Indie Emporium

This is the most magical part of the holiday season for me... walking into this beautifully lit giant room full of tons of treasures, all of which I want to take home!If you're a fan of shopping local, this is the place for you.If you love handmade, hand-crafted with love goodies from soaps to purses to pillows, this is the place for you.If you have an Etsy account, this is DEFINITELY the place for you.This fair is super reasonably priced to get into, and it showcases lots of awesome local vendors. It is seriously a one-stop shop for your holiday shopping, and the only downside is that you are going to spend wayyyyy more money than you anticipate because everything is just SO awesome. It might even make you pick up that old craft you tried a while ago because you'll be so inspired by these awesome artists.

Indie Emporium = Etsy in real life.There were so many crafters showcasing such neato awesome things that, 1) it's hard not to blow a gazillion dollars buying plaid bowties or owl jewelry or Oklahoma-themed T-shirts (Seriously had to talk myself out of buying a set of anatomical print dessert plates), and2) it WILL make you wish you were a crafty person (Already crafty people are sure to find some inspiration looking at the booths.).But with great craft talent comes great crowds seeking Christmas presents or home decor items; this place was PACKED. I almost lost my mind in the shuffle and press of people looking at the booths. The organizers should consider spreading out the exhibits a little more to make the experience less claustrophobic.

Love love love! I wanted to buy absolutely everything. They had so many unique gift ideas and a wide variety of items. I loved seeing the passion that vendors put into their wares. I spent quite a bit of time talking to several of them and it is so refreshing to purchase goods from people who love what they do and put that love into their products. 10/10 would recommend!

Crafting used to be for old people - not anymore! Indie Emporium is a cute craft show with 60 local vendors. You can find anything from dishes to jewelry. It was my first year going and I was impressed with everything I saw. Admission is $5, which lets you in the whole weekend (Thanks Yelp for the free tickets!!). The first 50 people on Friday got a swag bag that was supposedly filled with amazing things. I wouldn't know since I didn't get one - not that I'm bitter or anything (F.Y.I. Getting there RIGHT when it opens = too late for the freebies. The lobby was PACKED before the doors were even open). Saturday afternoon, they have free crafting sessions (specific crafts to be made/schedule is on their website). Saturday night, they have a fashion show.The only thing I really, really hated was how packed it was. A show like this REALLY needs a bigger space. Often, I couldn't even look at a vendor's booth because there were SO many people/booths were TINY. Luckily, crowds started to thin out an hour into the event.Another downside is parking downtown....hopefully you're lucky enough to find a street spot. If not, you can take a chance like me and park in a random parking lot...and hope your car doesn't get towed.

When I walked into Indie Emporium I think my jaw dropped for a solid 20 minutes... At least. Beautiful and kind vendors organized beautifully together selling their handmade extraordinary products with a Rilo Kiley song playing? I thought things like this were only found in good dreams. AHHA is the perfect venue. Vendors got to utilize two floors in a built in modern art space with perfect lighting. I found the perfect Christmas gifts for those hard to shop for people in my life and even got to eat some lick your lips donuts! Again, so dreamy. This is a must-do event during the holiday season.

Indie Emporium is a terrific opportunity to support local/area artists while browsing one of a kind creations.