Craft fair this weekend

The Renegade Craft Fair

Hello! The first ever Renegade Craft Fair in LOS ANGELES will take place JULY 11 + 12 from 11am – 7pm, at the California Market Center. We’ll be taking over the entire 13th floor penthouse of the Center, where gorgeous 360-degree views of downtown LA will provide the backdrop for our FREE urban art, craft and DIY extravaganza! We’re so excited, let’s say it one more time: FREE!

Over 200 artists are traveling from all over the country and abroad to participate and sell their handmade goods at Renegade Craft Fair – Los Angeles. From clothing and accessories, to stationary and concert posters, with everything from bath products and ceramics in between – there’s surely something for everyone! Be sure to check out our artist page to start working on your wish list.

The most exciting contemporary crafts organizations from across the LA area will be on site hosting interactive workshops and demonstrations. Silver Lake-based ReForm School is offering hands-on lessons in linoleum block-printing both days of the Fair, and The Urban Craft Center of Santa Monica will be leading workshops in zine-making and needle-felting on Saturday, July 11. Clean out your closets before heading to the Fair on Saturday, July 11, as Swap-O-Rama-Rama will be in full swing that day – transforming your discarded clothes into one-of-a-kind, recycled creations!

DJs from Silver Lake’s KXLU will be on site both days of the Fair providing the best indie, commercial free radio found on either side of the Mississippi – breaking only for a penthouse-shaking, hour long performance by LA based jazz-punk mobile ensemble KILLSONIC on Sunday, July 12 at 3pm!

Other event features include free raffles from Jenny Hart’s Sublime Stitching, Stencil 1, Craftside Publishers and Faythe Levine’s book Handmade Nation at the Renegade Craft Welcome Station, food and beverages for purchase from Tiara Cafe, and, as always, lots of surprises! Be sure to check out The Postcard Machine for a little fun with robots and don’t forget to get your photo snapped at a free-photobooth provided by Oh, Hello Friend!

We hope to see you July 11 + 12 at the California Market Center!!

Saturday Downtown

MB and I have a deal where we trade weekends with Kidlo. MB spends his off weekends up in Lancaster rebuilding old motorcycles and I usually spend my off weekends working on my novel. But I write for a living and I had a bitch of a week and I just did not want to write this weekend, so instead I just sort of noodled around the neighborhood.

First stop was breakfast at Clifton's. It's not the best food downtown but the breakfast is decent, it's cheap and they open at 6:30 am every day. Plus how can you beat eating with redwoods, moose and an animatronic raccoon?



Next was 24 Hour Fitness on 6th and Flower. It's not exactly the lap of luxury, but the gym is clean and has lots of machines so you generally don't have to wait too long to use the equipment. Saturday morning it was pretty empty so I was able to blow in and out.

Then I went to Neihule on 6th and Olive for a haircut. The owner cut my hair and I spoke with her about why she decided to open her salon downtown. It turns out that she and her husband live in the Mandel and they love the urban lifestyle and being able to walk to work. They also love the sense of community in Downtown--friendly neighbors who rally around the local businesses. She says that Neihule is doing really well despite the economy, which is good news. Businesses that fill a needed niche are going to thrive Downtown.

After a nap at home (I told you it was my off weekend and I wanted to take full advantage), I headed over to Cole's for lunch. It was pretty busy, thought unfortunately the bartender told me they haven't been as busy as they had hoped when Cole's reopened. I had a roast beef and blue cheese sandwich with a spicy pickle and it was AMAZING. I didn't snap a shot of the sandwich because it went into my stomach too fast, but I did get a couple of other shots of the interior.







I sat at the bar and got to talk to a couple sitting next to me. Turns out the husband is an ethnomusicologist and the dean of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. He and his wife belong to the LA Conservancy and they do downtown tours. They asked me a lot of questions about what it's like to live downtown and they were loving the food and the atmosphere at Cole's. That's one of the things I love about living down here--it's easy to strke up conversations with interesting people.

After Cole's, I strolled through the fashion district with my camera. The morning rain had cleared up and the sky was full of beautiful clouds. Sadly, the fashion district was relatively empty and the store owners were pushier than usual about trying to steer customers into their stores. One guy was shouting, "Tenemos chingo trajes...chingo pantalones...chingo camisas..."









It was pretty much my idea of a perfect day.

Store Closing Sale! Sample sale! SALE! SALE! SALE!

More store closings on Menswear Row due to, you know, teh misery.

Academy Award Clothes is closing their store location carrying Name Brand Clothing Suits, Sport Coats, Slacks, Dress Shirts and Ties Tallia, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein etc… Vintage Clothing Tuxedos, Dinner Jackets and Tail.

Aww, cheer this guy up and buy something!

I expect their stock and custom apparel business to continue, so you still have time to score that sweet pure-white "Tournament of Roses" suit for only $184.75.

Down the street, Pellucci is so poor they can't even maintain the "P" above their door. But where else are you going to find this much suit for $69.99? Act now! Don't miss out!



Meanwhile, spotted on Ninth St, "Bees and Dragons / Monster Republic Kids Sample Sale!" Of course I missed the first day, but it happens again this Friday, 11/21. Our kids can be the fashion plates they deserve to be! -- 834 S. Broadway suite #703, 1/2 block north of 9th st. on B'way (next to Orpheum Theater) Friday (11/21) 11AM-5PM. Boy's sizes: 6M - 10 Infant/Baby: 1M - 24M