Back in April I had the lovely experience of vending at Spring Bada Bing in Richmond, VA. The Richmond Craft Mafia holds two events each year - this one and a holiday market. It was my first visit to Richmond, so we made the most of it. My mom & dad drove up from NC, one of my sisters came with me, and my youngest sister who lives in DC drove in. It was a rare occasion to have everyone together just for fun. We had a great weekend hanging around the city, and ended it on Sunday with an awesome event.
First of all, I must say that the Richmond Craft Mafia knows how to spoil their vendors. When we arrived, we were promptly met by several volunteers who unloaded our car. Yep. All of our product and displays pieces just magically appeared at our table. After parking we walked inside to find that breakfast was available for us while we set up. Vendors were invited to pre-order lunch at registration so it (again) magically appeared at our table around lunchtime. Last (but definitely not least), the space was gorgeous!
Planet Zero, the location of the show, is an event space located in an industrial/former industrial section of Richmond. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but the inside is amazing.
Toward the front of the building is the Planet Zero Cafe. They provided all the ridiculously yummy food we ate during the event.
The show itself had a great vendor mix. I had the opportunity to visit with a few people that I've seen at several shows this spring including Metamorphosis Metals:
And Matt Butler (don't you just love that print?!?):
I also got to meet tons of new folks. After wading through the million and one pictures I took, below are the standouts.
Just a few booths down from us was the Runny Bunny. I was totally fascinated by Robin's ceramic pieces and each time I looked, I found something else that made me smile. I was surprised to find she's from Asheville (one of our favorite places on earth).
A few booths to the other side was Monkey Dog Studios peddling their Dangerous Animal Notebooks.
TurnerBots are just fun. 'Nuf said.
Illegible Ink's prints are beautiful and fun and I adore the back story of her name. According to her blog, her fourth grade teacher gave her a C+ on her report card and noted that she was "taking liberties with her cursive, making it too creative and therefore, illegible." Oh, to have that level of creativity that it was shining in fourth grade? I'm jealous. :)
The whole idea of Articipe is just plain awesome. Basically, she makes recipe prints and they are gorgeous. You can purchase from what she has in stock, or send along a favorite recipe and have her create a print just for you.
I saved two of my favorite booths for last. The first is Terrariums by Rich. I love the look and idea of a terrarium. My youngest sister bought one for me for my birthday many years ago and it is still living happily on my mantle inside an antique canning jar. It requires on a few drops of water periodically and still looks amazing - the perfect plants for people who tend toward plant neglect.
Rich takes terrariums to a new level. They range in size from very small to the very, very large one in the middle of the table and each one is beautiful.
Here's a close up of his creative display at the front of the booth.
And, last but definitely not least, is Found Studio. I was drawn to the booth by the colors and simplicity of the designs. Each piece could easily find a place in our house. While I was admiring, I noticed a small sign that said "please touch." I was surprised, as that's the last thing you normally see at a booth of paintings, but I am an instruction follower (just ask Wayne), so I did.
This close up shows it a little more clearly, but each piece is a mix of materials - a collage of sorts. And each has tons of texture making it even more appealing for me. I gazed for a while and am still slightly sad that I didn't pick one to take home.
Oh, and I can't forget us. Below is my sister, Sara, who kindly stayed to help me with the show.
Out of all those amazing things, one of the highlights of the show was definitely meeting Sherry & John from Young House Love. They stopped by for a few minutes to visit with various vendors and I (quite literally) squealed with joy. They were incredibly nice, down to earth folks, and were even kind enough to include Whispering Willow in their post about the show.
The whole trip to Richmond was a great experience and one that I hope to be able to repeat in the future.