Trusty old Phillips Emporium has working wireless today, so I am checking my email and double-checking directions for my trek to New England for New Year’s. The local genre bookstore has moved into the space as well. Sergeant Pepper on the speakers. Kids playing chess in the corner. Staff talking about their exes and the new world order and running for local office and MySpace and how it’s easier to get heroin than weed here. Every time I visit it’s the same, but worse.
I hope you’re all having a safe and good holiday. And if it’s not a holiday for you, that you can take off the time anyway and take advantage of the Judeo-Christian machine for once.
Yesterday I attended the Shadow Art Fair at Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti.
There were many great vendors, but I collected cards from a few I either bought things from or would be particularly interested in checking out again:
allthingsgrow: I bought two prints from Marcy Davy when I saw her at the Etsy Fair at the Artisan Market in Kerrytown a couple of months ago, and I was delighted to have her recognize me. Marcy screens nature-inspired canvases and paper prints.
FartsyArts/norma: Casey Janowski’s line of decoupage jewelry and luggage tags, as well as handmade muffs (with cellphone pockets), are kitschy and classy.
Kill Taupe: Paintings, toys, prints, stickers, magnets, skate decks and other items. I bought a print of a monster knitting.
letterform: Julie & Andy came all the way from Chicago to sell lovely foodie-themed printed cards and flour sack bags. They also designed the poster for the event.
Lish Dorset: Lish had a vast array of jewelry, magnets, and odds and ends, many of them Michigan/mitten/zombie themed.
Nonfiction Design Collective: This group is based on Columbus. They had restaurant-quality dishes and studio porcelain printed with illustrations of invasive species.
RiffeRaff: Extremely pretty silkscreened papers and cards.
Roos Roast: John Roos’s artistic medium is coffee. He was there to provide excellent lattes, tea, and related delights. Throughout the afternoon I overheard him happily bartering with artists for bags of coffee.
Runaway Fashion House (Holly Haynes, Owner): This young lady had really lovely knitted and crocheted items for sale. I bought a bright yellow knit scarf.
The Silent Giants: These gentlemen design and print concert/event and art posters and cards.
St. Joshua Norton Press*: Thomas L. Kula writes haiku and publishes zines. I purchased a $1 coupon (good for one year) for a haiku on a topic of my or the recipient’s choice.
*This is especially awesome because I am reading a collection of Sandman stories, lent by a friend, and one of them features Emperor Norton, one of my favorite true American legends.
Everyone at the Fair (artists and attendees) gets my admiration for going out on a snowy day in a bad economy. The presence of beer, coffee, and a very modest entrance fee (2 cents) helped, I’m sure, but going to events like this makes me happy because people who make awesome stuff tend to be awesome people, and it’s good to know they’re out there.
