Clever and Made in Tucson | I saw it in Tucson

Yes, I know I said that I would only go to one holiday faire this year, but then Sunday came and I changed my mind. When I drove down Fourth Ave. I suddenly remembered why I had avoided this event in past years: parking was non-existent. But that didn’t stop me. I drove across town to MSA where there is always a ton of parking on that gigantic vacant lot and parked. Then I climbed onto the colorful Metro trolley, along with many retirees and visitors, and off we went back across town to the Made in Tucson holiday fair.

Miniature painted sculptures

For this tour of the fair I’m going to begin in the middle, which was where the woman at the top of this post was located. What she does is create miniature painted figures based on photographs of people. Once the little figures have been painted she finishes them off with a short time in the microwave behind her. I’ve never seen anything like this in any open air market. And the price was astonishingly low. I hope that she has continued success.

A lot of something for everyone

The most prominent feature of this year’s Made in Tucson was the large number of participants. 300 creative Tucsonans were spread along a couple of blocks by Antigone Books. Their booths sprawled out along alleys and even inside one building, plus another parking lot was given over the food vendors. It was a lot to see, especially in 85 degree weather, so I focused on taking photos of vendors whose goods caught my eye.

At the Maypop shop booth, left, the woman was selling crocheted dresses and patterns so you could create your own. And on the right in a nearby booth was a rack of aprons made from old table cloths by the woman in the blue dress. Years and years ago I sold aprons so I have a fondness for booths where they are sold. I like the idea putting old table cloths to good use again.

There were some booths, however, with items for sale that were clearly not “made in Tucson”. The hat shop, right, had a great selection of straw hats, but they were not made here. And the umbrella carried by the woman on the right, which I had seen in another booth, certainly gave the appearance of being from Asia or maybe Mexico. The quilted jacket/throw she had over her shoulder clearly looked to be from Central America, or maybe southern Mexico. The sellers in both these booths no doubt lived here in Tucson.

These next two images have nothing to do with each other, but here they are:

The woman on the left, Elana Bloom, is a dyer who works with natural dyes, based on local plants and trees. Not only does she create dyes for fabrics, but she uses the same colors/dyes for her paintings. And on the right, in a nearby booth, is a guide to mushrooms and more mushrooms. Eating mushrooms–for real food, not for hallucinations–has become so popular that there was an article in the New York Times this morning about best restaurants in NYC for ‘shrooms.

Food to go–home with you

As I mentioned there was a sizeable parking lot devoted to food vendors. Seats and tables were scattered around so you could take a break before returning to shopping. Not much shade, however, and it was hot–on December 1st. There were also a few booths in the gifts, arts, and clothing mix of vendors that sold food to take home, not just eat on-site. On the left, below, are two bags of Fairy Foccacio by Carbs & Coffee. On the right were boxes of freeze-dried snacks from Kubali Crafts.

So now I can take the Made in Tucson street fair off my saw-it-in-tucson list.

This day, however, introduced me to riding the trolley system which happily is free and not too crowded. I will become a trolley rider soon and have a post or two for you about it. In the meantime, below on the left is the view of shops and cafes from the trolley stop on Fourth Ave. where I waited for the trolley to arrive. On the right, below, is the stop at Convento and Congress where I began and ended this adventure. More to come, soon.