Handmade Arcade

This weekend I stopped by Handmade Arcade, which is Pittsburgh's biggest crafty / creative-independent business fair. You know, the people we all want to be? A convention center full of them. And although I had mixed feelings (mostly centering around the thought that it's outgrown itself & there's no room for the little guys anymore... & a ton of the vendors weren't even local... that sort of thing) there was still a lot of great stuff to be seen.

Let's start with friends...

CLEODEE'S

along with Tadly Waldorfington

This is so beyond cute. Bethany makes plush squids, Scott makes animations... so the married couple teamed up to make an animated series about a squid. Go check them both out immediately... I'll wait. You can be Tadly's friend on Facebook like I am, or buy the "squid of the month club". <- If that doesn't put a smile on your face nothing will.

Laurie Trok

Ok I don't actually know Laurie, but I know her roommate who I was pleasantly surprised to see behind a booth as I walked around. All the jewelry was made out of lenses from eyeglasses, they were so unique & wonderful. Her blog has better photos than what I took if you want to check it out.

And there were lots of people who I don't know... but would like to.

YardSale Press

I told myself I could only buy 1 thing or I'd get carried away, so here's what I treated myself to... scrabble coasters! Aren't they the most adorable? I got enough to spell out "CHEERS" & now they happily live on my coffee table.

Benthandle Kitchenware

This little lady was such a doll, let her decorate your entire kitchen. How much do you love those mix-&-match felt placemats? I didn't get a very good shot of the rest of her stuff because I was too enamored with the placemats, but you can see some other on her tumblr.

Diane Koss

This shop seemed like the talk of the show. Everyone I chatted with later said "Did you see those monster hoodies?!" They are seriously amazing. Unfortunately I don't know anyone who made a purchase because they're a bit pricey, but they'd made a good splurge or gift.

And of course there were tons more that I didn't list, but these were just a few of my favorites. And now I'm going to daydream of a time when all of my friends are successful crafty business women & we can take over shows like this & live happily ever after.