Renegade Craft Fair @renegadecraft in San Francisco

The holidays are supposed to be about spending our hard earned money on mass produced items made in China and India. So obviously I was upset when my family decided we would MAKE presents this year instead of buying them. Who has that kind of time? Time is money and we spend our money on presents to save time. It’s the American way.

Fortunately, a friend suggested I attend the Renegade Craft Fair (@renegadecraft) this last weekend at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco. I got several great gift ideas from local artists. I know, I know; the goal of making presents for each other isn’t to rip off other people’s crafty ideas, but remember, I wasn’t the one pushing the handmade gift idea!

(In addition to easily “borrowed” ideas for craft projects, the show also had some great exhibitors peddling very cool wares…)

I met several artists including Bart McHale of MacCuttingBoards.com (@maccuttingboard). Mac Cutting Boards makes one-of-a-kind professional cutting boards from locally reclaimed scrap hardwoods. Bart’s beautiful hand crafted cutting boards really popped out and the craftsmanship was fantastic.

Another great exhibitor was Queen Bee’s Hive (@queenbeeshive), a candlemaker with candles made from a blend of high quality stuff, like coconut wax, soy and paraffin wax, a cotton-covered hemp wick and 100% essential oils.

In the end I know my family will be happy with their gifts but since time is money, these will probably be the most expensive gifts I ever give. I wonder if I can write this off on my taxes?