Renegade Crafters

The Renegade Craft Fair was indeed a very pleasant way to pass an afternoon. Although there was no tea or cake available; possibly a bit of an oversight. Everyone likes tea with their craft.

However, the Truman Brewery is sufficiently ginormous that the very friendly security men let me take my bike up the stairs and chain it to a pipe in a corner. Brick Lane is not the best place to leave bikes if you're hoping to ride them home again.

There's a full list of all the artists and crafters here, with links to their websites, so you can go and have a mini craft fair from the comfort of your desk should the fancy take you. I would encourage anyone's eyes towards...

Night Ride, by  John Vogl

Really beautiful, intricate prints and illustrations. Obviously, I liked the bike one best but there were some other very strong contenders. His website is The Bungaloo.

Badges by Magic Industrie

Badges (or buttons, as they're American) made from vintage books. The best thing about these was the big tray of different badges to sift through and see what you could find - I can't explain how tactile they were! Magic Industrie also make wallets out of old books.


And also Lucy Panes Illustration; perfectly delicate drawings that I was very tempted by. My favourite illustrates G.R. Chesterton's quote 'The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese' and I think you'll be able to find it here...