Handmade for the Holidays

Dar: Hey Kerry.

Kerry: Yeah, Dar?

Dar: Shut the f*ck up!

Kerry: (calmly) Now, Dar, you know I don’t appreciate that kind of language, especially when it is directed at me and especially, especially when it is not me using it.

Dar: Sorry, Kerry, but lookie! It’s one of Jon’s Hannakah presents! Isn’t it neato?

Kerry: Let me see here. (reading) Subversive Cross Stitch...”Shut the F*ck Up” Basic Kit…includes pattern, instructions, thread and material. (pause) Where on earth did you get this?

Dar: I bought it at Fancy Tiger. It’s this super cool, really hip craft store in the Baker Neighborhood, just south of downtown Denver (Dar thinks to herself: Jesus, I sound like a radio ad script). I dragged Jon in there one day as I hinted that I wanted a sewing machine for Christmas and he saw this basket of cross-stitch kits, all with similar phrases. There was “Chill the F*ck Out,” “Bee-yatch,” and “Homo Sweet Homo,” but his favorite was the “Shut the F*ck Up.” Fancy Tiger has all sorts of cool stuff like that. It inspired me to do a handmade holiday this year.

Kerry: Really? You’re going to make all of your presents?

Dar: Not my handmade…other people's! I mean, not that my handmade totally sucks, but for the sake of presents, I put my trust in the hands of others, literally. This year for the holidays, I am trying to purchase handmade gifts. It’s truly in the spirit of giving…I’m giving gifts that support wonderful independent designers.

Kerry: Dar, can we back up for a minute? I thought you and Jon were celebrating Hannukah?

Dar: Oh, we are, but at the time, when we visited Fancy Tiger that day, we were planning to celebrate Christmas.

Kerry: So, in the span of mere weeks, you’ve decided to convert?

Dar: No…it’s complicated…neither of us is particularly religious. It boils down to logistics, really.

Kerry: Uh-huh.

Dar: Christmas, Hannukah, whatever! The point is handmade for the holidays. As much as possible, I’ve bought all handmade gifts for those on my nice list this year. Over the weekend, we stopped by two Denver fairs. First we headed to Holiday Handmade (nice name!), which was a craft fair sponsored by Fancy Tiger. I wish it would have been bigger, there were definitely some really cool artists there. I bought the most adorable screen-printed, pink romper dress for my baby niece. It has an image of a flying bunny. I also bought a little painting of a friendly dragon. Her first piece of art! How rad is that? I’m planning to do the rest of my shopping on Etsy.com.

Kerry: Ah, Etsy. I love Etsy. So, Dar, am I on your holiday “nice” list this year?

Dar: I don’t know, boss. Am I on your holiday “bonus” list this year?

Kerry: Uh, well, uh, hey! Why don't you tell the kind folks that are reading this blog who some of the "rad" artists were at the holiday fair?

Dar: OK, here are some faves…
Becky's Buttons Guess what she had? Yes, you sly dog, she had buttons. But she also had these cardigan pins, which I loved. If you are the type that likes to wear your cardigan draped on your shoulders, you NEED these!
Karen Watkins She did the cute dragon painting I bought for my niece.
Vital Industries They had vinyl graphics for your toilet. I'm not kidding! So cool, but for the record, you can put them on stuff other than the cammode.
Workshop Denver This is a screen-printing studio from which I bought the baby romper. You can have a screen-printing party at the studio, which I thought was cooler than cool beans.
Stills in Motion The boyfriend awarded them as the "coolest booth." They had these handmade purses with photographic floral images. He a photography nut, so go figure.