It’s a new look
If you’re looking for a less-traditional holiday gift -- a misshapen stuffed animal, embroidered trucker hat or goth-style bath product -- the Bazaar Bizarre West may be just the ticket. This Sunday, in what organizers say is “not your granny’s craft fair,†more than 60 vendors will set up shop in Hollywood, hawking a variety of unusual and offbeat items.
“I was talking to friends who liked to do knitting and their own kinds of crafts and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if there was something like a punk rock crafts fair for people like us who are kind of young and do these old-fashioned crafts but do ‘em kind of different?’ †said Bazaar Bizarre founder, Greg Der Ananian, 28.
“A big, butch, burly, punk-rock-looking guy with tattoos and piercings†who also likes to cross-stitch, Der Ananian sounds like something of a novelty himself. But he’s just one of the more community-oriented individuals in what has become a booming do-it-yourself craft movement. Over the last few years, droves of crafty twenty- and thirtysomethings have begun subverting the little old lady stereotype, putting an edgy, urban spin on needlepoint, latch hook, sewing and other country crafts.
“I was crafting, and there wasn’t really any kind of representation for me in knitting and cross-stitch because the patterns that were available didn’t really speak to me. I didn’t really want to do, like, ducks,†said Der Ananian, who will be selling his cross-stitched “dirty pillows,†at this weekend’s fair.
There may be a limited market for such fare, but there is definitely a market -- primarily among young consumers who prefer the one-of-a-kind offerings of individual artists to the mass-produced novelties in stores like Urban Outfitters and Restoration Hardware. For them, homemade beer-can cozies and computer-part necklaces are far more interesting than anything they could find in traditional commercial venues -- and a way of maintaining individuality in an increasingly homogeneous world.
“I don’t know if it’s a computer renaissance or the popularity of reality TV, but anybody can be a star. You kind of want to put on your own show,†said Anjali Pathak, a vendor at this weekend’s fair. A former litigation attorney from Cerritos, the 29-year-old designer makes hand-lettered, hand-painted and hand-sewn bags and T-shirts with Asian food slogans such as “Hot as Wasabi.â€
“You don’t have to be Tommy Hilfiger anymore. People that have a vision want to contribute. This is just another way,†said Pathak, who signed up for the bazaar after seeing a notice on the Craig’s List website.
The Bazaar Bizarre West is an offshoot of the semi-annual Bazaar Bizarre in Boston, which Der Ananian founded in 2001, but it is not the only alterna-craft fair in town. There have been others -- under the reverse titled Bizarre Bazaar. And this Sunday, the local chapter of the Church of Craft will hold a similar event, offering jewelry, toys, candies, knitted goods, wallets, tops and more.
“If I’m going to shop for tchotchkes and bric-a-brac, I’d rather buy it from the people who make it themselves,†said Der Ananian.
*
Bazaar Bizarre West
Where: Q-topia, 6021 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
When: Sunday, 3-9 p.m.
Info: www.bazaarbizarrewest.org
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