger little ones (or Wayne, who also took home a shirt) Chalkboard Tees are just kinda awesome. You can write, erase, and start again. They even have a tiny pocket to hold you chalk...
...and they come in these cute little containers.
But the cutest thing at the market? How about this little one? With hair like that, it seemed like the fitting final shot for the post.
Hope to see you again soon Atlanta!