Shop Small This Weekend With Two "Craft" Markets in Los Angeles

Definitely not the craft fairs of our youth, these modern day markets are more like a store-in-store for many established or new brands. Yes, they are makers of beautiful things, clothing, jewelry, ceramics, even perfume and art, but for most showing at these venues, they are not hobbyist. They’ve become a great community event, where neighbors near and far can come touch and feel, meet the designers and just generally come together to celebrate all this gorgeous stuff. Lucky for Los Angeles, there are two such events scheduled for this weekend, Dec 7 & 8.

The first, Echo Park Craft Fair, is celebrating their 10th year! What started as a small outdoor fair has grown to include global cult brands and span two massive sound stages (Mack Sennett Studios) and the adjacent outdoor area. Since we’re focused on kids fashion over here, we’ll stick with that and talk about the brands we’re excited to see, like Misha & Puff, NicoNico, Rudy Jude and Doen. We feel we need to talk about Babaa separately, since they are an incredible Spanish knitwear brand that is a) expensive to ship to the US, b) only available direct from Spain and c) did we mention the quality is incredible? Merci Milo, a super well curated toy store will also be there.

Located in Silver Lake, the tickets are $15 for adults and free for kids (under 13) and you can buy them at the door. They’ve posted on their FAQ that parking is scarce around there, so it’s drive at your own risk. They don’t allow strollers inside, but have convenient stroller “parking” at both entrances and offer courtesy baby carriers to use while there. For more info, check echoparkcraftfair.com

Next up is West Coast Craft, making their debut in Los Angeles this weekend in DTLA. Founded in San Francisco in 2013, they’ve been putting on bi-annual markets of over 200 vendors for some time. This market is pretty massive, I lost count at about 350 vendors. There’s only a few kids brands, LA’s Chaboukie, Mabo, Ellie Fun Day and eco-friendly kids store Noble Carriage. We’re also excited to check out women’s brand Ozma. It’s free to attend and there’s ample public parking next door. Definitely worth checking out this inaugural event. For more info, check westcoastcraft.com