Our daughter suggested we went to the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago 2025 as we were in the area.  She had been to the fair many times in previous years when she lived in the city and enjoyed it, and it was my husband's and my first time there.  The fair was held along Division Street between Damen Ave and Ashland Ave in Wicker Park, about half a mile one way. There were over 400 artists offering all types of arts and crafts.  There was something for everyone to appreciate.  It took us a little under 2 hours to walk around the entire fair.  Our focus was on ceramic art and all sorts of cute looking things.  I could not resist but purchased a very cute crochet baby chick on a stick, like a flower on a branch.  I guess I would need a tall vase to display it, haha. For any outdoor fair, weather is a main element to contribute to its success.  We were fortunate that it was a cool summer day, and it was a delight to leisurely browse the booths, even when walking from east to west facing the sun.  Of course, my sun hat helped a lot. There were many outdoor restaurants and eateries along the fair.  It was good people-watching while enjoying a snack and drink at those outdoor seats. Of course, passersby would look at people eating as well. It was amazing that there were so many dogs going out with their humans in the fair, and as always, my daughter and I loved watching them as well! We had a great time, and I would love to return to the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago in the future. read more

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Well, I have been coming to various iterations of this fair for quite a while now and gotta say, classic September Division St. is where it's at these days. The winter one has gotten too crowded in a place that once seemed sufficiently spacious, and I never liked the spring popup. That said, be sure to arrive right at opening (11 am) to beat the crowds as best you can, and do research on vendors ahead to see what you might want to seek out (we couldn't figure out their booth numbering system at all, though). Vendors from all over the country, not just IL, come to this thing! We were super stoked to see out favorite print maker, Alternate Histories, from Pittsburgh, since he was initially waitlisted; his art has WPA-style posters and other vintage graphics with Godzilla and other kaiju, among other things. I also added to my "meta election button collection" with a pin from World Famous Original from LA, and bought a small print from Family Tree Designs. Most of the vendors are along Division, but don't miss a few little side streets with food trucks, organizations, a van from True North (antique collective in Morris, IL) and such. I always pay attention to the trends at this fair, and 2019's seemed to be: - tiny plants, particularly in macrame pots - macrame in general (at one point I thought I thought we had jumped in a time machine to my childhood living room) - Ruth Bader Ginsberg - Brass jewelry - cbd oil in all sorts of stuff - flavored sugars + salts - as my friend observed, "Anyone thinks that they can make greeting cards" (some with more success than others...) - ethically made things (bravo to this, by the way) Music was provided by Reckless Records (who were also selling albums), and freebies/samples from Harken wine, Kind bars and Haribo gummis (the guy with the giant duffle of gummy bear packets just shoving them into everyone's hands as he walked down the street was hilarious). I still miss Magnolia photobooth; if they were there I could not find them. :( Bonus points for vendors that provided affordable water! $2 for a bottle from Dinky Delights donuts is totally doable. Props also to this fair for staying free admission for so many years; makes for a fun and affordable day out! There weren't too many things I couldn't live without, but i got the business cards of a lot of the artists I liked and added them here for your enjoyment. Overall, a nice day outside in the city; see you next year! read more

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For those without any knowledge, it's a craft fair with stuff made by over 300 different artists. Some artists are local and some have travelled from as far as California or Texas to display and sell their work. The fest consists of handmades, shirts, jewelry, onesies and more. There is no admission cost. Food and beverage is limited to one stand located centrally or purchasing from any of the businesses on the street. This year's festival was oook. Most options were geared for the ladies, babies and hipsters. I wish there were handmade jewelry pieces for guys, or anything for guys really. That's GUY guys stuff and there was hardly any. The any consisted of posters and t-shirts with kitschy designs great for the younger man just moving into the city. I can't go to one of these without buying something, I was stuck between some crazy printed socks and enamel jewelry by this one dudette.. Leigh Navarro. (See www.leighelena.com) Leigh had these wooden rings with glass enamel over copper, the head of the ring is larger and circular with vibrant colors and slightly raised. Yes, I got one. I hope my gal pal will be as enamored as I, when it was found. I've included a photo for you guys to see. Guys.. this is were the ladies are and don't oggle. Bring a lot of cash, some sun tan lotion, good sexy walking shoes and a Sigg bottle of water. Bring your dog too, there were so many people with dogs anyway. read more

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago - Pin cushion, but also a dog toy? - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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well it's worth a try ... I read about the art fair and expected it to be huge and spectacular and told my husband I'd probably want to go both days .. I walked it in about an hour and that included stopping by and browsing then was done. The area is cute .. cute shops and murals .. but the stuff at booths .. well I didn't buy anyting. There were some booths giving free stuff... bottled water, ice tea, kind bars .. samples of snacks. that was nice. But I went with cash expecting to find treasures I had to have .. not saaa much most of the reviews of the fair rave about it ... so lots of people must love it. It wasn't to my taste. With that said I don't regret trying it. You never know until you try .. I did enjoy looking around.lots of people walking dogs which was cute. read more

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This is a nice size craft fair aimed at people with modern, urban tastes. The majority of vendors were selling one of the following: jewelry, candles, cards, leather goods or t-shirts. You'll definitely find something to bring home. I recommend taking the blue line to get there and even though the website says you can walk from the Damen or Division stops, the Division stop is much closer. read more

Fun place for cool finds and quirky artists. The fair had a ton of gem jewelry, handmade greeting cards, giclée chicago and animal art, candles and clothing. It does seem like the craft fairs repeat themselves, as I've felt like I'm seeing the same items offered at different fairs. It would be nice to have a bit more variety and less expensive crafts for sale, as the fronts offering $235 for a necklace were a bit unreasonable for wicker park/Ukrainian village prices. Still fun to look through, though! read more

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Great local artisans, great jewelry, great music, an abundance of food trucks and brown line right there for easy transport out.

Again, another great arts and craft fair in this "fair" City of ours. It is absolutely loaded with all manner of vendors and if you can't find something to like you just aren't looking hard enough...or are just way too tedious and unable to be pleased. Either way, I love it when this one rolls through Division Street in the Wickertown area. read more

I woke up Saturday morning and ran to my gym (Wicker Park Fitness) and I looked and saw a bunch of t-shirt vendors and other crafty things. Because I had plans I decided not to check the festival out on Sat. Sunday afternoon I walked over and checked out the merchandise and I have to say I was not impressed. Most of the t-shirts I saw every other 5 booths all looked the same. As Kyle H said there were not a lot of things available for men outside of all the tees and posters. I am seriously waiting on the city to crack down on strollers at festivals, because they are just in the way, especially the ones where the kids look too damn big to be in them. Bright spots of the fair was some of the music they were playing, the good people of Moonshine outside grilling for the festival walkers, the t-shirt I brought from the ice cream truck vendor (mrtastees.com) and actually meeting the guy that created the t-shirt I was already wearing which says, "I Listen To Bands That Don't Even Exist Yet" (madewithawesome.com) read more

This is one fair I drop everything in my life to attend. Every year there seems to be more variety added to this event. Finding every gem for every showcase is a challenge, this huge warehouse is a maze of itself but they seems to pack a lot here which I like. This year I enjoyed the areas where they let us design our own crafts such as the area where you can use a dremel to etch your design into wood or a leather tag. The only part of this fair that is stressful is the looking for parking section. The parking lots and local street parking are usually full but having a bit patience usually gets you a spot. read more

The tight booths and mass of people, strollers and dogs make this a hard Fair to get into the small booths and peruse. And sometimes the handmade crafts required it. Why was I always made to feel like I was walking in the wrong direction too? I love the IDEA of this craft fair, but I found little TO love here. I'm past the age of wanting to wear ironic t-shirts or deck my dorm room with concert posters. So that's about the extent for guys at this fair. For a woman with lots of disposable income? A goldmine! She'll find those peacock feather clips, unique wallets, handbags, dresses, t-shirts, greeting cards, and buttons galore; that she can't live without! At a price, mind you. I loved Mana Food Bar, Circa Ceramics, Megan Lee Designs, and I bought some soap at Oliba, an organic soap shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5000598 I don't think I even knew (or cared) that my black pepper lime soap was organic...it smelled freakin' awesome! With that great find aside, I think I'll leave this one to the ladies and do my homemade craft shopping on Etsy. read more

I'm guessing some people seem to find themselves in a dilemma before visiting Renegade. They had grown out their ironic beards to just the right length (just too long to be inappropriate for an office job but just too short to look homeless) or they had just lost enough weight to fit into their skinny jeans or they had just discovered a band they were sure that absolutely no one else had heard of. But they had nowhere to show their hipster glories off. Rainbo Club was played out and dark, they had slept with all the new people at the Flat Iron, and they got banned from the Burlington. What to do, what to do, what to do. It's a existential dilemma! Oh, look, a quick peak at the Onion A/V Club showed them a Renegade Craft Fair this weekend! Joy! Or, sorry, understated excitement mixed with scorn at the idea of attending a street festival. Alright, not everyone there is a hipster. But I swear this festival is about as narrowcast to the avant garde (read kitschy) as any in Chicago. It's as if Rotofugi threw up all over four blocks of Division. Plush alien dolls? 50s ad key chains? Purses made from 80s hair metal records? Concert posters from Pittsburgh of Arctic Monkeys (alright, I admit, I almost bought this - I just love that band)? David Hasselhoff t-shirts? Yes, all there. OH MY IRONY! Oh my *expensive* irony! It's amazing how much people can sell something that cost $4 to screen print for. I'm all for the homemade movement but not $30 for it. There is so much junk here that I have a theory. This movement is kept afloat by people buying other people's crap in the hopes that other people will buy theirs. That all being said, it's not a bad fair. There are some fun things to be found that a buyer could explore the internet for hours for an not come across. Some of the vendors are really good at their crafts and have high quality merchandise (especially the jewelry). Just go in knowing what you're looking for, skip the booths that aren't selling it, and you can survive (relatively cheaply). Even if you're not a hipster. Just a disclaimer: I am a sucker for silly refrigerator magnets so I managed to spend $10 there. So maybe, in the end, I'm a bit of that kind of guy. Though the only good part of Rainbo Club is the photo booth. I swear. read more

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago - So many crafts, it's easy to overlook the band. - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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TREND WATCH: Jewelry and children's toys are down a bit, but somehow t-shirt offerings have increased (who would have thought it possible?); the big development this year is the explosion of arty concert posters from various indie acts. I counted nine booths of these but recall none from last year. While I hate the penchant for strip-mining a trend, I have to admit that I spent a lot of time at these booths. Almost every one of them had at least one Decemberists poster to tempt me. Prices ranged from $5 to $100 and several of the same bands were repeated from booth to booth; I bet that you can name at least a few. I do have a weakness for the faux-vintage Letterpress-type cards, both the humorous and the classy ones. This year I bought from Cracked Designs and Pearl & Marmalade. It was funny to see some of the exact same selections as last year at those vendors and others. As long as my friends keep having babies I'll be in the market for at least one or two of these "Congratulations on your little monster" types of cards every year. Sadly, the "Timber! I'm falling for you" types of cards are not much use to me at the moment. And for the second year in a row I passed up the skull and crossed spoon/fork dinner plates from Folded Pigs. Next year I might cave. Most of the booths are still entirely skippable (all the t-shirts, for example). Obviously there was much better weather this year, and thus much heavier crowds. Yay/Boo. I did like the pipe and horn music that they had at 1pm: not crappy festival rock but fun, lively stuff to have in the background. read more

I was never into arts and craft events until I found Renegade Craft Fair. I really like the Renegade Craft Fair on Division Street. Lots of local vendors and artists. Lots of artists from other places as well. It's all very Indie, chic, modern and, well, it's for sure not Grandma's craft fair. No admission fee. And it is several blocks long, which takes a little while to get thru. There are various food vendors, cash, no tickets or anything silly like that. They have Goose Island Beer and Tito's vodka drinks. What I did not like was people who take up room in booths or on the street with their dogs in large strollers. Yes, in fact there were a few people with dogs in strollers, which is their business, until they are all up in the way, then I think it is completely ridiculous. read more

Sure you can find a lot of this stuff on etsy. Sure the hipster ratio was high. Sure many of the people present looked like they woke up hung over after staying up smoking pot and listening to Phish all night - but some of the art was actually kind of impressive. Worksmanship was hit or miss, but there were certainly some quality ideas in the metalworks - cufflinks, bracelets and the like. Admittedly much of the clothing and wall-art had a lame-o college vibe, but I'm really not sure why this offends people so much - this was a craft fair, NOT a juried competition. read more

This was pretty amazing especially if you love independent jewelry artist. I do! So many creatives doing amazing things. This is definitely a place to go when you are looking for inspiration - artistic and for life! My highlights were the amazing fabric scarves made and exported from India. The mini weaved (with a mini loom) bracelets inspired by an art project the designer made when she was a 11. Mashalla has officially opened so to see the store flanking the festival was so awesome. I'm so thrilled it was in East Pilsen this year. It was definitely the most chill street fest I've ever been too. I hope they come back to the neighborhood. But don't miss out next year - no matter where they hold it! read more

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago - The uber cool (and creative) coffee cart with a coffee float! Yum!!! - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I'm a fan because the stuff at the Renegade Craft fair is so much more fun to look at than lots of other fairs. I love stalking cute little dogs at this fair too because wicker park is full of adorable dogs whose owners bring them out for the fair. I've picked up some really cool prints from here in past years and it's fun to see so many talented people with their work all in one place. I really love I'm Smitten shirts and I almost always buy one. They are one of the booths I look forward to the most. I was sooo bummed because I thought I'd missed it this year but no, it's this weekend! Fun! On the downside there are a lot of vendors who are way too expensive. I know it costs a lot to make some of these things plus the price of a booth but I like to be DIY myself and I know some of these things are way, way overpriced. Please understand that I do want to give you my money and I maybe would buy 2 tee shirts if they were soft and around $20 each but I will not buy one for $40...even if your art is cool. And $90 picture frames don't scream DIY spirit to me if all you did was find a frame in the trash and paint it blue so you could call it green but what do I know? I like to make candles that smell like dirt and give them to my friends for free. read more

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We try never to miss Renegade, outdoors in the Summer/Fall, indoors in the Winter. Today's September fair just seemed even bigger and better than usual, so put it on your bucket list and c'mon down! read more

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WONDERFUL street fair in the heart of Bucktown! I usually am hesitant to join in on the hyped up street festivals and fairs as I fear being crushed beneath the feet that tend to flock to them, but it was a gorgeous fall Sunday and I just had to get out into the open air and I am so glad I did! The length of the fair is perfect - long enough so you can get lost in it and really find some great products, but not too much that you feel like you're missing out on things. Delicious food and drink, and you can always stop along the way at one of the restos along Division if you need a longer break. My only complaint is that things were higher priced than I would've liked, but that's probably not fair of me ;-) read more

This is the best handmade show I've been to. I came from LA to sell my products here and I was very impressed by the craftsmanship of the other vendors. I saw a lot of shops that had unique products that I've never seen before-not even online. I go to about 8-13 markets per month and this one is by far the best in terms of variety, craftsmanship, uniqueness, organization, and size. As far as the prices- there are vendors that charge a high price for the items they make (maybe what they sell is expensive and or time consuming to make) ,there are vendors that are fairly reasonable, and there are vendors that can compete with store/name bought product with price & quality. It's the thrill of the hunt to find the gems. In comparison to other craft fairs this market is no more expensive than most. It's a big fair so you'll be there for at least 2 hours even if you only stop at every 5th booth you see. Cash is usually preferred (sometime they won't charge tax when using cash) but most vendors accept card. Many people brought their dogs and kids. It's a great place to get gifts and unique items. If you aren't into that kind of stuff then it's still an awesome vibe and there is plenty to see and do that doesn't involve shopping. If you don't like crowds come right when it opens at 11. Some vendors start opening shop much earlier. This is a great free market. Shop or just enjoy the cool vibe. read more

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I thoroughly enjoyed this fair; so much so that I went both Saturday and Sunday. I liked that it wasn't the old knick knacks and Christmas crap found at most craft fairs in the burbs. I, personally, love graphic tees and anything with an animal on it so I was in heaven. I picked up a necklace with one of my fave animals (aardvark) on it, a shirt with another one of my fave animals on it (manatee), a dress with yet another fave animal on it (squid), and some hair ties with Alice (in wonderland) and the Cheshire cat (my fave!). The Mana Food Bar tent was fabu... though my brownie was melty- boo! The big bite tent wasn't bad either but their spicy black bean burger is from Costco... it comes from a green box and you get 10 patties for $6 and I have 2 boxes in my basement sooo that was sort of a let down but the spinach pie was yum-may and so were the BBQ seitan tacos. I'll defo be back next year for more animals goodies. Overall, I had a great time beside the way overcrowded booths and swimming upstream in the crowd no matter what way you go. read more

Yeah, call me spinster, corny, hipster, oldie and whatever the hell you want. I just LOVE this fair. Apparently, it's also very attractive to children under the age of 3 and to dogs of any size and breed. And more than a couple of idiots who haven't figured out how to have a conversation among themselves without creating a traffic jam and and throwing all neighboring female (me included) into PMS rage. If you pass the crowd element though, there's lot to do and to see. I particularly love the unique posters, jewelry pieces and unique bibelots that you can find, and I am a big buyer. What can I say. All the vendors are so nice, they should be cast in the remake of "The Sound of Music" (what's up with that, by the way? Why is no one touching it?) I feel in love with a tiny piece of wood shaped as my beloved homeland with a hollowed heart to figure Paris, and with its shiny silver chain, it was only $25. Love has no price, I say. Go early on Saturday, and take your Tylenol with you. read more

3 stars split 3 ways.... 5 stars -- Hipster spotting. My goodness the random outfit generator was in full force. Sure, I wore old cowboy boots with jeans and a plain white t-shirt in an urban setting, but the amount of hipster attire was off of the charts. I wish there was a Hipster scavenger hunt, so we could walk around and check off the box next to "Person wearing 1 leg warmer (Excludes any gym setting)". At the RCF, you could win or lose in minutes. 5 stars -- Weather. Goodness it was beautiful and crowd was well behaved. 1 star -- Renegadeness. I think that any renegade crafts would not cost $60 for a screened poster. Purses and kids gear do not scream renegade to me. It screams "Nuevo Wicker Park". None of this was renegade enough to keep the word "renegade" in the title. How about "Faux Hipster Spend Fair"? The Postcard Machine Operator can stay with the "Renegade Craft Fair". That was the best both at the whole joint. Hilarious. read more

This is for the Renegade Holiday Sale: Certainly more cramped than the September outdoor version (but minus the monsoon type rainfall...). The holiday sale was a lot of fun! Tons and tons of vendors spread out in different rooms (I made three rounds on the first room because I thought that was it! Then I saw someone eating a cupcake, and I thought, "there's cupcakes here! I will find you cupcakes!" Thus, I began to wander and found more treasure! (Aargh!). Pros: A bazillion vendors selling a bazillion things Like shopping on Etsy without the shipping and handling charges The pleasure of giving your money to an individual and not a corporation The freaking adorable wood and silver earrings I got for myself Cons: Crowded After a while, a lot of the booths start to blend together, lots of people making the exact same thing...need to get a little more original! No parking information was available...it would have been helpful to know there was a meter parking lot four blocks away or that most of the surrounding area was permit only parking Map? And maybe I totally walked in and missed in my power shopping mania, but it would have been awesome if there could have been some type of map when you first walk in so you could get an idea where people were? I spent forever looking for one particular vendor. read more

I was very anti-RCF for a very long time because my application to rent a booth got rejected the first year. But my friend really wanted to go this year, so I tagged along. Now I see why my booth got rejected. I paint furniture, and there was seriously noone there selling anything bigger than a three ring binder. It was mostly clothes (or knits), jewelry, baby stuff, or paper products. I would have stuck out like a sore thumb. The stuff offered was OK for the most part, but I would have liked a bit more variety. And i have to agree with Ross R. The people watching here is insane. Youve got pretty much all your hipster types here, and the looks range from "oh Ok, thats actually a sweet outfit" to "what in MF hell was that chick thinking this morning". For the first time ever, I felt like an outsider wearing just a plain tshirt, sweater and jeans. weird. read more

I love it here. This year, 2017, seemed to be the best yet! Delicious food trucks, affordable jewelry booths and really great crafts. read more

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago - The absolute cutest (and most clever!) little succulents in thimbles! - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ya know, the strollers and the rude people annoy me too, but I liked this shindig. The whole idea of getting all sorts of people together to show off their talents, and their desire to follow their passion of making something...I think that's pretty awesome. I really wanted to browse jewelry (love the hand-made original stuff), but I agree with what a lot of people were saying, it was hard to get into the booths. Not to worry, I muscled my stroller-less self up there to check it out. Didn't find anything I had to have, however. But there was lots of cool items. I also loved all the screen prints and the t-shirts. Maybe it was the nice day, and the nice company, but I had a nice time, even without making a purchase. read more

I went there with the SO and his mom, thinking we'd find some funky crafts since she was visiting and is into funky crafts. We went way out of our way to go there, thinking we'd find some cool unique stuff... Nothing there was unique and we didn't buy a thing. :( It seemed like every booth had the same stuff... about every other booth had American Apparel t-shirts that they silk screened with their own design. Every 3rd booth had some sort of small doll / stuffed animal that's made of felt, somewhat flat, and made to look ugly (there's a name for these i can't think of them..)... then every 3rd booth was selling small 1" buttons... is this the new swatch watch or slap band trend?.. also, everything seemed slightly on the pricey side... for being a starving artist type craft fair, nothing was priced to impulsively buy (there were 1 or 2 things I might have bought had they not been priced twice what they should have been)... It's so funny that everyone there thought they were all trendy and unusual, but really they looked more the same than people who shop at the GAP. read more

I can't give this festival anything but 5 stars for all the hard work that goes into it every year. I found this years to be pretty exceptional. It seemed people were even more inovative and the quality of many things has gone up. Messenger bags made of sail boat material, felted wool lap tops cozies, cute womens caps, handmade intricate jewelry, amazingly constructed lamps and other house hold goodies. I admire everyone in this, for they work their asses off to make products to sell, and some travel far to be a part of it. The labeling of all people "hipsters" at this event is just immature. People who support and produce for this fair are taking part in more than just Michigan Ave shopping and should be proud of it. read more

This isn't your grandmothers craft fair. If you want doilies or teapot covers, find a church bazaar. Renegade Craft Fair has a great variety of clothing, jewelery, accessories, decorations, etc., all aimed at young, hip tastes. And the location is perfect, as the wide division street and sidewalks allows for large booths and easy walking. It's perfect for finding unique gifts for others as well (get an early start on your holiday shopping). A lot of people reviewing this fair seemed to be under the misconception that this is a DIY fair. Understand that this is like all craft fairs in that you come here to buy crafts someone has already made (or get inspiration for your own future creations). If you want to do-it-yourself, go to JoAnn or Paper Source to buy your materials. I cannot wait for the next Renegade Craft Fair. The day after the 2007's ended, I was already excited for 2008's! read more

Thank you, Renegade Craft Fair, for inspiring me to: 1. Jump back on the jewelry-making bandwagon 2. Sign up for a glass bead-making class 3. Give my email address to score a free Chicago Reader t-shirt and most importantly 4. Spend all my money on a wicked cool sterling silver ring with colored resin inlay (designed by Lonely Teardrop), a shirt featuring a Chicago-style hot dog and a bib embellished with a kiddie cowboy sayin' "Howdy." I don't even have a kid... That's the power of Renegade Crafters, my friends. They make you buy stuff for kids you DON'T EVEN HAVE. Edit 9/17/07: Well, Renegade has come and gone and I've had to dock them a star for this year's fair. Every. Other. Booth. hadtheSAMEsameSAMEsame stuff. What happened to all the great jewelers? Why were there like, 500 silk-screened t-shirt and handmade stationery booths? Last year's fair had far better variety. I liked not having to traipse through the muddy park this year, but I'd rather have muddy shoes and a new kick-ass piece of jewelry than see the same things over and over and over. I did, however, enjoy Starving Artist Bazaar (unique lamp-worked glass jewelry), I did snag a tie for my brother that has a felt monkey climbing it and a retro-looking card that says "Life's a shit sandwich. Eat it or starve." Kitschy, fun and cute. I'm coming back next year and hoping for a bit more variety... Come on, RCF! Work it out! read more

Ok, I went last year and it was so cool. But I was broke, so I didn't spend anything. But there was one booth last year that I searched for this year. They made very cool looking leather belts, wallets and other things with piecemeal leather and such. That booth was not here this year. What was here were t-shirt booths. Now I know that making screen printed t-shirts is cool. But how unique and cool can it really be when every other booth is making them? Different designs, same concept. That's not very renegade-ish. And the yarn jewelry I really didn't get. It kind of looked like something kittens would play with, but that's just me. Hopefully, next year will be a bit better. Perhaps more edgy? read more

Great location, some great stuff....beautiful day (2007). However, most of the stuff is just out of my price range, and um...comprehension. I just don't "get" some of the stuff, and maybe I am not cool enough. I did score a really nice Uptown t-shirt, I've been looking for something like that for a long time. $15, I can handle it. Very fun to stroll around, but the creative energy bowls me over, and I just end up feeling 1. not cool enough 2. that even if I was, I still wouldn't have the cash to burn through on stuff with owls, and angry monsters on them. read more

Eh. not too impressive. It's all bad kitsch to me. Thumbs up for putting up with the rain. What happened to innovative design? WOW me with cutting-edge design- let's see something original DIY'ers, i don't want to see another screenprinted animal pillow! I do hope that this is a screen printing phase and ya know like a year from now it'll all be over- but really how long has this 'designer' t-shirt fad been going? Too long! Ok, yeah ya gotta make a living, gotta pay the bills and all that shit. Everyone wants a piece of the pie and rightly so- more power to the artist who can steal dough from Urban Outfitters! Please do. WIth one exception my heart goes out to I'm Smitten- love it! always have. If your gonna buy anything from renegade buy I'm Smitten! it's the shit. Best part of the show was Cailfone, oh and another reason to drink in public. read more

Are you a 11-24 year old girl/woman (or share their sentiments)? If so you might like this craft fair. Otherwise, beware. Oh and baby crap too. It is unlike other "art fairs" in that it doesn't feature many trained, skilled "artists" but rather "crafts," some of which are well done, art if you will, but many are in the "put a bird on it" vein. Some things are witty and charming, but really, most of this is stuff anybody could do with just a little time. I really liked exactly TWO booths last year, and checked with them -- one was rejected this year, possibly for being too legitimate of an artist? I won't go back. read more

I thought this was a great fair! It's far more of an art fair than a "craft" fair, I thought. Expensive like an art fair, but funkier. It felt a lot more like young hipster artist work than some of the stuff you'd expect at, say, the Old Town Art Fair (which I also love). Yes, it was crowded. But it's an art fair. That's how it goes. I thought it was well worth the visit. read more

I do want to start off by saying I wish they'd move the fair back to Wicker Park were it is more spread out and the tents aren't on top of one another. It makes it a much more pleasant experience, especially considering the number of people with dogs, strollers, and small children. I like the fair. I never buy a lot there..usually just one or two things but I absolutely love everything I get there. Depending on your temperament--you may love the people watching or just get really annoyed by it. read more

The best thing about the RCF is the hipster-spotting. A non-stop collection of dark-framed glasses, mussed hair, and ironic t-shirts. Seriously, it's like being in a SNL skit about Wicker Park. Go just for the people watching. The worst thing about the RCF is the number of just-the-same vendors. There are a lot of booths, but far too many are exactly the same as all the others. I think everyone who attended RCF when it was in the park got inspired to make the exactly the same crap they saw, and now they all have booths. Seriously, how many bottle-cap magnets and silk-screen journals can you look at? read more

I love all the renegade fairs and give 5 stars in support, even though this year the weather was terrible and I was sad for the vendors who had to be out in the rain all day and the many people who didn't make half the money they had spent just to be there. (If you wonder why the things are so expensive, ask someone how much they have to pay for those booths! Though I, as well, refuse to pay 70$ for a 5-minute-to-make necklace, or 90$ for a hoodie). Design wise, ENOUGH WITH A BIRDS ALREADY! Seriously. In 20 years they're going to look back at the early 2000s and our deers and birds and owls and squirrels and power lines and cherry blossom screen prints and laugh at us, and rightly so. How hard can it be to come up with something new? read more

The Renegade Craft Fair always marks the end of summer for me, and is always my fave fair to go to. There's a lot of overkill on certain things and the prices are high, but there's always a booth or two that stand out to me. This year it was: - The woodworking dude with the throwback videogame coasters and cutting boards. You rock. - Mini plants in bright-colored plastic dinosaurs. Shoulda gotten one for my cube. - Anyone making anything with antique typewriter keys. Now to scour Etsy... read more