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If you want to usher in the fall weather with an almost guaranteed good time, bust out your jeans and autumn jackets and head down to Division Street this Saturday and Sunday, where two of West Town's best attraction, the Renegade Craft Fair and Do-Division Street Fest, have joined forces for a weekend of crafty goodness, musical enjoyment, and plenty of hipster-watching.
Held on Division from Damen to Wood, Renegade Craft Fair will bring together over 200 of the country's coolest crafters. Don't come expecting crocheted potholders or needlepoint mantle decorators; instead, wares from vendors (who applied and were specially selected to sell) skew toward hipster-chic, trendy and modern, with purveyors offering up unique body care products, dreamy paintings, cool jewelery, and adorable babywear.
If your craft-obssessed friend or significant other drags you along begrudgingly, don't despair. The Do-Division side of things will let you indulge in food and drink to the sound of live music, with Urge Overkill headlining on Saturday, and Camper Van Beethoven laying it out on Sunday, with a slew of other bands throughout the weekend.
Kids tagging along? The rather bluntly named KidFair promises enjoyment for the wee ones, with games, rides, a petting zoo, puppet shows, and craft activities there to keep them entertained for at least a few minutes.
Renegade Craft Fair and Do-Division Street Festival will be held this Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 10 p.m. daily. Admittance to Renegade is free; Do-Division is $5 per day. More information is available on the Website.
Pocket Sundress in black boucle by Renegade exhibitor, Squasht by Les.
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nice dress, but i didn't realize clowns were a target market.
urge overkill and camper van beethoven? holy crap, it's 1993!
Great fest...
If you can get past the wannabe hipster dorks, it's a lot of fun.
ow ow ow, that website hurts my eyes.
And, uh, is that a dude?
Wow, nice to see the boys from Urge Overkill back at it. This reunion tour has been what, four years now? Where's the new album?
Renegade was such a let down. Why are 90 percent of the booths at a craft fair filled with t-shirts?
Because t-shirts are easy.
There were babies and dogs everywhere which is kind of shocking as I can't believe little kids and expensive delicate crafts mix well. More pottery & tiles this year but most things are so expensive it gives a person drive to just do the damn crafting yourself.
I agree that the items in the fair are generally overpriced. I actually know a two year old girl I would have liked to have bought a little dress for, but they all hovered around $50, and you'd have to be an idiot to spend $50 on a casual dress for someone whose idea of a good time diving face first into mud puddles, eating bugs, and smearing her food onto her knees when nobody is looking.
Um, what the hell is THAT in the picture?
I actually had a pretty good time at the fair this year. It was a hundred times better than last year, location-wise. Wicker Park always seems to be incredibly muddy. I've been to the fair the past several years, and this time it was pretty good. Though it was still very crowded at times. I found it much more art-heavy this year, as opposed to crafts, and there were about 10x more presses. Guest 8, I kinda think that is part of the intention--to get people crafting themselves. As for the cost, I totally agree, it is so expensive that I couldn't buy much. But being a crafter myself, the time and energy and cost of materials that go into certain crafts actually warrants the price. Especially if you make a living off this. Imagine what you get paid at your current job hourly, then translate it into how long it takes to sew a dress, and add on cost of material (which ain't cheap!), then think about maybe turning a little bit of profit. Handmade will always be more expensive than factory made, but you're paying for the uniqueness.
Mo, I understand what is being paid for is quality, uniqueness and alright labor conditions (assuming the crafter does not impose sweat shop conditions on themselves). But I do wonder at the cost of producing the craft v. the price to purchase it. I stand by my statement that the Renegade crafters are good capitalists who will extend their profit as far as possible regardless of the costs of production. This isn't meant as criticism, btw.
If the intention is partially to inspire others, what was the policy on cameras? I felt like it would have been out of line to ask to take a picture, but did anyone else do this? I know there were some jewelry items that I want to copy but I just tried to take a good mental picture.
a great neighborhood festival all around, but an extra big kudo to urge overkill for playing an unbelievably good set. the boys still have it.
Guest 12,
I took pictures! I tried to do it on the down low, but when in doubt, we asked the booth operator if it was ok. One guy said, sure, as long as you don't sell the idea to Urban Outfitter. ha! So I assumed it would be ok to replicate the idea for myself, as long as I wasn't going to sell it to others. I do agree that many of the items were way overpriced. Like some of the handmade books and journals costing like $10-20, when I know the set up fees for screened items is a one time fee, and just printing an image (especially one made from Print Gocco and an image book) takes minimal time and energy. Same goes for the crazy shrink-i-dink plastic stuff that was big last year. I was more talking about the clothing, knit goods, metal jewelry, etc. The stuff I know takes time to do. But I also don't begrudge the crafters for turning a profit. I would if I put the energy in to have a booth!
Mo - Understood and agreed.
This question stems from having been to Portabella Market in London and witnessing an older male crafter literally flip out over his, admittedly stunning, jewelry which some folks wanted to take pictures of. He looked like Santa Claus and was sternly scowling at anyone who came over to his stand, though the brilliance of his wares kept a big crowd regardless. I keep envisioning a repeat of that scene but I'm glad to hear that was not your experience!