What do you get for someone who seemingly has everything?
Something unique and handmade.
Chances are, if you get them something handmade, they won’t have anything like it!
So last week I headed to the Bust Holiday Craftacular in NYC, sponsored by Bust Magazine, one of my all time favorites, to see what I could find that would be right up Rachael Ray’s alley.
Every year, at least this is what I did last year, I try to give her a gift basket filled with lots of one of a kind, silly or bizarre things that I know she would dig. Last year in her gift basket I included a fake moustache for every day of the week. I thought that they would really have lots of fun with those around the studio. I also gave her a golden piggy bank, or “bank in the form of pig” by Harry Allen because I thought it was just hilarious, and a bunch of other kitschy out of the box things.
This year I knew that the Craftacular would be my place. As you all know I am an avid crafter, DIYer and LOVE all things Handmade, and the craftacular did NOT disappoint. With over 200 vendors and 7,000 folks coming through the doors to eat, shop, craft and be merry they NYC Bust Holiday Craftacular was the place to be!
It really blew my mind! There are so many incredible crafters out there making some of the coolest and most amazing stuff.
The craft movement is here to stay! And I am super proud to be a part of it!
Check out this video about my shopping experience at the Craftacular! Don’t laugh, but the event was so packed, that I had to be ridiculously close to the camera to be heard, so the video will certainly get you up close and personal to me and some of the great folks showcasing at the Craftacular.
The snood that I am wearing on my head I made myself, my mom taught me. If you can crochet a stitch you can make one of those. I have them in a bunch of colors. They are a great way for me to tame my unruly hair when it starts to really revolts. Anyone interested in one? Hit me up and I will see what I can do!
Some of the great companies that I LOVED are:
Whimsy&Spice - Who made the amazine Earl Grey Hot Chocolate I HAD to have!
The Hand of Fatima - Nostalgic jewelry from all sorts of things. Check out their Etsy store here
Amy Lehmann Design - Who makes one of a kind jewelry from found objects
Ink + Wit - Beautiful letterpress printed paper goods for every occassion
Article continues below...
Mean Cards - The cleverest cards you’ve ever seen!
Pure Vile - Outrageous pieces using vintage finds and feathers
Seattle Show Posters - Amazing screen printed stuff
Verameat - Jewelry perfect for all of the Twilight fans in your life!
Lollibomb Beauty - Handmade vegan beauty products with an edge
Morgan Street Soaps - Sharon, the propriatrix is a self proclaimed Soap Addict!
Giggles & Grins Design - Customizable picture frames, perfect gifts for Grandma from the baby!
Digby & Iona - Because I Love moustaches…
I have all of Rachael’s stuff sitting right next to me in the bag I brought home from the Craftacular, so stay tuned and I will post pics of how it turned out and what Rach thought of it!
Ta Da! Here is the gift basket!!!
* Cat Not Included
And here is what Rachael said about it!
“Oh, my goodness, tell Evette, I love the owl necklace it’s soo cute!” “Do you believe everything came in this adorable bee-hive” “So creative”
It’s all about the handmade gift this year!!
You can check out what Evette is doing by joining her facebook page or following her on twitter!
12.16.09 @ 4:46 pm
Evette, this seems like such a cool event! I wish I was in NYC so I could have gone. Crafts are so cool now, especially the people who show up for Bust, and so are you! Keep up the good work. You let everyone out there now that us crafters are so cool.
12.19.09 @ 12:02 am
It’s great to see crafting coming back. With all the talented young (and old) people out there, it’s nice to see them in the spotlight. As we all return to traditional ways and values, I suspect that more people will be crafting. Keep up the great features!
12.21.09 @ 12:23 am
Fantastic handmade items! I hope you get to do more blogs on their shows in the future (I never get to go to the bust craftaculars, but living vicariously is okay
03.02.10 @ 6:14 pm
All seemed a little sexist to me until I got to the mean cards. Spend fifteen minutes laughing. Thanks for point this up to me Evette, I would never have seen it otherwise.
03.02.10 @ 9:43 pm
I love the pig! One of my friends just told me about etsy.com, which lets people sell unique, home-made items. I like the make your own gift package thing. . .it’s like how people used to get pills made up one at a time, just for them.