Artisans, designers and crafters to convene at Patchwork Show Makers Market in Tustin

In the days before the e-commerce giant Etsy helped grow the demand for handmade goods, Orange County crafter Nicole Stevenson had to commute to Los Angeles or San Francisco to sell items under her handcrafted clothing line, Random Nicole.

The craft scene in the early 2000s was more about crocheted doilies, quilts and Christmas ornaments than about creative makers selling art, clothing and accessories with a modern twist.

“In Orange County, there wasn’t anything, besides maybe a craft show at a church or school,” Stevenson recalled. “If I sold there, I’d be the only one who had a modern-style handmade business.”

Orange County crafter Nicole Stevenson, founder of Dear Handmade Life, held the first Patchwork Show with her aunt in 2008.

(Michelle Feileacan)

Stevenson, who was living with her aunt at the time, decided to create a new kind of scene. In 2008, the pair staged a small makers show in the parking lot of the small shop in Santa Ana her aunt ran. They invited other vendors to sell their own vintage-inspired, artisanal product lines and art pieces. It was a hit.

“The first show was packed because there wasn’t anything like that,” the Orange resident recalled Thursday. “It was so different and unique, and everybody was excited to see these local makers.”

That would be the genesis of the Patchwork Show Makers Market, a semiannual community festival that now takes place in eight cities across California, typically in the spring and fall and offers a venue for hundreds of creative talents.

On May 21, the free, family-friendly show returns to Old Town Tustin, featuring more than 70 artists, crafters, designers and artisan food purveyors, make-and-take crafting stations, gourmet food trucks and indie music.

L.A. jewelry designer and owner of Chocolate & Steel Christine Street has sold handmade goods at Patchwork Shows since 2008.

(Courtesy of Christine Street)

The venue has been a mainstay for Christine Street, a Los Angeles jewelry designer, metalsmith and owner of the company Chocolate & Steel, which has been participating in the Patchwork Show since its inception.

Although Street sells her wares wholesale and maintains a strong online presence, she likes the community festival atmosphere of Patchwork events.

“They’re not so huge you get lost in a sea of vendors, and it’s well curated,” she said. “It’s more supportive of a small community, so you get people from that community in there. And you get time to talk to the artists and make that connection with them.”

The shows used to be a side gig for Stevenson, who took over the venture full time around 2015. Now, under the brand Dear Handmade Life, she organizes the shows but also maintains a blog and podcast at dearhandmadelife.com and runs an annual business and makers conference, Craftcation, that hosts hundreds of artists over five days.

Mission Viejo artist Rachael Duran, who for the past several years has been making and selling hand-dyed garments under the brand thunder textile, came to know Stevenson by attending Patchwork Shows and was asked in 2021 to teach a dye class at Craftcation.

Patchwork Shows feature art, jewelry and clothing, artisan food and DIY crafting stations that let you take home a creation.

(Courtesy of Dear Handmade Life)

That sparked an interest in instruction and added another means of earning income and supporting herself as an artist. She now teaches classes at These Hands Maker’s Collective in Culver City and will participate in the May 21 Patchwork Show and another one in Long Beach on May 28 .

“They do make-and-take [crafts], which is so cool. At some of them, you can make your own cyanotype prints or silkscreen your own greeting card,” Duran said of the shows. “It’s not just a shopping experience — they bring the whole crafting thing to life.”

For Stevenson, Patchwork is just one part of Dear Handmade Life’s mission to help makers from all communities turn their passions into professions.

“We do everything to basically help creatives make a living doing what they love,” she said.

The Patchwork Show makers market takes place May 21, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Old Town Tustin, 245 El Camino Real. Admission is free. Other venues include Long Beach (May 28), San Pedro (June 11) and El Segundo (July 2). For more information, visit dearhandmadelife.com/patchwork-show.