Felt Club Field Trip

After a bit of deliberation, Colleen and I set off on a spur of the moment Reconnaissance Trip to Los Angeles for the once a year event called the Felt Club. This is a large gathering of Indie crafts folk selling their handmade wares, everything from cards, books, clothing and jewelry to handspun yarn, felted hats, scarves, supplies and classes in needle felting and charm bracelet making. An incredible turn out! Hundreds of people showed up and the line outside the Shrine Expo hall went around the corner and down the street. Most items were in the $5.oo to $ 45. oo range and things were selling fast. We had thought about being a vendor at the show but felt we needed to check it out first. I think we will put it on our list for next year.
Another fun part of the show was the "Swap o rama rama "that was held in the mezzanine area. You brought items of clothing to recycle and for a small fee could go and cut up other items sorted by clothing type (a table for pants, shirts, tees,etc.) and remake them into wearables to take home. There were stations where you could silk screen your creation, embellish with the Janome Embellisher, photo prints...all of these with staff to help you with your work. It reminded me a bit of the Art Asylum room at Artfest, but with all clothing being worked on.
After strolling every isle and a bit of shopping, we headed towards home with a quick stop on Melrose for a delicious late lunch at a cafe and bakery called Pai'n. We had wonderful open faced sandwiches on fresh bakery bread and shared a dessert of chocolate mousse cake tart.
One of the booths....
View from above...
Upstairs in the mezzanine where the recycled clothing tables were set up.
I couldn't resist this cute tote bag made by Susie Ghahremani. I enjoyed meeting her and have admired her work for quite awhile.
Why is this girl smiling?
We get to share this yummy dessert!