On the 19th of November, Faith Church in Brooksville hosted an arts and crafts fair, which allowed visitors to view unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that were created by hand. I spoke with Robyn Gray, who is involved in coordinating the event and who had her own art booth at the fair.
She explained that the event was started by the church about six years ago, to allow the church and community members to sell their goods, as well as to gain money for the deacon’s fund. The money from the booth entries and from the refreshments that are purchased at the event are what goes into the fund. While some vendors are different from year to year, about half of the artists are repeat vendors who have been attending the fair for six years. The crafts at the fair were things one can’t find in a regular store, and are unique creations that have a sense of personality which show the love, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail the artists put into their work.
“I make sure that we don’t do duplicates, and they have to be a certain level of quality. And we have expanded from about 35 to now 41 booths and we’ll probably have 46 booths by next year, I think,” Mrs. Gray said. She later added, “We had over $455 worth of gift certificates donated from 12 area restaurants, that people won just for coming. And likewise, in addition to that, all through it, every half hour, we had people who had purchased items won door prizes that were donated by the crafters.”
If you have any questions about becoming involved in next year’s event, or are interested in participating in the next craft fair, contact the church (who can direct you to the person you need to speak with), or Robyn Gray. It costs $20 a booth. Mrs. Gray can be contacted at 352-345-8484, and for more information, be sure to visit the church’s website at http://faithepc.net/.
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List of Artists & Craftsmen who showed their work at the fair:
Art Classes by Robyn Gray (Ages 8 – Adult, M.A. in Education; 34 years teaching experience); Matting & Framing; 352-345-8484
The Bead Room; Pat Mundy; 352-686-9461
Bob’s Scrollsaw & Woodturning, handcrafted by Bob Kottmann; rkottmann@tampabay.rr.com; 352-796-4897
Butterfly Palace Crafts and More; Terri Packette; butterflypalacecraftsandmore@yahoo.com
Chuck’s Vinyl Art, Chuck Pederson; 352-398-2142; cav@tampabay.rr.com; www.etsy.com/shop/Chucksvinylart
Creations By DESK, Artistic Designs Hand Crafted; Have an idea? I can create that!; 352-444-9256
Creative Cards & More; Sharon James; All occasion cards, invitations and more. A variety of handmade crafts for all ages; sjames@catamount.com
Barbara’s Custom Dressed Bears; 352-583-5799
Fleeting Glimpse Studio; Cartoons and Art; Lee Middleton; 352-650-2824
Good Hands Woman, Weaver of Dream Catches and such, Mary Lou Grant; 352-345-8607
Hand Made Goat’s Milk Soaps, Lotions & Balms, Essential Oil Perfumes, Soy Candles & Melts; Criss Holzaepfel; 352-232-1283; crissh@woodapplefarms.com
Jody Black – Distress, shabby chic furniture, chalk boards; Sharon Halliday; Distress, shabby chic furniture; Jody: 352-585-6474; Sharon: 352-279-9625
Judy’s Knitted Jewels; judykatz5@gmail.com
Katy Bennett; hand painted signs (and kids ornaments); katybennett434@gmail.com; 352-585-6375
Lisa Babcock; LKBcreates, Handmade and Crocheted; 860-989-6416; LKBABCOC@yahoo.com; www.etsy.com/shop/LKBcreates
Louise Ryland; Stained Glass/Jewelry; 352-754-8870; Cell 727-359-1245
Nita’s Pine Cone Creations, Hand Crafted Beauty from Nature; Dan & Nita Reynolds; 352-345-5410; 7999245@gmail.com
Renita’s Trees of Life, Custom Wire Trees; 352-263-3126
Pam Herring; Crafts made from gourds; 765-661-7545
Post Office Door Banks, Hand Crafted by Stephen A. Compton; 352-796-7257
Sues Woodhues; Marquetry, Watercolor/Acrylic Painting, Embroidery, Quilting, & other crafts; 352-556-4669; sueswoodhues@gmail.com
Underwood Polymer Art; Patti Underwood; Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 10-6; UnderwoodPolymerArt.etsy.com; 215-704-0011
Wooden It be Lovely!; Don Nelson, Woodturner; 352-584-5814 (cell); WWDONO@BELLSOUTH.NET