In mid April I (Wayne) made my first trip to the city of Chattanooga, TN. Julia, had participated in Chatty Crafty the previous fall and told me I would love Chattanooga; she was right! Chatty Crafty was part of HATCH CHATT, a ten day showcase of creative culture in Chattanooga. The vibe in the town was very cool and funky and there was immense support for all things local & creative. I joined the festivities on Friday evening where Chatty Crafty was taking part in a local craft and food market. After five or six hours in the car I was very glad to see this right across from the Chatty Crafty tent.
Good Dog is a local eatery that provides hot dogs (and veggie dogs) with house made sauces and buns that are baked fresh daily at local bakery. My Hawaiian veggie dog was yummy! There were lots of other vendors and crafters as well as some large scale art installations like this one:
On Saturday Chatty Crafty got started in earnest! The space was incredible. It was a nice green lawn across from the Tennessee River. Here is a shot of the river just across the street from our booth. There was a temporary art installation here as well.
The layout was great. There was lots of space between the aisles so we vendors weren’t packed like sardines. There was also a large square in the middle that made a great space for visitors to hang out.
There were a wide variety of vendors, some we met at other shows, and some were new acquaintances. Beth, from Quill & Arrow Press, had a wonderful collection of creative letterpress items. From envelopes and journals to postcards everything was funky and fun.
Sew Few was our neighbor at the Handmade market last summer. Her bags are absolutely beautiful. Julia actually wanted to get an iPad just to have a reason to get one of her iPad covers. :)
Talia from Conduit Press was really nice and was one of the vendors who participated in the Friday night shindig mentioned above. She makes wonderful notebooks and journals from re-purposed goods. She also makes hollow books which are super cool for house decor.
There was also some really neat pallet furniture. This lamp was almost six feet tall and looked like a cross between Woody from Toy Story and the lamp from Pixar movies.
Seven Feathers Tribe had the coolest booth. I saw soooo many kids with these masks on I had to come check it out.
The biggest treat of the weekend was meeting Magar, an absolutely beautiful Irish Wolfhound. Her demeanor was so kind and gentle and the picture does not do justice to her size; she was GINORMOUS!
So while festivals are always tons of work this one was a blast. The organization was great, the location was perfect and Chattanooga was very cool. I can’t wait to go back for the next Chatty Crafty!
In early April Sara and I headed to Blacksburg, VA for Burnt Creative Market. How much did I know about Blacksburg before going? Nada. Sara’s friend Colleen lives there, so instead of doing my typical internet research before heading to a new city, I just let Sara guide me.
We arrived and after checking into the hotel, we headed to The River Company for dinner. The restaurant is charming with high ceilings and wooden beams. There’s also a brewery in the building which you can see from the second floor.
Colleen was due with her first when we visited. She’s since delivered a healthy baby girl named Carolyn – congrats Colleen! Here she is with my sis.
While we were waiting for dinner, I wandered onto the deck and discovered that the restaurant was appropriately named. The view was gorgeous.
After dinner we wandered a bit, had frozen yoghurt, and got to see Colleen’s nursery. Sara and I crashed after that – we had to be up early to head to the market.
Burnt Creative was held in downtown Blacksburg on a street that was partially blocked off for the event. At the top of the street was the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market.
After Sara and I set up, I wandered up the farmer’s market to walk around and I must say, I was quite impressed. The setup was nice with covered walkways (great to avoid rain and sun), and there was a great mix of vendors present.
I loved Stonecrop Farm‘s setup. Simple and attractive.
I spent a minute or two gazing at the wares of Green Star Farm. They sell produce as well as breads, lotions, soap, and massage oils. For whatever reason, I loved this sign.
In the middle of the market was a tent with folks cooking. It’s hard to read on the sign, but the menu is broken down with all the farm inputs listed (ex: bread from farm A, beef from farm B). Very cool.
In the middle of the market is a large open area. There was a kid’s craft table and several people had bubbles. I immediately started giggling after seeing the dog below. He would wait oh so patiently while someone was holding the large bubble wand.
And when someone created a large bubble? He would jump. Straight up sometimes. And pop it with his mouth. I can’t imagine it tasted good, but it definitely was humorous to watch. :)
As I was heading back down I saw this gentleman sitting with his dog. She was absolutely beautiful, so I had to take a quick picture. He said she was an Australian Shepherd. Believe it or not, she had gorgeous blue/grey eyes.
Heading back to Burnt Creative….Here’s the entrance to the market. Lots of traffic seemed to filter down from the Farmer’s Market.
Here is Tracy’s booth from Patina South. It doesn’t matter where I see her, her booth always looks gorgeous.
I also quite admired Mountain Light Jewelry‘s booth. The layout was adorable – all in vintage suitcases (briefcases?).
DeSoriaDeSign was displaying gorgeous jewelry. My picture is not great, so I high recommend checking out her Etsy shop. I believe I shall need to own a pair of her earrings soon.
Jessica, the owner of Burnt Creative and the producer of the market, had charming desk accessories all wrapped in fabric.
More jewelry I liked (of course). A Little Twisted‘s display incorporated rustic wood and stone.
Our neighbor on one side, Bimbur Books, had an eclectic mix of books that she binds herself. Little tiny pieces of art. She was also selling hula hoops. Yep – our second time beside a hooper at an event! Her books are truly amazing.
Across from us was Dashing Dog Studio. They were wonderfully nice folks and single handedly protected us from certain death at the hand of our tent. Really. I promise.
Just a few booths down from us was a set of vintage sellers that had a fantastic booth. Salvaged Threads and Salvage Girl shared a booth and did an amazing job! I could have spent an hour in there wandering around and checking out all the little goodies they had. See the owls in the basket? Adorable.
Our neighbor to the other side, Marshfluff, made ingenious little boo boo bunnies from kid’s socks. They were filled with plastic balls. You store them in the freezer and in the case of a boo boo, they are available to lend a helping hand (or tail?).
And the required picture of Whispering Willow’s booth. We were under a big tree and the product definitely benefited from the extra shade.
Here’s a shot of our new gift baskets. We put these together as easy options for mother’s day, but we may keep offering them at upcoming events.
Here’s a quick shot I took when I ducked out the tent. The market stayed fairly busy like this all day.
It was such fun to meet new folks and get a quick intro to Blacksburg. We’re definitely looking forward to our return visit in June. We might even be able to share a photo of Carolyn. :)
Not much to say today, but I did want to share some photos of our little yard in bloom. It is a good exercise for me. Taking these photos forces me to quietly walk around our yard, take a deep breath, and just enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. Join me on the tour?
We have several clematis that grow up and around our garden fence. They are by no means perfect specimens (see all the chewed parts?), but I love the pops of purple.
This is our prized Dwarf Japanese Lilac that we moved with us twice. Yep. Really. Like across the state. We now have it planted beside our front door so that at least twice a day we get to breeze by and experience the amazing smell that graces us for such a short time each year. It’s not surprising to find one of us just standing there with nose in the bushes. The neighbors must love us.
I call this one simply “the other lilac.” I’m not sure the variety and it is much taller and lankier than the one pictured above, and it still smells almost as sweet.
Oh, our hellebores (aka Lenten Rose). I adore them. We planted them running along the front of the house and below the lilac bush above. They’ve been in long enough now that they have filled out and taken over their allotted space. They always remind me early on that spring is coming and they bloom for a wonderfully long time.
Finally, one of our little trees. I have no clue what kind it is, but I think the blooms are simply adorable.
Stay tuned for more pictures….I’m finding that our little yard changes almost daily. What’s blooming for you?
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