Cabin Fever

Thayer Street in Boston's South End has come a long way since the days when I used to work in a refurbished warehouse on Harrison Ave. Back then, the three main tenants in the area (besides the digital agency I worked at) was the vintage shop Bobby from Boston, architectural salvage firm Restoration Resources (which has since moved to Washington St.), and the venerable Pine Street Inn homeless shelter.

My, how times have changed. The buildings along Thayer Street and the alley behind it now make up the SoWa Art Walk, a collection of galleries, stores, and restaurants where South End artists display their wares. I headed over there this past weekend to check out SoWa's first annual Cabin Fever event, an indie gift show featuring local artists and designers.

Over 60 artisans displayed their goods in the open warehouse space. Here are some of the highlights:

The crowd milling about in the Valentine-themed space...

Beautiful handbags made from vintage coats and brooches, each with the story of its origin sewn inside. Designer Nicole Keane has since shifted her focus to sustainable carryalls for men, but she still has a few of these earlier pieces for sale.  

Adorable dresses for little girls, like this doggie print (the big one is a pocket!) from Little Girl Pearl. 

Funky, hand-made jewelry from Black Sheep Designs, like these bird earrings that I wish I'd bought...

These awesome bird etchings from Karen Kemp (which I also wish I'd bought!)...

And gorgeous, hand-knit sweaters from Knit Happens, the brainchild of best friends Kelly Pepin and Michelle Tripp, who hooked me up with a great, new shrug (they'll do private home shows and custom orders as well!).

If you missed the show and can't wait for it to roll around again next year, head over to the Cabin Fever site where you can find links to each of the artisans, and/or check out First Fridays, where The SoWa Artists Guild at 450 Harrison Avenue holds its monthly open house on - you guessed it - the first Friday of every month.