Toddlers With Taste

It's not like Darcy Ames Harris had a choice. Growing up with her parents, jewelry artisan Anita and woodworker Edward Hejtmanek, she was destined to be creative. She just had to discover where her talent was strongest.

"When I was about 13, I started shopping at Cheap Thrills," a Fayetteville resale shop, she recalls. "It wasn't so much sewing as it was tearing and tying, altering things to suit me. I've been dressing up forever.

"I started sewing regularly when I started staying home with my son, who is 9. Now I have three -- two boys, 7 and 9, and a girl who is 7 months old. She inspired the whole line of kids' stuff" that Harris will be exhibiting at the Little Craft Show on Saturday. It's the first spring edition of the 5-year-old artisan showcase, which is presented by Amber and Jonathan Perrodin. True to their roles as founders of Team Springdale, they're kicking off the spring event at the newly renovated Shiloh Square downtown.

"It seemed like we ought to put our money where our heart is," Amber Perrodin says.

The same might be said for Harris, whose work is all "vintage inspired," she says, most often from the 1950s.

"I make my own patterns or sometimes find a vintage piece and try to reproduce it," she explains. Sometimes she uses vintage or recycled fabrics, sometimes new.

Her favorite thing to make is little wool coats with piping and appliques that look like they'd suit Shirley Temple perfectly. She also makes all-cotton dresses with Peter Pan collars and ruffles for little girls and, for little boys, vests, coats and hats.

"I would say that I try to make everyday washable and wearable pieces, not too fancy, just fancy enough," she says, whether they're for special events or photos or just for fun.

And, she adds, she loves doing it.

"I go to sleep excited, thinking about the design I want to do the next day!"

-- Becca Martin-Brown

bmartin@nwaonline.com

NAN What's Up on 05/29/2015