There are few things greater than finding someone to match your sense of humour. Scratch that…there is nothing better than finding someone with a compatible sense of humour. That’s why I love these vendors oh so much!

Tina Seamonster, ace marketer, blogger, and mother to two girls who make me re-think my stance on kids, has once again expanded her product line to clothing and fantastic new zombie cards and book marks (perfect for holding your place in the new zombie-fied Jane Austen, no)? Visit her at booth #131 this year at Crafty Bastards!

Thanks to Rah Rah Press’ fantastic letterpress cards, I know have Jawbreaker’s song Boxcar in my head. You (and I!) can visit them at booth #62 this year (I’m serious ‘tho…don’t sell out of that postcard before I get there…).

Mean Cards have cards for all of those situations you find yourself in without the words. Why not show them you care just a *little* bit more and send them a card. Really drive that point home that their driving sucks.

Pick up cards for all your friends (and poorly parking strangers) at booth #38.

And finally, Fishcakes. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I went to college with Voz from Fishcakes and it really is a small world, and I am so glad to see Voz making stuff, raising chickens. I still have the PJ Harvey tape she made for me. You can pick up one of her fantastic illustrations/stamps/buttons/magnets at booth #76 this year.

Crafty Bastards is Saturday, October 3rd at the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan!

I make no bones about how much I envy creative couples. I think it’s awesome when people inspire, create and produce art in tandem. Local artists, Rania Hassan and Sean Hennessey ( of Gosh Darn Knit and Scenic Artisan respectively, have been married for over 5 years and each create their own art that blends into sometimes functional, often decorative pieces. Rania is a master with the Gocco Printer (soon to be extinct!) so be sure to pick up one of her printed Moleskine books before you can’t any longer.

Sean is a painter and sculptor and has taken to combining glass and concrete together for some really beautiful bas-relief wall sculptures.

You can find Rania and Sean at booths 18 & 19 this year at Crafty Bastards.

I had the pleasure of meeting Maggie and David from Brooklyn New York’s Loyalty and Blood last December at a show in NYC. Not only did I like them because they are probably two of the nicest people ever, but they work so well together as they worked on stuff at their table. And they have a really nice, clean aesthetic which carries over from their shirts, to their tote bags to their jewelry.

Soak up some Loyalty and Blood at booth #105

Coming out of Philly, Shauna and Stephen of Something’s Hiding in Here craft a huge array of interesting things you had no idea you needed. Wooden acorns? Got ‘em. Wooden rings? Done. Moustache’s on sticks? Yes.

And if you have the chance, I recommend looking up their unbelievable loft apartment on Apartment Therapy. If that doesn’t turn you green with envy, their talent surely will. Find out how they get to be so awesome at booth #60 this year at Crafty Bastards, this Saturday, rain or shine!

Holy smokes! So many awesome clothing vendors at Crafty Bastards this year! As soon as I get a chance, I’m making a bee-line to The Garbologist’s Wife (Booth #106) for her splendid upcycled creations! Plus, this lady understands that cuteness doesn’t have to stop at size tiny!

Also on the upcycled tip is The Devil Made Me Do It in Booth #99 . Check out their booth for whimsical, complicated looking confections featuring layers and tough-looking ruffles!

Mignonette Designs (Booth #68) makes new clothes in timeless shapes and patterns. Her background in tailoring and fine art really shows!

For the cutest shirts around, check out local designer b-kao in Booth #63 at the fair this Saturday, October 3rd in Adams Morgan.

For years I would see these amazing vintage blenders in this great antique shop in Takoma Park (before it was flooded and they moved to a new location) only they weren’t blenders. I mean, they *were* but someone had repurposed them into fetching lights!

It has to be Minda Merinsky right? Her work has grown to encompass tableus (dig that dino-light!). Only, make sure to not put that blender in your kitchen, for fear of confusing a friend who only wants to make margaritas! Flip the switch at booth #21 this year!

I love pottery. A lot. But sometimes I have trouble rationalizing a chunk of money on something my cat will just (purposely) knock over. What can I say, she’s vindictive.With Tasha McKelvey you have the option of wearing her pieces! She makes jewelry that compliments her other utilitarian (but still beautiful!) pottery pieces.

A word to the wise about Tasha’s stuff, get there EARLY! Last year I tried to get in her booth and it was packed. I almost don’t want to tell you where her booth is. Ok, it’s #31, but wait for me, will ya?

Any company that sites the Melvins as an ingredient to their creativity is A-OK in my book. Hogmalion & Company has the sort of tongue-in-someone-else’s cheek kinda humor we all love. Sock Monkey wine-covers, Che-a-Pet plant holders and wine stoppers with the visage of newly minted Chief Justice Sotomayor.

This will be your one-stop-shopping place for the friends you know all too well … and maybe the family members of which you might want to get under the skin of. Just a little. This year, Hogmalion & Co are at booth #7 at Crafty Bastards. Which is the 3rd of October. Which is a Saturday, but you knew that already, right?

With companies popping up faster than you can say “ironic t-shirt” it’s good to recognize there are still people out there screening their own shirts and making their own designs.  If you’re in the market for some new togs, get ye to Crafty Bastards on the 3rd of October and check out some of these artists to cover your back:

Gnome Enterprises has the eternal struggle of bear vs. tractor for you to display. Gnome Enterprises will be at Booth #141 and they are a new vendor this year!

For a slightly more surreal sark, check out these designs by Pop Idiot

Find their pop culture inspired shirts at Booth #101 this year!

Local Favorites from Baltimore Squidfire have been owning the t-shirt game for years.

Find them at Booth #29 this year at Crafty Bastards on Saturday, October 3rd. Download the vendor map to plan your trip to the fair!

For those of us who haven’t abandoned ye olde blank book and pen for scribbling our inner-most thoughts, you have a number of gorgeous options this year at Crafty Bastards.

Your Secret Admiral creates one of a kind books out of all manner of ephemera. Air mail envelopes, maps, old bank papers. Beautifully and handsomely bound. A hit at this year’s American Craft Council in Baltimore.

Find Your Secret Admiral at booth #53

Moonlight Bindery also creates custom books with covers made of everything from Shrinky Dinks to LEGOs. Checkout Moonlight Bindery at booth #108

What about books made from … books? We have that too! Ex Libris Anonymous rebinds old favorite books (and text books!) interspersing original pages with blank paper for your journaling.

Find Ex Libris at booth #65

What is your love of books goes beyond reading? Say, you’d like to wear them? Check out these AMAZING necklaces by The Black Spot Books.

So stunning. Race over to booth #69 for your own!

Rebound designs makes the ever popular, often imitated purses out of books.

You have probably had your eye on one of her Nancy Drews now for quite some time. Treat yourself to one at booth #52 at this year’s Crafty Bastards on SATURDAY OCTOBER 3rd. See you there!

Living in a city can turn you into an urban warrior, foraging for clever solutions to problems. These vendors, appearing at Crafty Bastards on Saturday, October 3rd, are some people who can help you out!

Fabric Horse design and sew utility belts, bags, and accessories originally designed for the urban cyclist but span much farther to photographers, stylists, producers, etc. Made from a combination of recycled fabrics, seat belts from junked cars, and new materials to create well made, one of a kind items. You can visit them at booth #143.

Bright Lights, Little City uses materials like cocktail umbrellas, woven paper or ribbon as well as reclaimed vintage materials for lamp shades and other home decor. You can find them at booth #110 at the fair!

Mean and Wroughten take recycled materials and turn them into awesome, sturdy photoframes! Check out their excellent use of old saw blades when you stop by booth #54 at the fair.

Don’t forget to visit these vendors and more on October 3rd when Crafty Bastards happens in front of the Marie Reed Learning Center on 18th St. in Adams Morgan.

Whew! If you wanted, you could have a really busy fall here in DC!

New shows and markets are popping up all over. Check out the Capitol Marketplace Events page.

They are sponsoring shows on the grounds of one of my favorite buildings in the city – the old Carnegie Library (The Square Market and Art on the Square) as well as the “new” neighborhoods surrounding Nationals Park (Canal Park Market and RiverFRONT Harvest Fest).

I am a little unclear as to what the fees might be to apply for the shows/markets and it looks like they might be accepting vendors for the weekly markets on a rolling basis. But you can send them an email at info@capitolmarketplaceevents.com.

I know it seems ludicrous especially as you’re probably dangling your tootsies into a pool or have outside plans to this weekend, but really, the holidays are just around the corner. Craft stores are already decked out in their Halloween finest which means that it’s time to start thinking of Holiday shows.

One of the bigger, local shows is the Downtown Holiday Mart brought to you by the Diverse Market folks who put on Arts on Foot and Eastern Market.

You can find out more information here:

http://www.diversemarkets.net/article-welcome.asp?evid=7

The Downtown Holiday Market (DHM) will operate for nearly three weeks. It will open Friday, December 4th, and will run continuously for a total of 20 days, ending Tuesday, December 23rd. Hours will be from 11:30am-8pm each day.

Held in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood with the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture as its backdrop, the festival will again be located on the wide sidewalk of F Street, stretching from 7th to 9th Streets NW. Both ends of the market are within view of entrances to the Gallery Place Metro.

It’s a very pretty, festive show. It’s cold on the street, so bundle up but it all just adds to the holiday atmosphere.

Our neighbors to the north in Silver Spring are opening a new market featuring the “eclectic character of a diverse community”. They are looking for vendors of crafts, artists, vendors of vintage and other interesting wares for the two inaugural markets on Saturday, September 12, 2009 and October 3, 2009 (with plans to go weekly starting spring of 2010).

If you’re interested, please contact Hannah McCann. Or check out http://www.fentonstreetmarket.com/