West Coast Craft

Fort Mason Center, San Francisco California

This past weekend on a late summer’s day, I drove to San Francisco to check out the work that was featured at West Coast Craft LA Textile at CMC and to be immersed in all things handmade.

Now in its eighth year, West Coast Craft features the work of artists, designers, and makers, whose creative work is “inspired by the cultural and natural histories of the West Coast” (westcoastcraft.com). The well-attended two-day event featured the work of over 275 vendors and was held at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture with strict San Francisco pandemic protocols in place. Fort Mason is a former US Army outpost, and it was the site where, starting in the early 1900’s through the mid-1950’s, millions of troops left on their way to locations throughout the Pacific. Then, after the army left in 1962, the entire fort complex fell into disrepair. During the same period, the National Park Service had begun to identify a need for more urban park lands as part of a multi-year analysis of parks and visitation, noting access discrepancies between suburban, rural, and urban visitors.

Outside of West Coast Craft

In 1972 the NPS established the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which included all of the Fort Mason Center as we know it today. It’s worth noting that the reuse and preservation of the former army outpost was also due in large measure to the growing environmental movements and activism of the 1960’s and 1970’s; my hat’s off to the work of countless people and the agencies who cared about protecting open spaces that everyone could enjoy equally.

San Francisco Bay at Fort Mason

Today, the 13-acre campus houses over two dozen cultural organizations with an emphasis on arts programming. Of the many vendors who participated in West Coast Craft this past weekend, I saw a range of amazing work, including handmade clothing for all genders, woven wool tapestries, jewelry, pottery, furniture, and paper goods, as well as local artisan bakers, small organic wineries, and small batch kombucha and boba makers. For anyone interested in microbusiness on a human level, it is rewarding to see the scope of artistic talent and entrepreneurship on full display. Craft fairs remind us to take the time to talk to people, hear their stories and see first-hand what their passion is all about. 

Visitors West Coast Craft