by Noella Noelophile®
“You give the best gifts!”
Imagine hearing that when someone you love opens a package this Christmas season.
Buying “indie” is often the fastest route to that kind of a fun response. With that in mind, here are a roundup of upcoming crafts shows you might like to visit!
Patchwork Show
Originally started in Santa Ana in 2008, Patchwork Show has seen some exciting growth! I love their selection of unique jewelry, cards and woodworking especially, but there are lots of other treasures there for the finding. Larger shows normally include free entertainment, workshops, and food trucks.
For Christmas shopping this year, they have five different upcoming shows, as follows:
Oakland – November 2 – Jack London Square, Broadway and Water Street, 11-5 pm
Ventura – November 3 – Ventura Fairgrounds, Santa Cruz Hall, 10 West Harbor Boulevard, 11 am-5 pm
Santa Rosa – November 10 – Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Hall of Flowers,, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, 11 am-5 pm
Long Beach – November 17 – Marine Stadium, Appian Way at Bayshore, 11 am -5 pm.
Santa Ana – December 1 – Artists Village, 2nd and Sycamore, 11 am -5 pm.
Jackalope: An Indie Artisan Fair
They’re all about the ways design reflects local culture, with their juried show. Visitors get to take part in workshops, both free and low-cost. And they’re multi-city, reflecting the design and maker communities of both Pasadena and Denver.
Pasadena – November 16th and 17th – Central Park, Old Pasadena, 275 South Raymond Avenue, 10 am – 4 pm.
Denver – December 14th and 15th, Stanley Marketplace, throughout the entire shopping complex, 11 am – 7 pm.
(Graphic courtesy of Torrance Craftsmen’s Guild, and used with permission.)
Torrance Craftsmen’s Guild
Happy Golden Anniversary to these talented artists and artisans! 2019 marks their fiftieth show. I’ve loved their exhibitors’ gorgeous patchwork quilts, Christmas ornaments and dichroic glass jewelry, especially, in past visits. But you’ll probably find a lot of other new special fun things, when you visit.
In addition, they have door prizes and opportunity drawings (opportunity drawings partially fund their scholarship fund for high-school seniors), as well as refreshments and music by talented “DJ Ozzie”.
Torrance – November 16th and 17th, Torrance Cultural Arts Center, Madrona and Torrance Boulevard, 10 am – 4 pm.
Admission is free to all of the above shows. In addition, Torrance Craftsmen’s Guild’s show offers free parking.
These are just three of the possibilities for “shopping indie” and supporting small-business entrepreneurs as we get into Christmas season, 2019! I’ll keep you posted on more.