Craftiness is Happiness for These Three Creative Summit Vendors!

Meet Brittany Fechko from FetchCrafts...

I moved to Ohio about 3 years ago after graduating with a degree in Nutrition from the University at Buffalo and getting married to a Cleveland boy.

I am a running enthusiast, who loves to travel everywhere. Last year I got to go to Glacier NP in Montana and this year I am excited to go to Yosemite NP in California.

I am trying to make this my best year yet (which is hard because I had a season pass to Cedar Point last year) and that is one of the reasons I want to do this craft show. 

                         

I have been crafting for about 3 year now. It all started because I wanted my friends and family to have unique presents. I felt like they had everything already and I did not just want to buy a gift card. After a little time of doing this, I figured out, I'm not too shabby.   

                        

My process usually starts while running, it really easy for your mind to wonder when you are on a 20 mile run by yourself! There have been so many time when I am on the towpath and I go "I got it!" or "Great idea" and then hope no one is around to see me talking to myself. I also have a great group of running friends who I can bounce ideas off. And a few times when I am substitute teaching I ask the kids what they think because most of my items are for their age and it is nice having their input.

My crafts are all about fun and finding the perfect item for yourself or someone special in your life. I hope you enjoy Fetchcrafts!

Meet James WeckBacher from Let's Face It Caricatures...
This is my first Avante-Garde show. I have been drawing since I was 2 years old.  My Father is an artist so I grew up in a creative atmosphere.
                                               
I have been doing caricatures professionally for ten years.  I fell into it accidently on purpose.  A friend of mine got me started filling in for her when I lived in California.  Since I've moved back to my home state here in blustery Ohio,  I decided to start my own business and thus,  Lets Face It Caricatures was born. 

My company, J W Visual Arts encompasses various types of my work including caricatures, photography, illustration, graphics and eventually film and video. My slogan is "A picture is worth a thousand words but a caricature is worth a million laughs."    


Meet Kathy Garber from Birdie Girls Treasures...

My name is Kathy Garber and I currently live in Hudson, Ohio. I enjoy bird watching, gardening, hiking, metaphysics and crafting. I have been creating and crafting all of my life, but have just recently started selling my creations online on Ebay and Etsy (BirdieGirlsTreasures).

                             

My love of nature and animals inspire my creations.

My picture collage creations were born from a frustration of searching for, and being unable to find specific animal and nature themed home décor and gifts in the past. My luminaries have developed from my past volunteer experience in creating centerpieces for parties and special events and the realization that there is a great interest in custom made items.

This is actually my first craft show, so I will be testing the waters to see if there is a greater interest in my items and hopefully that will help determine which direction to head in the future regarding my crafting business.  I am looking forward to becoming part of the craft vendor community and hope to be part of many more shows in the future!

2014 Summit County Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Saturday April 12th- 10:00am-5:00pm

Sunday April 13th- 11:00am-5:00pm

St. George's Fellowship Centre

3204 Ridgewood Rd.

Fairlawn, OH 44333

For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator

at info@avantgardeshows.com

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Crafters Inspired By Color

Meet Marie McGlathery from Paper Planet Wearables...
I have always loved jewelry, but felt that there just was not enough affordable handmade jewelry out there. My definition of handmade is jewelry that includes elements that are created by the hands of the artist such as glass beads, clay beads, or in my case, PAPER BEADS!

Making jewelry out of paper allows me to recycle and keep my prices low so that everyone can enjoy multiple pieces from Paper Planet! My jewelry is made from recycled paper beads that are hand-rolled from various sources of paper including: junk mail, abandoned posters, flyers, magazine pages, postcards, scrapbook paper scraps and yes…even cardboard cup warmers. 

After their transformation, my beads are sealed with two coats of acrylic. This creates a water-resistant shell and increases the longevity of each piece. After the acrylic processing, the recycled paper beads are combined with various types of accent beads and pendants to create the Paper Planet Wearables jewelry collection. 

I take great pride in my work and see each necklace, bracelet, and pair of earrings as having its own unique personality. A piece from Paper Planet Wearables can make the perfect eco-friendly accent to any outfit and is sure to elicit comments from friends, family, coworkers, your dental hygienist, or even friendly strangers passing by.

Meet Brittany Christmas from Punchdrunkstars...
I'm Brittany. I graduated from Kent State a few years ago with a degree in English. I started crafting as a kid, but have become more involved in the last few years. In the last year and a half, I put together my own little business, Punchdrunkstars. When I'm not working on creations for Punchdrunkstars you can usually find me at my day job, going on random adventures with my husband, or playing with my two pet rabbits. This is my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. I'm really looking forward to it! 

Everything inspires me to create. I'll see things that will give me ideas all the time and then just kind of file them for later. My grandma taught me how to crochet when I was in elementary school. For a good duration of time that was what I mainly did as far as crafting. In the last few years I have branched out into other crafts, but I still do like crocheting and still do it quite a bit. 

My creative process, more often than not, is organized chaos. I know that sounds strange, but I learned pretty early on in my life that I work the best under pressure. Organized chaos has proven to provide me with just enough pressure to be productive and have good results.

The message behind my work is happiness. I tend to use a lot of bright colors. I also try to make things that will appeal to people in the sense that they will get some sort of enjoyment or happiness from the creation. I've always done a lot of handmade gifts for birthdays, Christmas and so forth. Throughout the years I've gotten a lot of positive feedback, which encouraged me to pursue crafting as more than just a "seasonal" activity. Ideally in five years I will still be doing what I'm currently doing (selling at shows, stores, online, etc), but with some growth and perhaps a bit more establishment. 

2012 Summit County Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sunday, April 28, 2013, 11:00am-5:00pm

The Tangier

532 West Market St.

Akron, OH 44303

For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator at info@avantgardeshows.com

Visit us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

LINKEDIN