My friend May of Timmy Mays hosted a studio sale at her maker space along side Cinq and Kaoru Sanchez so my friend Joy and I made a crafty lady date out of it. First stop: Malaya Tea Room in Alameda.

Malaya is the cutest tea room I’ve ever been to – ever! Seriously. All the other tea rooms are too stuffy and old feeling. The space was so inviting and beautifully decorated. Even though most of the plants were fake, they still brightened up the room. The tea and snacks – brilliant! Especially the chicken curry sandwich and warm scones. I felt like I was on vacay. They even offered to take our photo on our way out.

Then, to the studio sale! May has her studio space at Phoenix in Alameda. I had a pop-up here a few years ago and it’s supah fun. May creates leather goods including bags and belts, and also intricately painted wearable art! And this is her pup Mycroft, the shiest pup I ever met.

Plus, jewelry by Cinq and colorful garments and bags by Kaoru Sanchez.

Pop-up haul! I snagged some tassels from May – she hand made the beads, too! And I couldn’t resist a bag sale – Kaoru Sanchez puts the fun in functional!

And then as if one pop-up was not enough, Joy and I continued our crafty lady adventures at another pop-up, mainly to see more crafty friends! Patchwork Oakland was happening that day…

It was a beautiful day for an outdoor show. Spotted: Tropikali – The Cloud Factory – MorninGlorias – S for Sparkle – Burnal Burrow – so many makers! I snagged some goodies from Luna Sibai (ceramic planter), Bottle of Clouds (his and hers pins), Sugar Cane Apparel (a poncho), and Sketchy Notions (stickers!). Since I’m usually vending at a craft show it’s always a nice change of pace to be a shopper at a craft show!

I’d say this was a day well-spent. And now back to prepping for my own craft show schedule!