Smithtown East Craft fair
On Saturday December 13, 2014 Smithtown High School East held a craft fair. People set up stands for others to buy their products. For some shoppers it can be overwhelming since there are many different counters and everyone’s trying to sell their creations. It can be easy to walk past a bunch without taking the time to stop and really look around but if you take your time you will notice the uniqueness these stands each have and the effort put into them. By doing this you will get more out of the experience and possibly find something worth buying.
When I first walked into the school I noticed it was set up like a street fair with many diverse things to be purchased. It was difficult to choose what to look at first, but I found it to be more rewarding to take your time at a couple of stands rather then quickly glancing at all of them. At first, a vintage looking set up captured my eye. The owner, Kristen Munoz, referred to her products as “Shabby Chic.” Her company name is Redefined Junk and she seemed very passionate about her work. However, Munoz does not sell these pieces as a living, she is also a hairdresser who specializes in Wedding Styling. She started creating vintage wedding hairpieces and then continued to discover more ideas and kept evolving. She came up with the unique idea to use recycled gift cards and turn them into earrings using guitar pick cutters. I personally found this interesting because I play guitar myself and if I never took the time to look I would have never spotted them. She was concerned about her items not selling and bringing most of them back home. If people took the time to stop and look around more, they would most likely find something intriguing to them and people like Munoz wouldn’t have to worry about products not selling.
The next stand I visited from a distance looked like big round necklace and bracelet charms scattered out in boxes but who needs more jewelry, right? Well these weren’t just typical charms, when I looked close and examined these pieces I noticed they were made from bottle caps, some from drinks like Snapple, Corona and Fresca. In bedded in the cap were different types of symbols such as animals, flowers, peace signs, and more. They are original and these charms are hand made by the owner Michelle as stated on their website www.artwearbymichelle.com.
It’s hard to pass up an animal stand especially when you have a pet yourself, but what attracted me about one in particular was blinking light up collars. The company was Kallie’s k-9 Cookies and Classy Paws, the owner is Cathy Byrnes and she makes and sells natural dog treats, LED light up collars and other toys/accessories. The light up collars help your furry friend be seen from up to 100ft in the dark.
Lastly, I visited a stand that sold block glass lights with different images on them such as sport teams, holiday grams, or you can customize your own. The company name is Classy Crafters and on their website, classycrafters.com, they state that they also make personalized ornaments, ceramic coasters, chargers, and more.
By taking my time at just a couple of stands, I was able to find some great unique items that would make great gifts, or things that would personally benefit me. The first holiday craft fair at Smithtown East was held to benefit our high school scholarship fund, however it served great local commerce awareness, helping small business professionals brand original designs and crafts as well. The overall turnout was a testiment to the public’s desire to support local vendors and our students futures.