New York International Gift Fair

Today I went to the NY Gift Fair at the Javits Center, thanks to my friend Cathy Simon of Global Solutions, which sells great scrapbooking supplies. My favorite product is her solution to messy sealing wax - wax rods that go in glue guns! I think it's really clever.

I stopped by while she was setting up, then headed out to explore the rest of the place. I was especially interested in the handmade sections. There seemed to be predominantly jewelry there; I was surprised, since I expected more felt accessories like in all the smaller craft shows I've been to recently.

Some of the vendors that caught my eye at NYIGF today:

Fred Conlon's metal beasts - very funky

Silver Seasons Jewelry - amazingly beautiful botanical casts, and I must say the booth was a lot more enticing than the site.

Sandy Vohr's Leather Zoo - I liked the pattern and weight of a lot of these unique stuffed animals, and I think using leather makes them less kitschy.

I also have to mention EcoCrafts because I spent a bit of time there checking out their paper bead necklaces! They seemed to focus more on eco-friendliness than design as their selling point, but it was still nice to see more of that technique even if it didn't inspire me.