Renegade Craft Fair

DO NOT APPLY AS A VENDOR.
WARNING!
I was excepted into the event. Made plans to rent a table. I have 8 emails of approval or talk about a canopy.
And ALL OF A SUDDEN. I get a letter, sorry we can’t have you on this date. Please apply again in the future. «Sorry for the confusion” — Jessica Kepler.
They took a $ 35 Judging fee.
I’m so mad, because I got a new canopy for this event. If someone else has this problem please email me. They will have to deal with the better business bureu. I will file it on JUNE 1, 2016. I’ll pay for the filing fee. You are welcome to join me.

Why the hate? Lots of interesting artisans, etsy brought to life is fine with me.
Yes, some things are ridiculous, un-​ownable, cheap, silly, or not for your tastes. But my girlfriend and I have been to 4 separate iterations of this craft fair, and have made purchases 3 out of 4 times, including 6 items (wall art, jewelry, etc) a year ago. We love going to craft fairs, and even in NYC there is a ton of repetition at things like Lincoln Center, craft street fairs, and Christmas markets.
Here, lots of vendors come from far and wide to peddle their wares, and often you can negotiate or even get a good deal at the end of Sunday. Some of the prices are on the higher side, but give negotiating a try — it’s worked every time.
Worst case, it’s a chance to wander through the wares of a lot of creative people, laugh at stupid pet mugs and Louisiana cutting boards, and leave after 60 minutes. Are you too good for that? Are you too snarky and jaded for that? Probably not.

This is like etsy in real life. I’ve been a few times but stopped going because I felt like they don’t trust you here (I really want to know what the memo said). In the best case you want to go a fair and meet friendly people who like crafts, but I felt like they were kind of distant and just polite. I went around 2009 – 2011.

Stuffs are cute but everything is unreasonably expensive!!!

Great market, very busy, very well organized: D

It’s over a week later and I still can’t get over how bad this fair was. Like the other reviewers said — it was the same stuff over and over again. Half of the booths seemed to be screenprinters and the other half were jewelry makers. On a plus side, the endless food vendors were awesome!

We stumbled upon this last weekend, while walking down along the river sipping on margarita’s from the Turkey’s Nest. It was a pleasant surprise for a lazy Sunday afternoon and we checked out a lot of local artist’s peddling their wares. We even jumped in the photo booth for a free memory of the event.

I had a blast at the Renegade Craft Fair last weekend. It was so big that half way through we had to stop to eat at the Smorgasburg Food Market across the street. I do agree with Stephanie V. that some of the vendors get a little repetitive. There was a ton of jewelry, much of it very similar. But each vendor definitely has their own uniqueness.
I love checking out products on
and etsy. So it was pretty cool to me to be able to see these items that I’ve been drooling over online, in person. Not only that but to also be able to chat with the artists themselves is interesting. That’s what I love about the idea of these homemade crafts. These are real people who pour their heart and soul into everything they make. And they’re so enthusiastic about it.
Most of the vendors accepted credit cards but they were having an issue getting service so I had to pay cash a couple times.
Besides that there was some of the same types of items, there was also a wide range of items as well. From clothes and jewelry to posters and greeting cards to birdhouse clocks and ipod docks to terrariums and air plants.
The icing on the cake was the location right on the river with an amazing view of the city. And conveniently the East River Ferry is right there to take you to Midtown Manhattan.
I am definitely considering going again next year.

I’ve been to the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn twice. I have mixed feelings about it.
On one hand, it’s great, because it’s, well, an enormous craft fair that seems to go on and on. Also, it’s pretty awesome to walk through what is basically Etsy come to life!!! The prices are also cheaper at the fair than if you were to buy the items off the internet.
On the other hand, I feel as if the vendors could have been curated better. It wasn’t an issue with the quality of the products offered (which were all very professional), it was that most of the fair was made up of vendors with the same kind of style offering the same kind of thing over and over.
I’m not sure if this is because these are the people who seek to take part in the fair or if it’s reflective of the tastes of the organizers. But after the first twenty booths you check out, it feels like you’re coming across endless miniature book necklaces, the same small bird charm used in a million different ways (and sometimes the same way), feather earring after feather earring and lots of bronze jewelry made from casts of animal bones and chicken feet, etc.
If you’re really into Etsy, I recommend checking it out. Actually, I recommend checking it out anyway, because if you aren’t really into Etsy, this stuff may be somewhat new and exciting to you!
I have discovered some wonderful artists at the Renegade Craft Fair, I just would love for there to be more diversity among the vendors, and as an Etsy seller and addict, I know that this is possible to achieve! Though maybe, what you find here are the vendors who are able to pay the booth fees, I don’t know. Anyway, that’s my two cents on Renegade Craft Fair Brooklyn!

Not sure how to rate this event:
Needs improvement? Needs a swift kick?
I had a blast walking people-​gazing at the crazy hipster-​chic artisans around but was disappointed by the organization of the space and lack of food options (diverse food vendors, fun food trucks). It was weird to leave the fair to go get a snack, I just assumed I could try something new and interesting at the park, nope… no food options.
I think this event could have been way better… live music? raffles? I don’t know, I am from the country so our craft fairs are pretty fun, engaging and diverse. I did see some beautiful things that if I had money would totally purchase, I would consider going again and planning in advance to get some interesting gifts for family and friends. It was a little sad to see such hyper-​designed booths next to under-​designed and lackluster booths, do they let anyone have a booth at this fair?
Oh: To people seeking bargains at this kind of event: try the sale bin at Walmart and stop devaluing the arts.

BOOOORRIIIIIIINGG !
I only saw 6 things being sold here:
1. fancy, handmade soap
2. screen printed t-​shirts
3. greeting cards
4. jewelry
5. stuffed animals/​monsters
6. mugs and plates with designs on them
The only thing I saw that I thought was interesting and different were the wooden belt buckles.

A couple of thoughts. I’ve done the Brooklyn Renegade show before. While it’s exciting to be accepted into a much buzzed about show…
1. The price of the show is very high. Just the basics, meaning your vendor fee, transportation, the cost of your materials, and time spent at the fair will be in the hundreds of dollars. Doesn’t include all the other incidentals which I don’t have to go into here.
When you know what your real costs are, you realize that if you only make back your booth cost ($ 400) you have basically donated your product and time to the show.
What are some of the things you can get back? I got about 200 hits on my website from my button on the vendor page. Didn’t get any extra promotion from Renegade, though a lucky few do. I didn’t get any local press from this show either, although that is always another potential benefit for some people. I did meet a lot of wonderful vendors and made friends & connections. I lived to tell the tale, that must also be worth something ;-) And I have a popular show on my resume. Oh and I made approx $ 400 Gross that weekend, so I did lose money.
2. If it is an outdoor show, like some of Renegade’s you are at the mercy of the elements, please consider this because it is not a little thing.
Even though I was in a tent with walls, both mine and my boothmate’s displays got knocked down by the wind that weekend and the force of the wind also covered everything with red dust. Many vendors had to pack up and leave early because of the weather, tents were ruined, merchandise was ruined and the window of nice weather for browsing customers was relatively short. Fortunately I had enough people around me to physically hold our tent down. And even though staking of tents was not allowed, we did end up staking ours, and still had to hold that baby down with our friends. If I’m not mistaken, the Brooklyn Renegade shows are actually notorious for unpredictable weather.
So, that leads me to #3
Don’t believe the hype. I’d say tone it down to about 50%, 60% percent to get a real sense of what the show is like for the average vendor.
I took a break from my booth to check out all of the other great stuff, and by all reports from seasoned Renegade vendors, that particular year in Brooklyn was the worst in sales they’d ever done. And yet, after this show, the Renegade Crew blogged and commented everywhere about what an overwhelming success the show was. Remember — They speak for themselves when they say that. They certainly didn’t request feedback from the vendors at large.
The show organizers NO DOUBT made a lot of money and had great success. The show attendees probably had a really nice day too. But it’s hard to get the real low-​down from a vendor perspective. Most vendors will not publicly criticize a show, because it’s dangerous and unprofessional — and I would say also, because the positive hype that some shows generate makes it appear that if they didn’t do well, it is entirely their own fault.
4. Consider your price points. The Renegade Fairs attract a young crowd, not known for their wealth. Unless you are one of the chosen few who clean up at this show (that’s about 10 out of 250 vendors) you simply must be able to offer appealing products in the $ 20 and under range.

I’m surprised this rating is so low! This craft fair was AWESOME. Yeah the prices are a little steep, but I imagine they have to be if crafting is your living. Plus, crafting materials are not always cheap! I met the woman who made my favorite bird necklace ever! I’d emailed her a little while back, and she remembered me! That was a little gem of a moment in time. Most of these crafts are pricey, but there’s a lot of attention to detail in the crafts, and these people are serious about what they do!
I went this afternoon and it was kind of a sand storm, with the wind blowing dust and dirt everywhere… kinda gross, not gonna lie. I also wish there were more food /​beverage vendors. Like baked goods, home made candies, pickled products, DIY sodas, chomp nam nam drool

This year’s fair is the same as last year’s; lots of T-​shirts for way too much money! hand-​made messanger bags, extremely expensive stuffed animals, ceramics, soaps, and Jewelry. There were also poster stands, and cards, and wall décor thats ok, but also too expensive. Get my point? I ended up buying one T-​shirt that I really liked, but nothing else was worth their price. I think overall things are nice and different, but just overpriced.

An event this good only comes once a year. All my favorite etsy people where there. If you aren’t into these stuff then you are wasting your time. Deductive logic, if you know what to expect you will get what you expect. Mind you not all handmade are of good quality. But these are mostly novelty items. Something as cute as these products you can’t get in your local retail store. Its (being in Renegade) so much better than buying online because you actually get to experience the product first hand. I don’t need to tell you the relevance that these things have you will see it being copied by retailers years from now. My job to shop, enjoy, and leave. This is not Six Flags who cares about the food. It’s a craft fair?!

I came all the way from CT to visit Renegade. I had always wanted to go to one of these non-​Grandmaesque craft shows, but CT never has any because well, it kinda sucks. I did see some things that I liked, a lot that I didn’t but most of the items were too expensive. I understand they are handmade but geeze. I felt like I came all this way and had to buy something, so I ended up getting a $ 10 tee with a cute owl on it. Don’t even remember what booth it was from. Don’t know that I would go again, but it was something different to do.

Yikes… I’ve been to all the Renegades in Brooklyn, and two in Chicago. My best friend is a vendor and usually stays at my place during the show from out of town.
But yeah, yikes. This year the number of vendors, spread out over the two sides of the park was just a disaster. Being on the smaller side of the park, you’d be lucky if people even knew you were there, being on the larger side, you’d be lucky if people had the energy to get to your booth.
Also, total lack of food options. Three food vendors for three hundred craft vendors is not a good equation. Where did all the $ 300 registration fees go to?
It did at least seem like similar-​but-​not-​competing vendors were placed near each other (IE bike messenger bags + bike related prints and hats) and there was a good separation of competitors (IE screen printed shirts).
Not the best Renegade to date, that’s for sure.

My friends & I were waiting all week long for this fair and were disappointed after we walked through it.
The booths seem to feature the same things; cute tees, crafty tote/​messenger bags, little stuff animals, cute tees, crafty tote/​messenger bags, little stuff animals… yea, you get my point? and prices were alittle out of reach for us too. I think there might have been three/​four booths out of the 300 that were reasonable with prices; a vintage jewelry booth, a bag booth, bike booth, and the typewriter jewelry booth. Sadly though, we traveled all the way here to buy nothing.
And I highly agree with another Unilocaler– don’t come to this fair on an empty stomach. Food is extremely limited to carnivores.

i first heard about the art fair from
(a super website featuring a beautiful mess of handcrafted pieces from all types of artists). thus, i was stoked and almost apprehensive that i would over consume. however, that wasn’t the case due to some of the redundant nature graphic prints on t-​shirts, recycled material basics, and a bit too simple cards. also, the prices were a bit too high for my liking, especially from some of the sweet but useless things (but hey, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure). of course, amongst the masses of tents, i definitely did appreciated the handful of vendors who found their creative way of standing out amongst the crowds – such as meancards (hilariously witty and mean), a tea vendor with sweet packaging, prints from talented graphic designers and illustrators, and «get felt up» (smart and craft – love it!).
overall, it was a nice stroll through mcCarren park and we could all use a little inspiration and sun.
by the way, i came home with nothing. good or bad?

Don’t get me wrong – I love crafts and DIY and all that. And a craft fair with almost 300 vendors sounded amazing on paper. But then I trekked out to Williamsburg this afternoon and was sorely disappointed.
Virtually every booth sold some combination of: wood block prints, greeting cards, jewelry featuring branches or swallows, silk-​screened tees, mustaches/​beards, canvas tote bags, or recycled messenger bags. Ugh.
Oh, and prices are pretty high, too – don’t expect to find any great bargains here.
There were a few unique vendors (hi Cakespy and antique typewriter jewelry woman!), but after seeing fewer than ten booths, I realized that I’d already seen it all. This would have been much more palatable if it were 75% the size, like Market NYC.
Also, don’t come hungry, because the food offerings were kind of slim.
Tip: This is truly hipster heaven. If you’re allergic to hipsters (achoo!), stay far, far away.