Yesterday I attended the summer iteration of Shadow Art Fair at Corner Brewery in Ypsi, and it was just as awesome as the last time.
This time, I splurged a bit and got a necklace (by Wei’s Open Secret) and a photo print (by Ann Arbor’s own Peter Baker) for myself, as well as a birthday gift for my mom.
I also traded some postcards and stickers, and ran into some other Ann Arborites happy to escape the art fairs in town this past week.
Some of my favorite artists there this time:
Peter Baker: hand-printed film photographs of locations all over the United States. Find him at peterbaker.com (photography), elevatedworks.com (design and development), or ptrbkr.com (blog).
Sara J. Bradstreet/Broad Street: antique and vintage remixed jewelry. Find her at broadsinthestreets.com (portfolio) and broadstreet.etsy.com (store).
Lori Brown/MorninGlori: softies and sculptures of charming creatures. Find her at themorninglorivine.typepad.com (blog), morninglori.etsy.com (store), or myspace.com/peculiarflower (myspace).
Amanda Marie Edmonds/amepix: buttons, magnets, stickers, and accessories with a garden and localvore theme. Find her at amepix.etsy.com (store) and amepix.net (photo gallery).
Elevated Press: letterpressed cards and stationary. Find them at elevatedpress.com (coming soon) and elevatedpress.etsy.com (st0re).
Cre Fuller/Tin Angry Men: found-object (mostly coffee percolators!) robot sculptures and lamps. Sadly no website, but here are some photos.
The Proper Peach: felt and flannel toys and accessories. Find them at theproperpeach.etsy.com (store).
Meredith Reeds/Rug Wear: handwoven and fiber art accessories. Find her at handwoven.etsy.com (shop)
Brian Walline/Route 17: postcards, posters, and stickers with an Ypsi-Arbor flavor. Find him at brianwalline.com (portfolio).
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.
