After a long hiatus from craft fairs (more than a year!) we’re excited to share that we’ll be participating in the The 3rd Annual Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco on July 31st and August 1st, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day at the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion!  We’ll be launching our new line of Mahar Drygoods Party Ware and invite you to get a first look at all of the adorable celebration decorations, goody bags, party favors and great gifts galore!

This particular show is among our very favorite craft, art, design and DIY shows and features more than 225 of our talented indie-craft colleagues from all over the nation.  The spectacular setting over the San Francisco Bay is reason enough to attend, but there will also be great food, workshop and all manner of incredible handmade goods at the Fair!

Details, directions and any other question you may have about the event can be found on the Renegade Craft Fair Frequently Asked Questions page.

A few highlights of note!:

Discover the power of ‘craftivism’ at the Scarving Artists Knit-In, coordinated by the St. Anthony Foundation. Get a crash course in knitting and crochet and contribute a handmade-scarf to benefit the Bay Area homeless population!

San Francisco’s marvelous Museum of Craft and Folk Art will be leading several hands-on demonstrations inspired by their popular Etsy Craft-Bar nights.

The fantastic folks from Etsy will also be there to guid you through a whole host of quick and simple, make and take projects: stamping, sewing, printing and more.

Visit the Renegade Info Booth to custom-make your very own Renegade button and to pick up a free issue of 7×7 Magazine or Juxtapoz Magazine while supplies last.

Sign up for free-to-enter raffles for your chance to win a year-long subscription to Uppercase Journal or prizes provided by Chronicle Books, Beautiful/Decay, BurdaStyle.com and Jenny Hart’s Sublime Stitching.

And finally don’t forget to get your photo snapped in a free-to-use photobooth provided by The Magnolia Photobooth Co.!

Summer, one of the most anticipated seasons on the kid calendar for so many reasons - summer sunshine, vacation, picnics, beach trips, camp and the summer issue of Small Magazine! We always look forward to latest release of this favorite US indie online quarterly of great independent childrens design curated by editors Christine Visneau and Olivia Pintos-Lopez.

Stand-out favorites include in the new summer issue include a round-up of Favorite Bedtime Reads by Irene Hoofs, gorgeous kid scale furniture by Kalon Studios, a beautifully art directed fashion spread called Of Their Garden (with the most exquisite floral masks!) and very best of all the very first Small film called City Mice! And if for no other reason, you’ll want to peruse this particular issue to see Robert’s small finds feature! Excellent book reviews, handcrafted finds, commissioned artwork and smart selections of clothing, toys and decor are all presented in an aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly (paper-free) way. Subscriptions are free! Sign up here.

And we want to draw your attention again to the Small Magazine blog called Smaller. It’s a wonderful behind the scenes look at the making of the quarterly and daily inspirations compiled by Christine and Olivia. Go visit!

Heads up friends, we’ve got a little something special on the schedule this week!

On Thursday, June 3rd Robert will be speaking with Beth Engelman and Jenna Riggs the lovely ladies behind Mommy on a Shoestring and Mommy on a Shoestring Radio and you’re invited to listen in on their conversation. Tune in from 2:00 - 2:30 EST and listen to their chat about artisan crafted goods for kids, the goodies that grace our virtual shelves here at Mahar Drygoods and our antics over at the Junior Society.

If you’re unable to listen to the broadcast on Thursday, the podcast will be available on the Shoestring Radio website and also available for download on iTunes.

In true toddler fashion, we’re pleased to share that Mahar Drygoods turned this many (holds up four fingers) this spring! And one of the nicest presents we received was having two of our garlands featured in the May ‘birthday party’ issue of Parents Magazine.

Both our Pennant Garlands created by the amazing ladies at m*o*m and the happy Sunshine Swag sewn paper garlands we make in-house were featured in this fun pictorial spread.  Be sure to pick up a copy and check out all of their themed party ideas - including our favorites revolving around the classic kid games bingo and Twister.  Many, many thanks to the editors at Parents for their kind and continued consideration!

Dear friends! We want to extend a ‘heads up!’ to let you know that we will be out of the studio today through Wednesday, May 19th. There have been a convergence of happy events including a family wedding and the arrival of a new nephew - so we’re heading to Michigan for a few days to join in the celebrations! So please note that all orders placed during our absence will begin to ship upon our Thursday, May 20th return. Thank you for your kind understanding!

Check out this brilliant promotional video created by the crew at Little Hero Capes headquarters. It exhibits all of the ingenuity and imagination embodied by their capes, cuffs and masks. Congrats to them on a job well done! Enjoy the video and then peruse our entire selection of Little Hero Capes in the Clothing and Costumes Department.

We want to pass along a small update on recent efforts to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) - legislation that while well-meaning threatens to destroy the handmade children’s market. A ‘call to action’ letter was just released by our colleague Cecilia Leibovitz, president of the Handmade Toy Alliance and owner of Craftsbury Kids and we’ve reprinted it below with her permission.

Republicans and Democrats disagree on CPSIA amendment that would offer relief to thousands of small batch children’s product makers

Will small batch makers and specialty retailers of children’s products survive the CPSIA? This has always been the question, as from the beginning, this law has left us suddenly on the verge of extinction. Eighteen months of hard work has resulted at least in recognition of the fact that our preservation was not considered when this law was passed. However, we are still very much endangered, and action is needed now more than ever.

Thanks to the collective voices of American small businesses and citizens, we were heard by the media and our representatives, and could not be ignored. Once again, we must raise our voices, to prevent handmade children’s products from becoming a casualty of Washington’s inner partisan disagreements.

Recently a bill was introduced by the Department of Energy and Commerce, to amend the CPSIA, offering important relief to thousands of small batch business owners. This relief would prevent many from closing their doors. Democrats and Republicans in Washington can not see eye to eye on the need for the proposed agreement.

We need to tell our representatives today that it is time to take a stand, and show their commitment to keeping our businesses alive. We at the Handmade Toy Alliance urge you to call your representative in the House Commerce Committee and ask for the CPSIA draft bill to go to mark up and become open for discussion. We have been told time and time again, that we must call, call, and call if we are to be heard. The combined power of our voices is what it will take to keep small batch children’s products from becoming a distant memory in America. Please help! Contact the Minority side at 202-225-3641, and Majority side at 202-225-2927. You are likely to get an answering machine. Leave your name, city, state, House Representatives name and share that they must work together openly in committee to bring about an amendment to the CPSIA now.

We strongly encourage you to take just a few moments to lend your voice to this effort. It’s just a quick (but oh so important!) phone call to leave a message with your name, city, state, House Representatives name (find your representative’s name here) and simply state your request that Republicans and Democrats work together openly in committee to bring about an amendment to the CPSIA now. Amending the CPSIA is important not only to the survival of retailers like Mahar Drygoods but also the livelihood of many, many artists whose work we love, champion and sell everyday.  And we extend a warm and sincere ‘thank you’ for your participation!

Following are links to our past posts regarding CPSIA legislation:
January 31, 2009
December 18, 2008