Bazaar Bizarre: Not Your Granny's Crafts!

By Greg Der Ananian

The desire to stand out with quirky, handmade, one-of-a-kind fashion has created a huge new crowd of hip young crafters hungry for ideas. In Bazaar Bizarre, Greg Der Ananian, founder of the bicoastal craft fair of the same name, combines a variety of how-to projects from radical crafters on his bazaar circuit. Speaking to everyone from alternateens to hipster thirtysomethings with an irreverent retro-chic attitude, this book is for those looking to put an edge on the things that grandma used to make. Bazaar Bizarreoffers smart, subversive inspiration unavailable from traditional crafting books and patterns, appealing not only to the nostalgia for folk expression of previous generations, but also to the popular DIY attitude of the young and stylish. From silk painting to quilting and bookbinding, projects such as Anarchy Soap and Vinyl Record Cuffs teach basic skills of popular crafts and offer tips on how to creatively customize with thrift store purchases. Readers will love Der Ananian?s sardonic commentary, Craftoids,? about the history of crafting, punk- rock crosswords, funky finger-food recipes, and musical play lists.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142005061
• ISBN13: 9780142005064
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Studio
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Bazaar, YES. Bizarre, YES. FABULOUS!! YES!!

Mr. Der Ananian 'crafts' a winner. The book combines hilarious and honest memories of his youth that rang true with mine, despite the fact that I was never crafty, and I grew up in a different ethnic mixture. But he describes a little bit of life and alot of crafty creativity. For anyone who likes to create, for anyone who had a mother, and for anyone who likes to laugh while learning, this book will be a re-read book. I keep it handy and read from it all the time.

Bazaar Bizarre in handy book format!

I organize the Cleveland edition of Bazaar Bizarre, so maybe I'm a little biased...but as a fellow author, the first thing I said about this book was "WOW! This book is good-looking!" I'm so sick of cheap, poorly-done craft books. This is NOT one of them. The photos are hilarious, the instructions are great, Greg's admonitions are inspirational. If you can't make it out to one of the Bazaar Bizarre shows this holiday season, this might be a close runner-up!

I Have Found My People, and they are Crafty!

I picked up this book thinking simply that it would give me some good ideas and inspirations for making punky crafts. What I got out of it was a whole lot more. Big kudos to Greg for writing his musings on the punky cultural DIY revolution. I related to so much that he said- from the joy of hoarding shiny bits and pieces to save for future craft inspirations, to describing the helpfulness of half-watching your favorite musical on DVD while crafting. (I recommend Moulin Rouge or Xanadu, personally.) I love it when Greg mentioned how this brand of crafters isn't completely anti-establishment, just rebellious and creative. If Joan Jett and MacGyver had a love child, it would be Greg or one of his talented contributors.

greg der ananian is the punk rock martha stewart

I don't do crafts. They're too hard. Everything gets ruined. But I love to pretend I might make something by hand some day so I had to have this book. And it doesn't disappoint. Not only is Greg D a funny writer with a distinctly smart-queer sensibility but his contributors are cool too. So give this book to someone who's handy with a glue gun or a sewing machine and get them to make you something weird for your birthday.

Fun Reading and Crafts, too!!!!

I just got this book and can't put it down. I even woke up at 4:00a.m. and found myself reaching for it. There are some fun new crafts that I would never have thought of, but (almost) better than the crafts is the book itself. The writing in this book is just delightful. The style is thoroughly readable and fun. Lots of interviews, little stories about people involved in the craft making and other stories related to crafting in general. A truly new style of craft book which is a must for anyone who is even remotely interested in this type of thing. Another bonus is its size. Just under 300 pages, so the fun doesn't end too soon. Go grab one!!