Rengade Austin- Finds and Buys

While I realize that a few weeks have passed since Renegade Craft Fair Austin 2011, I say better late than never when it comes to blog posts. I missed last year's RCF, so I was thrilled to attend this year. I worked the first opening day volunteer shift at The WonderCraft and helped attendees craft matchbook style wallets and buttons. Most of the booths fit the indie aesthetic of part nature, part ironic, part 60s, part wood, and part metal. And, not to be a negative Nancy/diss this style, but it's just not my thing. That being said, I was able to snag and spot some great finds.

I bought a pair of these in slate gray from InfraredStudio, who is based out of Minneapolis and is really stinkin nice. Her RCF stock was one of my favorites at the show.

Heartbreaker Earrings in Hot Pink Laser Cut Acrylic by InfraredStudio, $10.00

Local duo SquidInkKollective premiered these bags at the show. They would make a great going away present for any redhead you know who's moving to NYC at the end of this summer to attend grad school. Ahem. Though, I can't pick between the colors. Which is your favorite?

Commuter Messenger Bag in dark pink green and purple by SquidInkKollective, $65.00

Robo Roku made these new laser cut acrylic necklaces of Robo and Roku just in time for RCF (and I'm going to go out on a narcissitic limb and say it was just for me too). I had a hard time picking between them at the show and could still not tell you which is my favorite. In which case, you should probably buy both since they're such a steal.
Mirrored Acrylic Roku Bling Necklace by Robo Roku, $15.00

I'm on a new kick where I only buy handmade soap or bar soap from Lush. So, it was pretty perfect that I found these lavender-scented Tea Time Soaps from Nepenthe's Bathtime while at RCF. The aroma reminds me of a calming yummy tea and incidentally causes me to smell my hands a lot after I wash them.

Another one of my top ten favorite pieces at the show was this La Catrina wall hanging by IllustratedInk. She had one in purple and aqua (drool) too. In addition to hefty home decor, there were tons of postcards to sift through. I picked up some of these for myself:

Loteria Postcards (El Corazon and La Mano) Tattoo Art by IllustratedInk, $6.00

My last frivolous buy was this Mustachasaurus Key Chain by grrfeisty. If you can't tell yet, I'm nutty for laser cut acrylic. This piece was too cute not to pass up. She also has a Professor Fancy Fox necklace that I'm thinking about buying for myself...or adding to my list of bon voyage gift ideas for others.

What was your favorite shop or find from RCF Austin? Did you have a chance to meet your favorite artist or stop by The WonderCraft for some wonderfully crafty times?

Action Jackson out.

Tour Guide: Austin Fashion Week

Austin Fashion Week 2010 is almost here! And yes, in case you're wondering, I am and will be running around like a mad woman for the next few days to get ready. As intimidating and overwhelming as AFW can be for participants, I think it can seem that way to Austinites on the outside looking in. There is a mass of cocktail parties and runway shows clumped into the small time span of one week, so it's hard to know which ones are most worth your while. Which is where I come in; think of me as your tour guide.

The week will kick off with Bright Lights Idea City, a showcase of designs from Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, Robert Stock for Robert Graham, and the mash up teams from AFW 2010. So, you'll get to see the blood, sweat, and tears of Team Anachronism (aka my team) in person. In addition, there will be gratis food and cocktails alongside a silent auction and art sale benefiting Dress for Success. What does that mean exactly? You can bid on any one of the mash up team prints as well as jewelry, clothing, bags, etc. from all participating designers. Pretty cool, huh? If you'd like to purchase tickets, you can do so from the AFW website.


Sunday, August 15th marks the first day of salon/boutique and showcase designer pair up events. All events during this week through Friday, August 20th will be free to the public.

To kick off the week and end your weekend well, you should stop by Shear Decadence. This shindig will be hosted at Salon Intuitions from 5-8pm and will showcase the talent of Merritt Gade Fine Handmades. To sweeten the deal, Merritt and her salon will provide tasty treats, a 20% discount on all MGFH jewelry, gift bags, raffle prizes, and a photo booth by Booth 66.

One especially important point- if you attend both my and Merritt's events, you will be entered for a very special raffle to win goodies from both of us. We will be handing out raffle tickets at each event that you will need to take to the other as proof that you've attended both, i.e. pick up a ticket from Merritt's event, fill it out, and bring it to me. You will be entered for the raffle. Our parties are less than one mile apart, so it'll be easier than taking candy from...well, you know.

On that same day during the exact same time slot (August 15th, 5-8pm), yours truly will be hosting a retro-inspired cocktail party, Pin-Ups and Pastries, at JR Salon. We will have cupcakes from The Cupcake Bar, complimentary cocktails, and raffle prizes and goodie bags with freebies from Diamonds and Guns, JR Salon, and the always fabulous Kuhmillion. Btw~ Beth Hempton from Kuhmillion designed these beautiful party flyers for me. Don't they rock?




On Monday, be sure to head over to one of my favorite spots in town-North Lamar downtown for Jetset to Style. The always lovely Anne Marie Beard, handbag designer extraordinaire, will host a fashion show complete with yummy treats, cocktails, goodie bags for the first 25 attendees through the door, the works. Jetset to Style will take place at the new (at least new to me) Austin shoe store, Stella Says Go, and proceeds will benefit 1 House at a Time. I have a feeling that my attempts to save money will prove futile after attending this stylish party, especially as it will be serving as my Monday happy hour.







On Wednesday, August 18th, Lovely Austin, one of the rockin local boutiques that carries DGAJ will be hosting Cupcakes, Cocktails, Makeovers, and Fashion with Material. I am jumping out of my seat excited about this event because the gal behind Material, Kellie Lewis, is on my AFW mash up team! She is insanely nice, and the pieces she made for our team competition are amazing! For the event, there will be complimentary cocktails, treats by the Cupcake Bar, and daytime to evening mini-makeovers.

To close out your week, check out the Austin Fashion Awards Show, which will be going on starting at 5:30pm at The Long Center on Saturday, August 21st. Along with the awards presentation, there will be live performances by Austin bands, SPEAK! and Zayra along with runway shows by Line & Dot, Rene Geneva, Boudoir Queen, Chloe Dao, and *drum roll please* Betsey Johnson. I'm promising myself now that I will not freak out and try to run onstage and hug her. I will instead remember that I am a calm and collected adult(ish) who doesn't get starstruck. Ever. Not even by Betsey Johnson.

Be sure to drop me a line if you're planning on attending any of these or any other rockin events happening during Austin Fashion Week. Hope to see a lot of you out there.

Action Jackson out.

Currently Listening: Debut by Bjork

I Can Haz Break?

Sheesh. I have not been the model blogger by any means for the past three weeks, i.e. unusually long hiatus. But but but, I assure you (in the same way I would a professor asking for an explanation on late homework) I have several excellent reasons! Could this explain for seemingly arbitrary pictures of adorable kittens on my blog? Yes, yes it could.
As some of you know, I moved recently, and I'm irked to report I'm still not 100% moved in. I have moved once every year for the past four years (or six if you want to throw in dorm move-ins), and at the end of each subsequent move, I'm always amazed at two things: a) how long it takes to really finish moving in and b) that I somehow have the energy to keep moving at that rate. Admittedly, I'm losing a little steam and the "novelty" is wearing off, so hopefully I can give it a break for a few years. No pictures yet (believe me, you wouldn't want them even if I had them to show off), but when the new place is presentable, I'll post.
...which brings me to my next excellent reason for not posting, a kitten named Alice. Two days into my move, I was needed back at work for a day and while there, I found a kitten romping around campus. At UT, there is a wonderful program in place known as the Campus Cat Coalition that traps, spays/neuters, and releases cats found on campus. In addition, the UT CCC cares for and adopts out kittens found on campus who are under the age of 12 weeks. Because the primary caretaker for kittens was overbooked, I took it upon myself to foster this adorable fur ball. Her (temporary) name is Alice, and she is a 10-week old torby (part tabby, part tortoiseshell, though I don't really see the latter). So, though the timing with moving and everything else wasn't ideal, I'm glad to have helped take care of this pretty girl in the meantime.
But wait, there's more (not even kidding)! During the weekend of my move, I created jewelry for Austin Fashion Week's team design competition. Basically, there are 24 teams consisting of clothing designers, jewelry makers, hair stylists, makeup artists, photographers, and models competing in the challenge. Each team creates a look for a photo shoot (one photo is submitted to AFW) and runway show. Once digital prints are received from all teams, they will be posted on Austin Fashion Week's website for voting. Don't worry, I'll let you know when this happens. Tomorrow's the deadline for photo submissions, so I will be posting pictures of not only my jewelry but also the team's snapshot very soon!

So yeah, you could say I've been busy. ;) I'm slowly getting back on track though, so I'll be posting more on AFW and other juicy happenings soon enough.

Action Jackson out.

Currently Listening: Emergency & I- The Dismemberment Plan

Summer = Flowers

While we didn't have the lush vibrant (albeit scalding) summer that we usually enjoy in Austin last year due to major droughts, the recurring motif of floral fashion was still in full bloom whether it was on Mexican house dresses or in the strong resurgence of 80s and 90s unapologetic bold prints. Yours truly even got hit with the fever and made a few flowery pieces (including the one above) for Blues on the Green when Etsy Austin held down a booth for the summer concert series last year.

This summer, the florals are making an even stronger comeback, as if that was possible, with everything from vintage-inspired daisy jewelry to flower print jumpers filling the racks of Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and ModCloth.

I was browsing my usual list of bookmarked websites when I came across the new summer collection for Tarina Tarantino. And who says great minds don't think alike? These Daisy Post Earrings are part of their Daisy Cake Collection, and (I'm speculating) they feature replicas of porcelain vintage Japanese daisy cabochons.

Truth be told, I am not in love with everything bloomin on the runways or on the clothing racks this season. I am, however, inspired to incorporate as many bright blossoming beauties into my summer designs as possible (especially since Austin won't be having the same shortage of rain as last year). Here's some pics of what I've gotten started on so far. In the near-ish future, you can probably expect to see lots of nautical pieces and bedazzled feather fascinators from Diamonds and Guns land. What about you? What are you mesmerized and inspired by this season?

Action Jackson out.

Currently Listening: Blind by The Sundays, OK Computer by Radiohead

Every Little Bit Helps!

Back in April, Bonnie Rue of Model Citizen Clothing had gabbed about her rad indie biz being chosen to attend the POOL Trade Show in Las Vegas. She had been a busy little bee with all her ducks in a row...until the roof of her house collapsed and she had to break open her POOL piggy bank for moving costs. If you've moved, rented, etc. as much as me- or just at all, in general, you know how quickly those costs add up.
So, Ms. Rue is calling on us, the indie craft creators and supporters, to help out. What's in it for you, you ask? The intrinsic satisfaction of helping a fantastic lady and rockin artist! You say that's nice, but...Have no fear. Bonnie Rue is seeing that no good deed goes unnoticed or unrewarded and is giving away goodies to folks who pledge certain amounts (see the side bracket of her kickstarter page). Personally, I'm seriously tempted by all of the incentives and will definitely be donating today.
To give y'all extra incentive, I'll be giving away some DGAJ surprises to anyone who donates and leaves a comment on my blog stating so IF Bonnie reaches her goal of $1,000. On that note, if you pledge and the goal amount isn't met, you won't be charged for the amount you pledge. Remember, every little bit helps, even if it's a dollar! If you can't donate, pass on the link to others!

Action Jackson out.

Currently Listening: Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones