Well, it’s official… my train of Renegade Craft Fairs for the summer is done! I had such a blast visiting Austin, Brooklyn, San Francisco, and meeting new people in my town of LA. It was quite a commitment and I’m happy it’s done! It consumed all my creative juices since March, and now I can move on to other things… like a fall collection! Yay!
Renegade San Francisco was great, partly because I adore San Francisco, partly because it was my last event of the year (most likely), and partly because I got to spend more time with great friends and take a road trip with my man. This community of crafters is so amazing and supportive and it was like summer camp, traveling to and fro, seeing some of the same vendor faces at each stop. I also met a done of awesome customers and lots of people that are using my book, which is always so nice to hear!
Our drive up was eventful, as we got delayed by a major car wreck along the 5 freeway. We usually don’t take the 5, but we were looking to save time… ha! Guess again! It took us 9 hours to get there along the 5. Partly because of the wreck, and partly because we missed the turn off at the 5 / 99 switch. I’ve done this before, since the 5 exits to the left and it’s so easy to miss. Next thing we knew: Bakersfield!
We eventually got there and checked into our adorable hotel. My man and I usually splurge and stay at the semi-swank Galleria Park Hotel, which we did so again. I really like this hotel. Everyone’s friendly, the rooms are super stylish yet not over the top, I love the city views, and it’s a certified green hotel. What more can you ask for? Below is a photo of the lobby and our room views.
On Saturday, we headed off to day one of Renegade SF. Wow, the turnout was insane! I heard from Sue (the Renegade organizer) that they estimated that 12,000 people came on Saturday alone. Wow!
As always, I shared with the lovely Jenifer and Bob Lake of sprout studio, and that was as fun as always too. They took us out to an amazing sushi joint called Moki, where we had some of the best miso soup ever. It was a well deserved meal of warm comfort goodness. We also had some delicious lunches at the famous Greens restaurant, as it is conveniently located in the same Fort Mason complex as Renegade. Oh, their soups and morning treats are to die for!
The views from Fort Mason are spectacular, as you’re just off on a long dock in the middle of the bay!
Our drive home was delightful, as we stopped in Big Sur and had lunch with my brother who’s a chef at Ventana. If you’ve never been there, you should go for the view alone. But our food was super delicious too! This was our view from our seat… not too bad, huh?
After Big Sur, it was a gorgeous return home along Highway 1, then we crossed over to the 101 and continued home. All in all, a great journey! Huge thanks to everyone who came out to say hi! It means the world to me. See you again soon I hope!
