If you’ve never been to DUMBO, let me paint a picture for you. Giant warehouses/apartments along the water’s edge, with million dollar views of Manhattan, surrounded by cobble-stoned streets and well, quite a few potholes. Throw in over 120 craft, vintage and food vendors and you had yourself the BUST Spring Craftacular and Food Fair, which set fire to Brooklyn on May 4th.
Not a cloud was in sight as the excited vendors began setting up their wares.
An hour before opening time, the line for the free (and awesome!) swag bags starting forming, with BUST fans eager to get their paws on such gems as Brooklyn Charm pieces, Hunx and His Punx albums and super-cute crocheted chimp beanies from MailChimp. Well worth the wait!
Come 11am, the vendors were ready to share their wares with the eager crowd.
Sweet Kili-kili Workshop sold an explosion of cute bows, ribbons, flowers, and colorful accessories.
Wish Upon A Press covered all of our pressing needs (haha) for artisanal cards and bunting.
The Pink Samurai pleased crowds with her unique crocheted wares.
The Chocolate Swirl was also a crowd favorite, giving everyone a sugar high with their yummy treats!
Metal Sugar provided the cutest pieces of jewellery and the cutest dog, Bosco, as well!
Under the Manhattan Bridge Archway, more top-quality vendors set up shop.
The Archway was also party central thanks to the Onkyo DJ Booth. DJs Vanessa Bley of Space Camp Radio, Beast Patrol and Ariel Agai of Onequalstwo and Pedal Power NYC played non-stop tunes for seven hours.
The vendors in the Archway were so diverse, ranging from hip underwear from Ken Wroy to unique wax-casted pieces from Goldengrove.
Charity foundation Bugsella sold organic onesies to raise proceeds for Hurricane Sandy relief.
Juli Raja was on hand to fit the cool BUST boys with hand-built cotton shirts.
The cutest pillows you’ve ever seen were over at in the seam.
All that browsing built up a mighty thirst and appetite, and luckily there were plenty of stalls to satisfy the crowd’s nutritional needs. The line never died down over at Mamu Thai Noodle, where many a happy customer enjoyed some noodles from Thailand.
Red Jacket Orchards provided delicious juices, including a strawberry and apple number that was to die for.
Shopping and eating weren’t the only things on the menu at the Craftacular – you could also learn a new skill! The lovely ladies at Twig Terrariums taught an eager crowd how to make their own terrarium masterpieces.
Crafters could also learn shoe making with Simple Shoemaking, embroidery with Miniature Rhino, charm necklace making with Brooklyn Charm, loom weaving with Textile Arts Center and needlepoint with Make Workshop. Phew!
BUSTies Sam, Emily and Kandie.
Little Crafters didn’t miss out on the fun, with their own MailChimp craft area where Mother’s Day cards, drawing, and general mess-making all took place.
All in all, the day couldn’t have been such a success without the hard work of all BUST staff, interns, and volunteers (thanks Brandee!).
BUSTies Lauren and Maggie.
Please join us in the fall for our next Craftacular!
We’d like to extend special thanks to our sponsors:
The 2013 BUST Magazine Spring Craftacular and Food Fair @ DUMBO was also sponsored in part by:
