by Noella Noelophile®
The best time for Christmas shopping, is now.
I know, it’s the middle of June! And that’s exactly why.
With summertime crafts events happening, now is a great time to discover handcrafted treasures for the important people in your life. Including you!
With that in mind, here are just a few of the venues where you’re likely to find special things, courtesy of some highly gifted artists and makers.
Patchwork Show Makers’ Market and Community Festival
Downtown Ventura, California and Main, this Sunday, June 18th, 11 am – 5 pm. Free admission.
More than 50 vendors in a beach town setting, DIY activities and live music make this a community celebration! Patchwork Show hosts seasonal shows up and down the state of California in late spring/early summer, with their autumn round of craft fairs starting in November.
THEN, they move on to…
Santa Rosa, Old Courthouse Square, Sunday, June 25th, 11 am – 5 pm. Free admission.
This show features more than 75 vendors, according to host company Dear Handmade Life’s website. Look for their DIY activities to include hand stamp jewelry making, dried-flower creations with locally-grown blooms, AND a “Patchwork Junior” section for the next generation of makers!
And, for their final show of Summer 2023:
El Segundo, The Works, Sunday, July 2nd, 11 am – 5 pm. Free admission.
According to host company Dear Handmade Life’s website, special DIY activities and a parking map will be posted soon. What I can tell you, so far, is that (a) they have more than 60 vendors scheduled; and (b) from past great experience, pretty much anything host company/dedicated small artists’ business Dear Handmade Life produces, is going to be amazing!
And, then there’s…
Santa Barbara Lavender Festival
Old Mission Santa Barbara, Saturday, June 24th, 10 am – 4 pm. Free admission.
A celebration of creativity and all things lavender, I’m thrilled to see this show continue! We know this as the “Ojai Lavender Festival”, and kudos to the new organizers for keeping it going.
While I don’t have a specific listing of this year’s vendors, exhibiting artists are encouraged to incorporate lavender and lavender themes into their work as much as possible. When we visited before, that translated into some gorgeous paintings, fantastic soaps and even lavender ice cream!
Also, local entertainment is featured, and the bands we heard were both top-notch and having a great time sharing their talents. This year’s entertainment lineup has been published on the Festival website, and is an intriguing-sounding, eclectic program which includes jazz music, Irish dancing and hula.
And, last but NEVER least…
Supporting artists since 1936, this nonprofit group of talented artists exhibit in multiple venues, in Southern California.
CRAFTED, 112 East 22nd Street, Friday – Sunday, noon – 6pm
(Royalty-free image by Pedro Márquez from Pixabay.)
According to their newsletter, more than 35 of their members exhibit their work weekly in their booth at CRAFTED Marketplace, in San Pedro. Photography, watercolor, jewelry, woodcarving and metalworking are just a few of the media in which they share their gifts.
Closer to Buena Park? Look for SPAA at Buena Park Farmers Market, in the Buena Park Mall every Saturday, 9 am – 2 pm.
Or, if you’re in the L.A. area, find them at Melrose Trading Post, Fairfax High School, on North Fairfax at Clinton, every Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm.
And–that’s it for now! Have fun exploring and Christmas shopping!
And please, don’t leave gift wrapping till the last minute, like someone you (ahem) may know, but who shall remain nameless.