We’ve just wrapped up our last holiday sale of the year, whew! It was the RISD Alumni sale, which has somewhat of a different crowd (and vendors) than our usual craft fair. A snippet of dialogue overheard in the morning: “What’s RISD?” / “It’s the Rhode Island School of Design, the best art school in the country” / “Oh… Like, the street!” Non-SF readers please note that Rhode Island is a street in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. SF readers, please note that it also is a state. Oh and that’s where the best art school in the country is, y’all.

Here’s some of our fellow alumni who were there with stellar work.

hk designs | Hiroko Kurihara
I got Sam one of her scarves a few years back: for every one of her items purchased she donates a polarfleece blanket to the homeless, which is a fantastically inspiring programs. Also, the felted wool scarves/blankets etc are superb and beautiful.

Pie Bird Press | Hannah Berman
We’re not in the habit of talking up other cardmakers but Hannah’s cards are really pretty special. You may have seen her work at Paper Source, on etsy (where you didn’t believe it could really be letterpress) or in magazines. Most letterpress work shies away from this sort of ink coverage, but she has giant swaths of bold color down.

Hillary Bird
While we’re on other cardmakers… we’re proud to welcome Ms. Bird, whose indie-quirky sensibilities and hybrid of analog and digital techniques makes charmingly cute cards and prints.

Sarah Richardson Jewelry
Sarah’s had a ton of really beautiful jewelry, but her pod series in sterling silver is gorgeous (look for Sam to be sportin’ one soon), and she was super friendly with advice for us on making a living from our art.

Lian Ng for PubliQue
His lasercut PopMats are so elegant and clever it’s hard to imagine throwing the fête that would be their match; this year there were votive holders as well that fold into a really interesting shape.

Mediums to Masses | Sarah Hirneisen
Sarah makes screenprinted glass jewelry, dishes and coasters under the name Mediums to Masses. But she’s definitely a consummate artist: not content to just have a successful product line, she’s produced a lot of thoughtful installation and gallery pieces too.

Eieio | Jean Orlebeck
We saw Eieio papers first like 8 years ago at Flax. They are some of the most elegant modern giftwraps (and endpapers) around, and the original design from way back then remains fresh and charming.

Aaron Silverstein
I think the photo-guided laser-cut ornaments and votive holders he was selling (and selling out of) at the show were slightly different than these, which he designed for Roost, but no less beautiful. Poking around his website for images of them, I found a range of remarkable work that I would love to see (and own); a fantastically talented industrial designer with elegant lines and a special attunement to nature’s forms.

James Cogbill
James had tshirts of this painting based on Midwestern fields for sale that I totally was coveting. His thoughtful abstractions wouldn’t seem out of place on my favorite blog but does it float

Daniel Oakley | Oliblock
Oliblock: Like Lego Technics met Frank Gehry, magnetic and interlocking and awesome.