We had the opportunity to visit the Renegade Craft Fair this past weekend here in our hometown of Austin, TX. The Fair partnered with SXSW and put on an awesome event with some pretty great vendors and live music.
For those not familiar, the Renegade Craft Fair is:
the world’s premier network of events serving the DIY craft community. RCF was the first event of its kind when it was founded in 2003, and 11 years later we are still the largest and most far-reaching with 11 annual events in Austin, Brooklyn, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. On average, our events are attended by over 250,000 people annually, and hundreds of craft-based businesses have been launched successfully out of the fairs. Everything at the fairs reflects our commitment to showcasing the best and brightest in indie craft and design. This begins with our vendors, featuring products ranging from cutting-edge fashion and jewelry design to sophisticated ceramics and housewares, contemporary furniture and lighting, bath and body products, screen-printed art, paper goods, and more. – RCF website
From the moment we walked through the door, it was obvious this was going to be “our kind of event”. Booths lined the event center and were overflowing with some pretty cool handmade goods appealing to the young and old, male and female.
The greatest part about this event is that the “makers” were often the ones working the booths and to listen to their stories of how they got started and to see the true passion that they have for what they do, you couldn’t help but be drawn to what they had to offer.
While you can find the full list of vendors here, we’ve picked out a few of our favorites and listed them below. We’re looking forward to visiting again when they return in the fall!
Horween Leather Wallet / Flint Bracelet / Wax Canvas Knife Pouch
Horween Leather Wallet | Manready Mercantile – We’re a store of highly curated goods, many of which we make under Manready Mercantile or the T.S. Weaver brand. Each and every item has been selected because it conveys a sense of style and craft that we believe is important.
Flint Bracelet | Tres Cuervos – I’m inspired by the LANDSCAPE & CULTURE of the AMERICAN WEST to hand-craft PRACTICAL GOODS that embody SIMPLICITY & AUTHENTICITY. I’m an ARTISAN, using TRADITIONAL METHODS & the highest quality AMERICAN LEATHER, BRASS & WOOD to make RUSTIC, RUGGED, things that I like to think THEODORE ROOSEVELT might have used. I’m AARON BOYD.
Wax Canvas Knife Pouch | BushSmarts – Custom-made, hand-finished, world’s best, full of pride tools for Cro-Mags, Hippies, Explorers, Pioneers, Astronauts, Vikings, Marines, Bushmen, Brits
