June 29, 2005
Art fair draws crowd downtown
Annual Old Town Art and Crafts Fair features 120 presenters
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Two blocks of creativity drew shoppers and browsers to Union Street Sunday for the Old Town Art and Crafts Fair.
The annual event featured 120 presenters who offered a stunning array of items, ranging from beads, bracelets and bears to purses, pottery and painted rocks, from acrylic art to weaving and everything in between. Not to mention a rainbow of tie-dye clothing, DVDs for people with Alzheimer's and decorative wooden toilet seats.
Whether looking for a certain gift or waiting for inspiration, attendees wallowed in choice.
"We're looking for gifts," said Cathy Fluharty of Traverse City. "We like to come down and see what's out here."
The show also included some teen entrepreneurs, including sisters Casey and Cari Williamson of Riverview. The pair have been making beaded jewelry since last summer when a visit to Osiris Beads downtown sparked a passion.
Casey Williamson, a junior in high school next year, said she taps her own fashion sense for ideas of what to make. She has made necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry for her friends, including special items for homecoming and prom.
"I always know what's in but I think a lot of it you can't make," she noted. "But it's only a trend, wait a week and it'll be gone."
Williamson also wears many of her own creations, tapping the sister's stock for accessories that advertise their wares.
"I like it because you can wake up in the morning and have custom jewelry to match your outfits every day," Williamson said.
Ezra Coe of Cross Village was hawking juggle sticks for Jolly Lama Creations, luring passerby in to his tent for a quick lesson that had them juggling. Still in high school himself, Coe said the company was founded by teens with a teen sales force. The founders create the juggle sticks from simple materials such as acrylic tubing and leather tassels.
"We make them during the week and sell them on weekends," noted Coe, who said he will attend 15 music festivals this summer.
The Arts and Crafts Fair is the new iteration of the former Old Town Bazaar, noted Rob Bacigalupi, deputy director of Downtown Development Authority. That event died some time ago and the DDA revived it as the Old Town Arts and Crafts Fair about four years ago.
"It's a juried show and as you could see it is an arts and a craft fair so we have a variety of things in the show," he said.
Weighing in on the arts side of the equation is Dean Ditta of Bears and Chairs. Working out of a home-based workshop near Gaylord, Ditta and a partner craft wooden sculptures with a Celtic influence. He harvests his own wood - usually pine and cedar - for the pieces from his own land as well as that of friends and neighbors.
"People are always wanting trees cut down and we'll take it from their yard and make a totem pole out of it," he said. "The wood usually dictates what we make."
Ditta attends art fairs around northern Michigan every summer, mainly the smaller ones in the region. He enjoys the chance to meet and talk with people there, a counterpoint to his more lonely pursuits as an artist.
"We spend so much time alone and kind of reclusive, it's kind of neat to get out and meet people and get feedback on your work," he said.