Hundreds of early birds flocked to the Artchurch Studio in Hot Springs on Nov. 13 to get a head start on their holiday shopping with the second annual Handmade for the Holidays. A one-day arts and crafts show, the event provided shoppers with an opportunity to buy unusual and one-of-a-kind items while supporting local artists.
The event was presented by Handmade Alliance, an informal organization started by Hot Springs artists Briana Moore and Heather Montgomery.
“It seemed like there was a need for a good-quality, one-day show where the booth fees were not astronomical,” said Moore, who owns and operates Larkmartin & Co., a retail store that sells her handmade items and those from other local artisans. “There are so many good craft shows in town, but you have to do it for two or three days, and that’s a lot. So, because I have kids, I wanted to do a one-day show with no resellers, just local handmade arts and crafts, but fine, really nice-quality crafts.”
She started the show last year, with help from Montgomery. The pair also organized the May Day Art and Craft Show earlier this year — forming the Handmade Alliance about a month prior as an organizing body.
“We formed Handmade Alliance to encompass all the things that we want to do,” Moore said.
Following the success of last year’s show, which featured about 19 vendors and “hundreds” of customers, Moore decided to do it again.
This year’s event saw several
returning vendors and even more shoppers. A juried show, it featured more than 20 local arts and crafts vendors who displayed a wide variety of handmade items, including jewelry, clothing and accessories, soaps, woodwork, pottery, scrapbooks and paper crafts.
“There are a lot of great handmade, handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pieces,” said Diane Pollock of Hot Springs, who was trying on bracelets made by Allison Eastman Britt of AEBDesign. “I’m doing Christmas shopping for other people, but I always find things that I want for myself.”
A Hot Springs resident, Britt works with sterling silver, fine silver, copper and gold fill to create rings, earrings and necklaces.
“It’s all handcrafted,” she said. “I make all of my components: ear wires, all the pins that the gems sit on, the rings, and I even make my displays, which are made of handmade paper.”
Britt shared a booth with fellow jeweler and Hot Springs resident Lucy Bright, whose work included recycled-bottle-cap magnets and her new line of “Steampunk” jewelry, which pays homage to the Victorian era, when everything was steam-powered.
The show also featured one-of-a-kind, tie-dye clothing and accessories by Doc Ray; original artwork by Mindy Lacefield, Wren Ludwig and members of the Artchurch staff; aprons, artwork and knitted items by Jeanne Garrett; rocking chairs from the Bump Chair Shop; and recycled journals by Lisa Danger James — plus the work of both Moore and Montgomery.
Moore has been crafting since she was a little girl — starting with a paper doll she made out of her dad’s dissertation. She later got into embroidery, sewing and needle felting, and more recently, soaping, which she took up three years ago. Her handmade soaps, lotions and bath and beauty products were on display Saturday, along with Montgomery’s one-of-a-kind pendants.
A printmaker and mixed-media artist, Montgomery has also created art most of her life and in various forms. A little more than two years ago — because of a small work space — she started making pendants from recycled pieces, such as dominoes, poker chips and Scrabble tiles, which are topped with postage stamps or collages.
“The thing that I like the best about this show is the atmosphere,” Montgomery said, adding that it has a “warmth” she had not really found in other shows. “It’s a special place, it’s beautiful, and I think we’re all invested in each other’s success.”
In addition to paying booth fees, which are used toward advertising, the vendors each give 10 percent of their profits to the Artchurch Studio, a nonprofit art education facility that serves both children and adults.
“It’s all a good cause,” said Hot Springs folk artist Amelia Houser of Huckleberry Acres, who had her cottonwood carvings for sale at the event. “It’s great, it’s fun, and it’s something that I feel good about supporting.”
Terri Menefee, who founded the Artchurch Studio and serves as its educational consultant, said it was an honor to host the event.
“It’s definitely an honor because the quality is so high,” she said. “That’s what’s nice. They are true artisans.”