Pink of Perfection

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Wouldn’t holiday shopping go down a lot easier if you could skip chain stores entirely and browse handmade goods with a cocktail in your hand while bobbing your head to Le Tigre? As if you were looking for another reason to love Bust magazine, they brought us the Holiday Craftacular for the second year in a row.

Hosted at the historical Warsaw in Brooklyn (such a great place for a show!), the Craftacular solves the eternal holiday quandary of whether to merrily deck the halls or cross another item off your shopping list. The djs were spinning songs so good it was like listening to a mix tape made by your coolest friend. The atmosphere was jolly and frenetic with more than sixty vendors selling gorgeous calendars, notebooks, cards, knit and sewn clothing and accessories, yoga mat bags, jewelry, and bath products.

I don’t get starstruck very often (Hilary Swank shopped next to me at Anthropologie a couple of weeks ago and I barely bat an eye), but meeting the Bust team was a sighting like none other. These women were so dynamic, energetic and kind, it made me curious about a day in the Bust offices. They produce a magazine with a unique and invaluable voice. But do they also nurse pony-necks while proofing pages and run craft ideas by each other? Do they drop off homemade baked goods by the water cooler? Do they have a water cooler?

And then I met editor-in-chief and co-publisher Debbie Stoller. In addition to being the author of some indispensable books on knitting and crochet, she is a supporter of woman owned and run small businesses (just look at the ads in Bust!). Rather than chilling on a chaise at the helm, she is amazingly tuned in to the happenings of the magazine’s demographic. She even took the time to talk to the people from a little blog called Pink of Perfection!

Internet marketplaces have done so much to enable crafters to sell their wares, but there’s nothing like real time interaction under one roof to bring a group together. Mutual admiration among crafters and shoppers ran as high as the holiday cheer. A huge thanks to Bust for making it happen (an extra special thanks to Dawn!) and for managing to get so many of us into the spirit of the season.