The Renegade Craft Fair
Encyclopedia
The Renegade Craft Fair is a free-to-attend event showcasing the handmade work and wares of independent craftspeople, artists, and designers. Vendors appearing in the fair come from an ‘indie-craft’ background or Do It Yourself
(DIY) culture. The Renegade Craft Fair was founded in 2003, and held its first event in Wicker Park (Chicago park)
, IL. Today, Renegade Craft Fair events are held annually in five American cities; Chicago
(IL), Brooklyn
(NY), Los Angeles
(CA), San Francisco (CA), and Austin
(TX). In 2011, the Renegade Craft Fair will hold its first international event, in London
(UK)
. The event was co-initiated by jewelry and housewares designer Sue Daly (Timber!) and illustrator and fabric crafter Kathleen Habbley (SeamRipper) as an opportunity for emerging makers of affordable handmade goods to showcase and sell their work in person at a free-to-attend, public venue. The concept for The Renegade Craft Fair sparked for festival organizers upon their realization that no other art and craft festival in Chicago at the time adequately represented (in scope and scale) the creativity of the burgeoning indie-craft and DIY-ethic movements gaining momentum on various websites and online stores.
Contrary to traditional craft fairs, The Renegade Craft Fair features affordable and environmentally friendly
items of all kinds: clothing, jewelry, artwork, screenprint poster art, artist prints & editions, small collectibles, zines, DIY craft-kits, paper-goods, fabric-goods, housewares, knits, plush items, ceramics, bath & body products, and more.
The Renegade Craft Fair grew in popularity as consumer interest in handmade goods has also increased – evidenced by the growing success of online sites like Etsy
and SupermarketHQ, where many Renegade Craft Fair vendors keep online stores, and art, craft + design blogs.
The first Renegade Craft Fair was held in September 2003 in Chicago’s Wicker Park and featured 75 vendor booths. Each consecutive year saw an increase in attendance and vendor-booths alike, as well as media-attention in local publications like The Chicago Reader and Punk Planet
. Businesses associated with DIY culture (ReadyMade Magazine
, Venus Zine
, Craft (magazine)
) also began taking an interest in the events, providing Sponsorship and promotional support.
In 2006, in addition to an annual summertime Fair, the first Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale was held at the Pulaski Park (Chicago)
Fieldhouse.
In July 2007, Daly and Habbley opened a brick and mortar
storefront, Renegade Handmade, on Division Street in the Wicker Park, Chicago
neighborhood, featuring the handmade work of several of the craftspeople appearing in the Fair.
In September 2007, The Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago began to occur along Division St. on an expanse of the road just outside the Renegade Handmade storefront. Also in 2007, Habbley left the Renegade Craft Fair & Renegade Handmade companies.
The Chicago summertime event continues to occur along Division St. and in 2010 featured over 300 vendor booths.
Brooklyn, NY
The first Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, NY, occurred in June 2005 along the softball field area of McCarren Park
and featured over 125 vendor booths. In 2007, the Fair moved to occur in the McCarren Park Pool, which by that time had begun to be used by a number of organizations as a free-to-attend event space.
In December 2009, construction began on the total renovation of the Pool. That same year, The Renegade Craft Fair once again moved locations into the Park. The 2009 Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair featured an expanded line-up of over 250 vendor booths and occurred around the track & field area, stretching across N. Driggs Avenue and around the eastside of the softball-field towards the corner of N. 12th Street and Bedford Avenue. The Fair will was gain held in this same area of the park in 2010, and returned there in June 2011.
San Francisco, CA
The Renegade Craft Fair made its first West Coast trip to San Francisco in July 2008, holding their first ever event at the historic Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion. In 2009, in addition to their second summertime Fair there, the first Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale in San Francisco was held at smaller-in-size Herbst Pavilion of the Fort Mason Center.
In 2011, the summertime Fair will return to the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion, while the wintertime Holiday Sale will move locations to occur at the Concourse Exhibition Center.
Los Angeles, CA
In 2009, The Renegade Craft Fair added Los Angeles to their summer schedule, holding the event in July on the 13th floor of the California Market Center in the Fashion District, Los Angeles, California
.
Returning in 2010, The Renegade Craft Fair held their second Los Angeles event in a different venue that better suits the free-to-attend, independent nature of the event: outdoors at Los Angeles State Historic Park. The Fair will return to the Los Angeles State Historic Park for the 3rd annual LA Fair July 9 + 10, 2011.
Austin, TX
The first Renegade Craft Fair in Austin occurred in May 2010 at the Palmer Events Center. The Fair returned there in May 2011 and will have its first Holiday sale in Austin in November 2011.
London, UK
In October 2011, the Renegade Craft Fair will go international with the first-ever London Renegade Craft Fair, to be held in The Old Truman Brewery.
Daly had purchased from a thrift store shortly before working on the first Fair in 2003. Daly approached her now husband, artist Mat Daly (the two were married in 2007), to produce a limited-edition silkscreen poster for the first event and the tradition has stuck ever since, with Mat producing one unique design for a limited-edition poster on the occasion of each Renegade Craft Fair.
An illustrated, cartoon owl drawn by Habbley in 2007 became the official logo for the storefront Renegade Handmade and appears frequently on Renegade Craft Fair merchandise and marketing materials.
Do it yourself
Do it yourself is a term used to describe building, modifying, or repairing of something without the aid of experts or professionals...
(DIY) culture. The Renegade Craft Fair was founded in 2003, and held its first event in Wicker Park (Chicago park)
Wicker Park (Chicago park)
Wicker Park is an urban park in Chicago, Illinois named after Charles G. Wicker and Joel H. Wicker.- History :Charles G. Wicker and Joel H. Wicker donated a parcel of land to the City of Chicago in 1870. The City of Chicago installed a small reservoir inside the triangular park. In 1890 the West...
, IL. Today, Renegade Craft Fair events are held annually in five American cities; Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(IL), Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
(NY), Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(CA), San Francisco (CA), and Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
(TX). In 2011, the Renegade Craft Fair will hold its first international event, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(UK)
History & Concept
Beginning in 2003 in Chicago, IL, the first Renegade Craft Fair was held in Wicker Park (Chicago park)Wicker Park (Chicago park)
Wicker Park is an urban park in Chicago, Illinois named after Charles G. Wicker and Joel H. Wicker.- History :Charles G. Wicker and Joel H. Wicker donated a parcel of land to the City of Chicago in 1870. The City of Chicago installed a small reservoir inside the triangular park. In 1890 the West...
. The event was co-initiated by jewelry and housewares designer Sue Daly (Timber!) and illustrator and fabric crafter Kathleen Habbley (SeamRipper) as an opportunity for emerging makers of affordable handmade goods to showcase and sell their work in person at a free-to-attend, public venue. The concept for The Renegade Craft Fair sparked for festival organizers upon their realization that no other art and craft festival in Chicago at the time adequately represented (in scope and scale) the creativity of the burgeoning indie-craft and DIY-ethic movements gaining momentum on various websites and online stores.
Contrary to traditional craft fairs, The Renegade Craft Fair features affordable and environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
items of all kinds: clothing, jewelry, artwork, screenprint poster art, artist prints & editions, small collectibles, zines, DIY craft-kits, paper-goods, fabric-goods, housewares, knits, plush items, ceramics, bath & body products, and more.
The Renegade Craft Fair grew in popularity as consumer interest in handmade goods has also increased – evidenced by the growing success of online sites like Etsy
Etsy
Etsy is an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys. Many individuals also sell craft supplies like beads,...
and SupermarketHQ, where many Renegade Craft Fair vendors keep online stores, and art, craft + design blogs.
Detailed History, Timeline + Locations
Chicago, ILThe first Renegade Craft Fair was held in September 2003 in Chicago’s Wicker Park and featured 75 vendor booths. Each consecutive year saw an increase in attendance and vendor-booths alike, as well as media-attention in local publications like The Chicago Reader and Punk Planet
Punk Planet
Punk Planet was a 16,000 print run punk zine, based in Chicago, Illinois, that focused most of its energy on looking at punk subculture rather than punk as simply another genre of music to which teenagers listen. In addition to covering music, Punk Planet also covered visual arts and a wide...
. Businesses associated with DIY culture (ReadyMade Magazine
ReadyMade Magazine
ReadyMade was a bimonthly magazine which focused on do it yourself projects involving interior design, making furniture, home improvement, sewing, metalworking, woodworking and other disciplines. It also focused on sustainable design, independent music and DIY culture...
, Venus Zine
Venus Zine
Venus Zine is a quarterly internationally circulated magazine covering women in music, film, art, entertainment, literature, fashion, indie culture and DIY culture.Venuszine.com is the daily updated online companion to the magazine...
, Craft (magazine)
Craft (magazine)
Craft: was a quarterly magazine published by O'Reilly Media which focused on do it yourself projects involving knitting, sewing, jewelry, metalworking, woodworking and other disciplines...
) also began taking an interest in the events, providing Sponsorship and promotional support.
In 2006, in addition to an annual summertime Fair, the first Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale was held at the Pulaski Park (Chicago)
Pulaski Park (Chicago)
Pulaski Park is a park on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1912, and was named after American Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski....
Fieldhouse.
In July 2007, Daly and Habbley opened a brick and mortar
Brick and mortar
Brick and mortar in its most simplest usage is used to describe the physical presence of a building or other structure...
storefront, Renegade Handmade, on Division Street in the Wicker Park, Chicago
Wicker Park, Chicago
Wicker Park is a Chicago neighborhood northwest of the Loop, south of Bucktown and west of Pulaski Park within West Town. Charles and Joel Wicker purchased of land along Milwaukee Avenue in 1870 and laid out a subdivision with a mix of lot sizes surrounding a park...
neighborhood, featuring the handmade work of several of the craftspeople appearing in the Fair.
In September 2007, The Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago began to occur along Division St. on an expanse of the road just outside the Renegade Handmade storefront. Also in 2007, Habbley left the Renegade Craft Fair & Renegade Handmade companies.
The Chicago summertime event continues to occur along Division St. and in 2010 featured over 300 vendor booths.
Brooklyn, NY
The first Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, NY, occurred in June 2005 along the softball field area of McCarren Park
McCarren Park
McCarren Park is a public park in New York City, USA. It is located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, and is bordered by Nassau Avenue, Bayard Street, Lorimer Street and North 12th Street...
and featured over 125 vendor booths. In 2007, the Fair moved to occur in the McCarren Park Pool, which by that time had begun to be used by a number of organizations as a free-to-attend event space.
In December 2009, construction began on the total renovation of the Pool. That same year, The Renegade Craft Fair once again moved locations into the Park. The 2009 Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair featured an expanded line-up of over 250 vendor booths and occurred around the track & field area, stretching across N. Driggs Avenue and around the eastside of the softball-field towards the corner of N. 12th Street and Bedford Avenue. The Fair will was gain held in this same area of the park in 2010, and returned there in June 2011.
San Francisco, CA
The Renegade Craft Fair made its first West Coast trip to San Francisco in July 2008, holding their first ever event at the historic Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion. In 2009, in addition to their second summertime Fair there, the first Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale in San Francisco was held at smaller-in-size Herbst Pavilion of the Fort Mason Center.
In 2011, the summertime Fair will return to the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion, while the wintertime Holiday Sale will move locations to occur at the Concourse Exhibition Center.
Los Angeles, CA
In 2009, The Renegade Craft Fair added Los Angeles to their summer schedule, holding the event in July on the 13th floor of the California Market Center in the Fashion District, Los Angeles, California
Fashion District, Los Angeles, California
The Fashion District is a design, warehouse, and distribution nexus of the clothing, accessories and fabric industry in Downtown Los Angeles. The Fashion District spans 90 blocks and is the hub of the apparel industry on the West Coast of the United States....
.
Returning in 2010, The Renegade Craft Fair held their second Los Angeles event in a different venue that better suits the free-to-attend, independent nature of the event: outdoors at Los Angeles State Historic Park. The Fair will return to the Los Angeles State Historic Park for the 3rd annual LA Fair July 9 + 10, 2011.
Austin, TX
The first Renegade Craft Fair in Austin occurred in May 2010 at the Palmer Events Center. The Fair returned there in May 2011 and will have its first Holiday sale in Austin in November 2011.
London, UK
In October 2011, the Renegade Craft Fair will go international with the first-ever London Renegade Craft Fair, to be held in The Old Truman Brewery.
The Renegade Owl
The owl has been the mascot for The Renegade Craft Fair since its inception, inspired by a vintage, burlap tapestryTapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
Daly had purchased from a thrift store shortly before working on the first Fair in 2003. Daly approached her now husband, artist Mat Daly (the two were married in 2007), to produce a limited-edition silkscreen poster for the first event and the tradition has stuck ever since, with Mat producing one unique design for a limited-edition poster on the occasion of each Renegade Craft Fair.
An illustrated, cartoon owl drawn by Habbley in 2007 became the official logo for the storefront Renegade Handmade and appears frequently on Renegade Craft Fair merchandise and marketing materials.