Crafty: The first rule of Felt Club...

“I think there has always been an appreciation for handmade goods,” says Jenny Ryan of the crafting website, SewDarnCute, “but nowadays it seems to be catching on more than ever because there are so many new ways to share that appreciation. A crafter can make something here in L.A. and within minutes can snap a photo, upload it to Flickr, write a blog post about it, and send that handmade awesomeness all across the world in no time flat. So now we're seeing global trends and the crafty community is more connected than ever.”

Ryan is also the event coordinator for Felt Club, the show that celebrates all things handmade and drew thousands of craft-lovers and shoppers over the weekend. Just shy of 9 a.m. on Sunday, people were already lined up on the sidewalk around the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center, ready to dash in for the 11 a.m. opening. (If you missed the show, and still have holiday shopping to do, fear not. Another crafting show is just around the corner: Unique Los Angeles, Dec. 13-14.)

Once inside Felt Club, buyers were immediately caught up in the buzz of cruising through about 150 vendors offering their handmade wares; an eclectic array of one-of-a-kind items from the ridiculous (one-eyed stuffed creatures) to the sublime (elegant letterpress stationery).

DJs kept the energy high as 4,500 intrepid shoppers hit the booths, such as Aguiniga Design, offering felted handbags and home accessories (one pillow resembled an origami sculpture); Krank Press, featuring letterpress cards, blank books and calendars, some made from hand-carved linoleum blocks; colorful, chic children’s clothes from Kait Emerson Designs; and fun plush stuffed creatures shaped like internal organs from I Heart Guts.

Really, who doesn’t love a little stuffed adrenal gland?

Vendors were upbeat and happy to chat with buyers. I met Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung of Poketo, selling T-shirts, plates and other items featuring bold, interesting graphics; Vadakan said the company acts as a “curator,” bringing artists’ work to the public. Across the hall, Robin Dodge of One Sheep Hill had eased a small spinning wheel into her booth, causing shoppers to stop in their tracks as she happily demonstrated how she spin fibers into yarn.

Green design was a big part of the show. Among recycled items were scarves made out of T-shirts, jewelry made out of vintage typewriter keys and watch faces, and books made out of coasters. It was also great seeing stuff up close and personal that I recognized from favorite Etsy shops; stationery from The Paper Princess and jewelry from Found & Made.

There were plenty of interactive events throughout the day to keep people even busier; upstairs was Swap-O-Rama-Rama, where people swapped clothes, some taking advantage of the opportunity to work with designers to reinvent those clothes into something new. Among the popular DIY workshops were a jewelry making class with Kaari Meng from French General, and a recycled gift wrap booth courtesy of ReForm School, which seemed extremely popular with the kid set. (Disclosure alert: One of the co-sponsors of the event was my publisher, Quarry Books).

No wonder Felt Club was like old home week for some people who were happily reconnecting while perusing wool roving or aprons. It is a small world, after all.

— Jeannine Stein

Photo credit: Jenny Ryan