This year I am planning to make my wool lock scarves lighter and shorter. I was wearing a collar style, wool lock scarf to fairs. I was wearing that one because I had messed up on one of my longer scarves and I made that one work. But customers were always complimenting the scarf I was wearing and asking if I had more of them. So this season I’m giving the people what they want. Look for them at coming fairs and email me if you are interested. Each one is unique and so very special!
2016 Fair Schedule. If you want links to each show and more information there are links to each on my Events Page.
CONFIRMED FAIRS FOR 2016:
March 19-20 :Voices in Cloth, Richmond
THESE ARE POTENTIAL FAIRS FOR 2016. ONCE I GET CONFIRMATION I WILL LET YOU KNOW.
April 29-May 1: Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco
June 19 & 20 : KPFA Summer Arts Fair
June 25-27: Urban Craft Uprising Seattle
July 16 & 17: Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco San Francisco
September 10 & 11: Mountain View Art and Wine Fest
September 17-18: North Country Fair, Arcata
October 8 & 9: San Carlos Art & Wine Faire
November 7 & 8 Urban Epicurean Fest San Francisco
November 13, 14, 15: San Mateo Harvest Festival
November 19 & 20: Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco
November 26 & 27 SF Etsy Indie Emporium
December 2, 3, 4 Humboldt Artisans Fair, Eureka, CA
December 18 & 19 KPFA Crafts Fair, Richmond, CA
Every year I try to incorporate something new into my sales inventory. I usually try to mix things up by dropping some items and adding or bringing back others. I will probably downsize the amount of scarves I produce since they didn’t do as well this year. Wall hangings are going to be coming back by popular demand.
I will still offer all of the same felted soap scents online but will be leaving a few behind when I head to shows. Oatmeal, Pomegranate, Plumeria and Sandalwood will be traded for Chocolate, Citrus Miny, Honeysuckle and Cedarwood. I’m excited to see how they perform next to my current bestsellers!
The Urban Epicurean Festival (Urban Epic Fest) is a modern marketplace where craft, food, and drink converge. It is a celebration of local makers and the bounty of the season. Brought to you by the team that produces the popular San Francisco Bazaar craft festivals. Urban Epic Fest will be the first of it’s kind to land at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. Attendees can purchase unique art, handmade goods, artisanal food, and local wine and beer while attending workshops on an array of topics from home brewing, flower arranging to urban beekeeping! The Urban Epic Fest is a free, family-friendly event perfect for all ages. There’s no better way to kick-off the fall season in San Francisco.
The Urban Epicurean Festival
November 7 & 8th 2015
11:30 – 6:30 AM each day
Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion – San Francisco, CA
Free to attend
Art & Craft
The core of San Francisco Bazaar shows has always been our quality handmade marketplace. The Urban Epic Fest will continue to curate a quality market focused on local made and independently designed goods. Expect to find crafts, art, housewares, jewelry and apparel with a sustainable twist. Gifts range in prices and will be sure to offer something for everyone on your list this upcoming holiday season.
Food & Farm
This year we bring back our local food makers, and expand our offerings to hot food vendors inside the Festival Pavilion alongside our much-anticipated line up of gourmet food trucks. Customers can also shop for local made baked goods, chocolates, jams, and pickles! The Urban Epic Fest will satisfy your inner foodie and help you find the perfect hostess gift or unique food item for Thanksgiving dinner.
Beer & Wine
Attendees will be able to sample and purchase quality libations in our exclusive Beer and Wine market on the spacious mezzanine overlooking the main floor. Customers can sip while they shop, but also bring home quality wine to serve family and friends over the holiday season.
DIY, Home, & Garden
Learn new skills at our three workshop stations. Leaders in the floral, craft, and food industries will be offering up tips on how to make your holiday season more sustainable and homemade. Set the table with your own floral arrangements, sew custom table linens, whip up a vegan feast, grow organic vegetables, pickle, brew, and more!
Contact us at info (at) urbanepicfest.com
Find me at BOOTH # 86!
This weekend my friend and I explored the small community of Hopland with wine glasses in tow. I live in Cloverdale in the northern most portion of Sonoma County. Hopland is 10 minutes north in southern Mendocino County. I have driven through many times and even had a meal there a few times but never really got to know the town.
This last weekend they held their bi-annual Hopland Passport. Two full days of wine tasting and food at over 15 wineries around the valley. Quite a deal I thought. $50 for two days and at least 3 pours at every winery. Each stop had a stamp for your passport and free food for pairing.
Everyone we bumped into was smiley and warm and having a great time. The pretension level was much lower than what I would’ve expected. My friend Brynn and I could’ve easily spent an hour at each place, drinking wine outside in temperate weather in always beautiful settings.
My favorite stop was Seebass. It is open to the public only for this event and is just a working vineyard and winery the rest of the year. It was off the beaten path, quiet and so welcoming. The woman pouring owned the winery and her mother owned the vineyard. Everything bottled by them was grown on site. And they had to heeler dogs which of course were a hit!
It was a very nice was to be involved with our local businesses and agriculture. Many of the wineries were certified organic. There was an olive mill involved. It just felt good to support these local folks in doing something they love and participating in the community.
Be sure to put this in your calendar for next year if you are nearby. It won’t disappoint!
I’ve expanded my flavors of lip balms to 4 total now. They include Peppermint, Lemongrass Coconut, Sweet Orange and Unscented. All made with pure ingredients and essential oils. Ingredients are few and nourishing- Coconut Oil, Candellila Wax, Sweet Almond oil, Avocado oil. Vegan ingredients and not tested on animals.
Just $3.50 a tube can be found on this site or at one of the fairs left this year.
Over the past few years I have learned more about who my customer base is and the best times of year for me are. Turns out I’m like most retail shops – before the holidays is the busiest time! Often businesses make 40% of their money leading up to December. I’m no different so I’ve learned to do less summer fairs and pack them all into the fall. This makes for a busy couple of months but it also makes my efforts, time and investments worth while. This month both the Mt View fair and the Pleasanton Harvest Festival went well and I hope that’s an indication of good things to come. I have 9 more shows before Christmas so most weekends will be very busy.
I’ve found though once I do a few in a row I really get the routine down and things are easier and less stressful. My boxes are full of everything I need. My truck stays packed and I’m ready to go!
It will be very busy but fun as well. There is nothing like a high from a successful fair where you sold products that you put your heart and soul into. To have people connection and appreciate that is a feeling like no other. I am so grateful to my customers and their support!
Saturday night as I was driving home from the Mt View Art & Wine Fest I could see an orange light glowing over the hills to the east. I thought “Could that be a fire?” but then thought no. In the morning as I took the dogs for a morning walk ash rained down like so many gray snow flakes. It was the Valley Fire which started in Cobb, Lake County.
I was nervous to leave the animals but had to drive back to the fair Sunday morning. Lucky for us the fire was headed the opposite direction so I did feel okay to leave for the day. Evacuation would be so stressful but doable so I watched the fire updates from the fair.
This fire is so terrible and fast moving that close to 600 structures have already burned. What absolutely killed me were the reports that people had to flee so quickly that they didn’t have time to take their pets and livestock with them. I just started crying for all the devastation and animal lives lost in this event.
As of this morning:
If you feel moved like I did to help any way you can there is a website set up for item and financial donations. Lovelakecounty.org has lists of organizations that are helping and what they still need. I just gave a financial donation to Wine Country Animal Lovers so they could get whatever they needed. My heart goes out to all who are affected by this tragedy.
