Published: August 23, 2008 10:41 pm         

Unique vendors make Arts and Crafts Fair more colorful

Any arts and crafts fair will have charming and welcoming “country craft” signs — like ones that read, “Harvest Blessing,” “Welcome Friends” or “Bless the Cat.”

The 44th annual Appalachian Festival’s Arts and Crafts Fair has those staple signs, of course. But it also has JoAnn Andrews’ “Changing the toilet paper roll does not cause brain damage” — done in the same style as its more traditional country craft cousins.

The Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center was practically overflowing Saturday as the Arts and Crafts Fair continued for a second day. Vendors from both inside and outside the state brought traditional Appalachian crafts to the show. But some others — armed with items like melted-down Grey Goose Vodka bottles made into serving plates — came with their own unique craftiness.

Andrews, owner of the Willow Springs, N.C.-based Aunt Annie Gardens, said she just added her more tongue-in-cheek signs this year. Some are proverbs she spun herself, while others she discovered elsewhere. Signs include, “If idiots grew on trees, this place would be an orchard,” “Don’t make me call my flying monkeys” and “What happens at Grandma’s stays at Grandma’s.”

“It’s just something different, and a lot of people like them,” she said. “Everybody stops to look at those.”

Andrews has been in business eight years after the retired food and beverage manager discovered she did not like staying at home. She began with her gourds, hollow plant shells dried and used for decorations and birdhouses, and her work eventually grew to a plethora of crafts like several Christmas items.

Grantsville resident Karen Shreve says the market for all-natural products — like soap made from goat’s milk — is rapidly growing.

She and her friend Dinah Monast are partners in Exclusive Pastime Creations, which makes completely natural lotions, soap and soy candles, Shreve said. Another friend also sells glass items. The business started after Monast spent seven years in Africa. Monast noticed people there had no access to the cosmetic products Americans have, but they had “gorgeous” skin. They made their own products that were free of chemicals and dyes.

Now, Monast and Shreve make both unscented and lightly scented products, which are popular among people with extremely sensitive skin, Shreve said. It has become particularly popular among cancer patients. Chemotherapy severely dries the skin, and scents makes the patients nauseated.

Shreve said more people want to buy American-made products and support talented people in their home states rather than have their dollars shipped overseas.

While their cat Wendy comfortably slept in their air-conditioned RV, Judy and Johnny Bailey were selling their stained glass cats. The Proctorville, Ohio, residents — 20-year mainstays at the Arts and Crafts Fair — operate Cobblestone, which sells general stained-glass items and crafts involving antique plates.

The cats — some graceful and others plump — are some of their favorite items, Judy Bailey said. Their night lights with stained glass cats on them were almost sold out Saturday.

The Arts and Crafts Fair concludes today. Hours are noon to 6 p.m.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com