RENEGADE.CRAFT.FAIR.

I’ve had the Renegade Craft Fair on my calendar for almost 3 months now. There was no way I was missing it this year and I must say my expectations for the event were exceeded. The best way to describe it is etsy exploded inside of a warehouse. Even the boys came along but it wasn’t necessarily to see the heaven of craftiness….there was word of a bar in the building.

As soon as we walked into the pavilion, I knew I was in trouble. I have a feeling Deric had the exact same thought as my eyes lit up at the site of rows and rows of vendors selling anything from cupcakes to jewelry to clothing. I work for a non-profit now (i.e. I am poor) so I have started to master the art of self control and was able to walk away from the day with just a few things…..but I did grab a ton of business cards for future purchases. J

Map of San Francisco by The Harbinger Co.

My first item of the day was this very simple yet amazing map of San Francisco done by The Harbinger Co. Apparently, I can’t read maps because my husband told me the spot I had designated as our house was downtown….which we are not. I love it and have already sent it off to be framed.

Pocket Watch Necklace by Love Nail Tree

There was no way I was walking out of the pavilion without jewelry. I think that was what the majority of vendors were selling or maybe that is just what I gravitated to? There was a range of prices from very affordable to the “wait, what? how much are you selling that for?”  My second purchase was this awesome pocket watch necklace by Love Nail Tree. And yes, it is functioning. This must be the new must have item because I saw variations of this at more then a few booths. Nonetheless, I thought this particular one was very well done and just way too cool to pass up. I’ve been wearing it for a few days now and realize that not only is it fashionable but it’s totally practical. I never really thought about how much easier it would be to look at a watch then to constantly fish through my purse for my phone to tell me the time.

Here are just a few of the other vendors that I loved….

The Social Dept. - These guys make some hilarious tees.

Just a few t-Shirts by The Social Dept. available on their site. 

Erin Feller - She makes some really cool wood necklaces (although the ones I saw at RCF aren’t posted on her site yet) that are cut to be miniature logs.  

A sample of Erin Feller's jewelry from her website.

The moral of the story is Renegade Craft Fair is awesome. If one is coming to your town do not pass it up! 

And Away We Go!

I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had much time to even think about Cowboy Jack unfortunately but today I’ve got a little free time and started thinking about what I need to pack for our upcoming trip to Baltimore and DC.  It’s cloudy and gross out here and I can’t wait to be in some real summer weather. We just had a record setting rainfall in the city yesterday. Apparently it hasn’t rained that much on June 28^th EVER. Ugh. I haven’t been able to come to terms with the rain so I just put this dress on regardless of the weather. I am always checking out what other people are selling on etsy. It’s sort of an obsession of mine.  I came across this blue number recently and had to have it. I think it was the ruffled collared that drew me to it. I’m definitely taking this with.

Recent purchase from Lone Mountain Phoenix on etsy

I only own one pair of shorts so I need to pull out all the stops with the dresses so I’ll be taking these along as well.

And just in case the evenings are a little cooler, I’m packing these tunics to wear with a cute jacket and some leggings.

Now that I am an etsy seller and a sometimes blogger I am excited about visiting other cities and observing other fashion trends. I bought a rad pair of boots and a jacket in Baltimore years ago so I know there are some good boutiques there. Let’s hope we can take a break from the site seeing and beer drinking for a little shopping time.

Happy 4^th of July! 

Its FINALLY mine!

I’ve had my eye on a certain purse for awhile now. It belongs to my friend Christina and from the first time I saw her with it, I wanted it for myself. I have an obsession with kisslock wallets and purses but that is just the tip of the iceberg of love that I felt for this bag.

On one of my recent shopping excursions I came across a gold clutch that I instantly knew Christina would love. I posted it on etsy but as soon as I showed it to her I knew it was sold. In a flash of brilliance she offered to trade the clutch for her purse and my dream had finally been realized! My husband, who has proclaimed himself the CFO of Cowboy Jack, turned his nose at the deal because no money exchanged hands but there was no way I was turning down this trade. I have used this purse every day since the day I got it.

Left: My new purse!; Right: Christina's new clutch

My husband’s disapproval also stemmed from the fact that he recently noticed a similar purse already in our closet. I was quite surprised that he even made that connection (I did earlier but really didn’t think anything of it) but I promised to post the other one on etsy and that seemed to satisfy him. Some lucky person is going to be able to add this pretty damn cute purse to their collection.

Happy Friday! 

Adventures in Indiana

It’s been a busy few weeks. Not only have I been juggling two part time jobs and some volunteer work but our social calendar has been insanely full lately too. I think it’s the change in seasons that causes everyone to want to be out and about. We also just came back from a trip to good ol’ “Indian-er” as Deric calls it - (translation Indiana) where we celebrated a dear friend’s wedding, had a few too many beers (which may be a requirement for any trip to this state), visited with family and did some fishing! Of course, I had to do some shopping there as well. There is always something unique to be found at antique stores or garage sales in small towns and I must say Ferdinand did not disappoint.

While at lunch with some of the ladies from the Muller and Oser families, we heard about a local garage sale happening in a neighboring town, St. Meinrad, so we made our way over. Most of it was your usual garage sale fare – books, old t-shirts, shoes, VHS tapes, lawn chairs, etc. I was ready to give up when I spotted something very, very exciting….another vintage piece of luggage. It’s almost exactly the same as the Samsonite mustard yellow bag I’ve been apprehensive to give up but this one is blue and made by Sears. On the spot, I decided I’d keep the blue one for my own use and sell the yellow one. Problem solved! I also found a very cool brown leather vintage camera bag. My husband marveled at how I was able to spot these two things in all of the boxes and piles of stuff scattered around.

L: My new blue tote, R: Vintage camera case

My next shopping stop had been on my list of places to go. We’ve driven by the Antique Emporium many times but for some reason, I’ve never ventured inside until now.

I’m a little upset at myself for not going in sooner. This place was a 10,000 square foot vintage heaven. It just seemed to go on and on. If we lived closer, I would’ve had to take home more then just the few purses I settled on…..

L: Blue & white knit handbag, R: White wicker purse with mother of pearl accents

As fun as my shopping excursions were, I did learn a very important lesson on this trip… always check the inside of your purchases for leftover belongings from previous owners BEFORE you go through airport security. While getting my bags checked, I was singled out by a TSA agent. She requested to thoroughly check the blue bag. I thought it was odd until I figured out what prompted her to do so. The x-ray machine had shown what appeared to be a knife. After pulling every last item out of my bag, she revealed a rusty old steak knife hidden in a side pocket. Luckily, she was satisfied when I agreed to let her throw it away. Little did I know that my beloved blue Sears bag would cause such a nightmare. Lesson learned!

Keep your eyes out for my new finds (sans knives) on etsy!

Lots of New Developments!

Things have been quite busy over the last few weeks and I’m excited to share some news! As a young breast cancer survivor I can’t tell you how happy I am about the opportunities that have just been presented to me. I was just invited to be part of the volunteer planning staff for a breast cancer fundraiser called Beats for Boobs – a fun collaboration of art, music and fashion. I’ve been involved with this amazing organization for a few years as a model in their fashion show and have baked boobie cupcakes for the event. I am also lucky to be able to call many of the amazing ladies on the staff my friends.  I’ll be working as the Event Coordinator/right hand woman for their 3 events – in SF, LA and Seattle and I couldn’t be more honored to be a part of something so special!

Also, through my connections at Beats for Boobs, I was just hired at the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund which is a non-profit social service organization that provides emergency financial assistance to low-income women and men of San Francisco and San Mateo County who are in active treatment for breast cancer. After working for seven years at an art gallery, it is such a breath of fresh air to know that I will actually be helping people in need for a cause that is very dear to my heart.

I'll be dividing my time between Cowboy Jack Vintage, B4B, BCEF as well as the little part time job I decided to keep with the frameshop. WHOA! So I have a lot to do! :) I should get started.....

Have a good week everyone! 

Shopping with Grandma

I don’t get to spend too much time with my grandma but I was home for Easter this weekend so we had breakfast at her favorite restaurant, the Waffle House, and then did a little shopping at her favorite thrift store. My grandma can thrift with the best of them even at 84 years old. She has her own frequent buyer card and she even commented that spending $5 on a dress was a little excessive.  I think she wanted me to haggle with the pricing! To her anything more then $1 is just plain overpriced.

I wish I had captured some of our shopping moments from the day on film…my grandma carefully inspecting each shirt, my husband rolling his eyes as I tried to convince him just how awesome a John Wayne painting was, my eyes lighting up at the site of a vintage Samsonite carry on bag and at the end of the day, my husband resting on the thrift store couches.  

Here are a few of the items I found on our shopping excursion….

This is the amazing Samsonite bag that I found. The cashier said this bag was in their front window for months until I came along. I don't understand how anyone could've passed this up! I am definitely having some reservations about selling it though. I need to start lugging my laptop around and I think this would be perfect. Hmmmmm…decision, decisions.

And a few dresses…..

Most of these things will be up on etsy in the next few days. I'll keep you posted! Have a great week! 

Dresses, Dresses, Dresses!

I have a deep obsession with dresses right now. Of course I am partial to vintage dresses but it’s not always easy to find the size I need in a something that was made 40 years ago. So where do I turn? The internet of course! I regularly comb through fashion blogs to see what all the cool kids are wearing these days but it’s also a great way to find links to different online stores. These are just a few of the stores with some impressive dress collections that I have come across in my fashion blog travels.

Spotted Moth

L to R: Battenberg Lace Dress & McGillicuddy Dress 

ModCloth

L to R: Semaphore Front of Fashion Dress & Rosehill Lane Dress

Olive & Orange

From their 2011 Spring & Summer Collection

L to R: Domino Print Trapeze Dress, Chambray Frill Shirt Dress & Wallflower Spot Print Dress

Summer is right around the corner and I can't help but imagine myself in each of these dresses! Cheers to the coming warm weather!