For most people Saturday morning started off slowly waking up at a reasonable hour. For those with a booth in this year’s Christmas Craft Fair however, their morning started much earlier, having to haul tables, chairs, and their items to be sold later in the day.
The craft fair started at the Casper Recreation Center before moving to the Ford Wyoming Center to house more than 150 vendors.
One booth housed The Little Pebble People reemerging after a two year break from craft fairs. Local artists Ginny Rossow and Tessa Miller had a variety of handmade nature items for sale most prevelately in trolls and owls. Rossow’s troll designs are a mix of her two favorite mediums, rock and wood. After graduating second in her class at Alexandria Tech in Minnesota, she continued making art with her creative imagination inspired by Henry Spencer Moore who is of British origin, gaining fame from his abstract metal sculptures. Her daughter, Tessa Miller, focused on small artistic detailed works. Miller painted rock birds perched on chunks of rock focusing largely on snowy owls. Miller’s daughter made hot glue animals. This medium is more durable, perfect for children. These pebble people definitely made a splash at this year’s craft fair.
Another booth was Gourmet European Breads based in Denver Colorado on Washington and 58th. Zizi walked me through making all the bread the day before, waking up early to make the pastries and driving all of the baked goods to the Event Center in the morning. The bakery is also participating in more than 20 other craft fairs around both states this holiday season. In total the European Breads company has been going to craft fairs and farmers markets for 25 years. Traveling around the states, being outside, and a unique opportunity were some of the reasons Zizi wanted the job.
Walking around until something caught my eye I stumbled upon a woman with a spinning wheel. She explained that she is making yarn out of fiber. The single strand will be turned into a three ply yarn with the yarn layered securely on itself three times making it thicker. She explained the process as, “kind of like crocheting but you’re doing it on the fly while the machine is sucking it out of your hand. It’s called chain plying.” She started spinning when her sister left for college and used her sister’s spinning wheel. After teaching herself how to spin she got her own wheel. She is well versed in different types of spinning such as drop spinning at renaissance festivals blending right into the ancient culture. She has been doing craft fairs for over 30 years and has been to renaissance craft fairs. Zenning out and taking a break from the real world is helpful especially in her case. She suffers from social anxiety disorder so craft fairs help her relax.
Olivia Cole, a tenth grader at NC, attended the Christmas craft fair with her grandma and other family members. With nothing specific in mind Cole was looking just for fun but found, “…some freeze dried skittles and a cute woven stuffy pig.” These steals make her eager to go back next year. She enjoyed all the stands not having a specific favorite. Cole mentioned the bottom level as, “…smelling like bread.”
The European Bakery has a shop in downtown Denver Colorado while the other two booths can only be found at craft fairs. Next year’s craft fair will be December 8th and 9th of 2024. For a 10ft x 10ft space the cost is $110 with an additional $10 charge if your booth uses electricity. The proceeds go towards Casper Recreational Scholarships for children and seniors.
