"Peppermints" by Pie Bird Press"She asked me if I was going to Araby. I forgot whether I answered yes or no. It would be a splendid bazaar, she said she would love to go." - from "Araby", Dubliners, by James Joyce

This past Saturday, my friend Genevieve & I went to the San Francisco Bazaar Bizarre at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.  Now I'm not much for a bazaar - "a sale of miscellany" according to the dictionary. Bazaars were always a part of my childhood and adolescence when the word held connotations of Grandma's do-gooding church group, cottage-industry, janky homespun being sold for charity. I am happy to say that the Bazaar Bizarre surprised me right down to my socks.

First of all, it looked like every Mission District/Hayes Valley hipster was in attendance. I kept looking around for people I knew, because they were definitely the sort I liked to hang with. Either that or they were DJ-ing cool lounge beats or jazz over the whole scene. Yes, DJ - clearly, it was one happening Grandma who planned this thing. Second, the crafts and art being sold was pretty amazing. Usually, when I wander through craft or street fairs, I find that a lot of the wares are not entirely original, nor very well-made. Expecting this type of boredom to greet me, I instead discovered completely unusual, beautifully merchandised and professionally crafted booths and products.

I really loved the work of Gabriel Colaluca composed of vintage silverware, watches, and other random objets. His line is called "Brown Banana" with the idea that once a banana is brown, it is then perfect to be made into bread or pudding - just like reclaimed vintage pieces that would otherwise be sent to the rubbish heap. I got some unusual silver bangles that were formerly spoons, and a great gift for my Mom which she'll enjoy (hopefully) on Christmas.

I also treated myself to this gorgeous letterpressed 2008 calendar from Ilee Papergoods. Each month is completely different and colorful - I cannot wait to have it on my desk! You can order your own through the Ilee shop on Etsy! 

There were lots of screened-tees of all sizes and colors, and lots of funny onesies for babies too. My favorites were from Milkbomb, an irreverant, humorous look at baby-dom for especially hip parents.  

Another item that caught my eye was this fantastic over-sized clutch made by My Imaginary Boyfriend. I loved the scale, the felted material, and the retro-looking pleating on the flap. I wish they had come in additional colors! My Imaginary Boyfriend also has an Etsy shop full of fun gifts and artwork too...

Pie Bird Press absolutely made my heart go pitter-pat. The letter-pressed images are so simple and vibrant, they reminded me of a cross between vintage paint-by-number images and Wayne Thiebaud's paintings. Beautiful! I wanted to buy every card they offered just to frame them in a series.  I did purchase the peppermint candies and I'm trying to determine which special person I will send it to.

The booth at the bazaar showed primarily Pie Bird Press's holiday cards, but after checking their lovely website I found the poppies and pumpkins which, along with the cupcakes and olives, are my new favorites.

I was also intrigued by the odd and playful beauty of Small Stump. Their work centers around, well, a small stump. It's silk screened, made into pillows, made into cards... (It reminded me of that "commercial" from the Ren & Stimpy show featuring "Log for Girls" - remember that? I'll see if it's on YouTube.) But there's other things too. I really fell in love with this art piece entitled "Dangler" - featuring a cross-section of a tree, with a spider web and dangling spider on a thread. The silver-gold-black combination is lovely, the screen is really detailed, and the whole composition is just the right mix of strange and beautiful. I love it! I almost bought this, but had run out of cash and very few booths accepted checks or credit cards... Luckily, Small Stump also has an Etsy shop where I can find this piece! Hooray! You can also find their "Holiday Assortment" which features gift tags that have the cross-section print that is so different and modern while being completely organic too.

Overall, the Bazaar Bizarre wasn't too bizarre...or, it was just the right kind to keep things interesting and fun. I left with the good feeling that most of my Christmas gifts taken care of, while most of them were also unusual, hand-crafted, and made by local artisans. Now that's a good way to shop!