It's Show Time Rocky River!

Meet, Hope + Joy collective..

Joy has been crafting for over 30 years making themed journals, 3-D scrapbook layouts, and mixed media art.  Hope has always loved bling and pretty things and has been apparel oriented since she was 4 years old. Hope has always had a flair for fashion, and decided this year to take to doing more with her passion.  Joy began her crafting journey with scrapbooking, and it evolved into being more art focused.  Hope’s creation process for the jackets truly comes from a free artistic space where each piece is curated uniquely as ideas come to mind.  Joy loves to be in her studio making anything.  She gets inspired by many things and just loves to create.  Creative play always has its rewards!

We are grateful for each day and opportunity, and we are trusting God to do what He wants with us and this business.  Through our business, we strive for our customers to proudly share their faith and feel beautiful in the designs we create!  Our goal is to spread hope, joy, and faith with every piece, and together with our customers make a difference.

 

 

Meet Brad M Coates from BMC Artworks…

The outdoors is my canvas. I love hiking in the woods. I love structures and buildings. My eye captures the subject and my imagination adds the detail.  I want my creations to bring pleasure to the viewer...for the viewer to stop, take a moment and experience what I see.  My medium is photography.  I digitally enhance what I see using various tools.  Nature is my inspiration and I love to share my interpretations.  But … I do take an occasional twist to the industrial side. I specialize in taking a beautiful photograph and letting my creativity do the rest with color and detail.

Meet Maia Langlois from Fairy Teeth…

My Name is Maia Langlois I am a freelance illustrator and art lover and I started my small business Fairy Teeth Illustrations in order to kickstart myself about being serious about being a full time artist that hopefully one day I can support myself and my family with. Art is quite literally my biggest passion and I cannot imagine a world without it to the point where I now want to pursue it as my dream job! I went to school for my BFA in illustration and plan hopefully to succeed in further business ventures other than just freelance work within my community. Fairy teeth is a love child of hard work and growing passions for my craft and art pieces that I like to share with others. It's silly, macabre, cute, and whimsical like me as a person and I know it is a brand that reflects the wonder I felt when first discovering art.   I've been making art literally my entire life, I even went to college for a degree for it! but the only other art fair I've ever been to was in 2021 at a Coventry art fair in Cleveland which was super fun.  This will be my very first Avant-Garde Show and I'm super excited! 

 

What inspires me to create is all the color and stories I can see and hear within our world. It makes me often think that that type of wonder and excitement that I personally feel should be shared more with the world, and that as long as I feel that love for creating through making my work all is right.

My grandmother when I was very young dabbled in all kinds of art which I was often put right by her side soaking it all up, I miss her every day but she gave me the greatest gift I could've ever asked for, a love for the arts.  I discovered my talent when I was in the 2nd grade in my art class. I remember my teacher always looking at my work praising me for my talent and my parents kindling my obsession with drawing- I drew on everything from walls to napkins to desks everything I never had felt such peace doing anything else.

My creative process often starts with a vague idea that then I explore by writing down things I think surrounding it and are synonymous then to thumbnailing and always asking for feedback on how others view the idea, often I have a lot of iterations of something before I decide on what will be the final result.

Hopefully in five years of my business I will have a studio and a online site with steady income as well as many other business paths to get passive or active income from, I never want to find myself stagnant when I can discover more things to do creatively, maybe one day I could even have a storefront where i can sell my own and other creative peoples' work.

My work does not always have a message but I often think about what story can this pieve tell, sometimes of metamorphosis and inevitable change and sometimes of raw emotion and just simple expression.

my Instagram is @Fairy_Teeth_Illustrations feel free to check me out! 

 

 

Meet Christine Barnie from The Nerdy Necklace Chick…

I'm a 40-yo mom of three amazing and spunky kids (5b, 7g, 9b) and one shelter dog who was 9 months old when I got her (16g). My degree is in environmental science with a focus on geology, so I love rocks and minerals! I grew up with a love for sci Fi and fantasy and other nerdy things.

How long have you been doing this for? I've been making jewelry for about four years now, but last month was my very first craft show. 

The things I love! Finding beautiful beads of my favorite stones or my favorite books or sciencey things.

I received a necklace for my birthday one year from a small local seller and thought it looked like a fun thing to make, so I tried it and loved it! My favorite is shopping for new stone beads to add to my collection! 

Ideas just come to me. Lol! My favorite is my solar system necklace. I spent months finding the right stones to fit the planets and sizing and spacing everything just right. But most of the time I just use a beautiful stone as a base and just play with it!  In the next 5 years, I hopefully just see myself enjoying making jewelry and seeing my pieces out and about would be cool!

2023 Rocky River Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sat. Nov. 11 (10am-4pm) & Sun. Nov 12 (11am-4pm)

Rocky River Memorial Hall (Next to Rec)

21016 Hilliard Blvd.

Rocky River, OH 44116

For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com

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Coming to You This Weekend Rocky River!

Meet Cindy Hudson from Cava Hockey...
I was born in Amish country – a place and time when all women learned how to sew along with many other handworks. I am also an artist, currently working for American Greetings. I’ve been drawing and crafting since I was a small girl.

This is my second Avant-Garde participation. Additional work can be found on Etsy if you search Cavahockey (Cavahockey is a mythical creature that my son created when in elementary school).

I am inspired by my surroundings, both in my personal life, nature and my “day job” work environment. I know that I will never live long enough to complete all the art and crafts I wish to, but I’m trying!

Meet Urvashi Sinha from The Paper Tales...

I am Software Engineer-turned-Paper Crafter!  I am a passionately curious person who believes in her dreams. The Paper Tales is 2 years old now and had an amazing growth journey as a small handmade business but I am into Paper Crafting for more than 3 years now. This will by my first time in an Avant-Garde show!

I truly love the idea of gifting handmade as its very personalize and handmade gifts lasts forever into the hearts of your loved ones. Creativity is in my blood, comes from my mother! I used to create handmade gifts for my loved ones but then I started getting orders from my friends & family so that gave birth to TPT. So my Family & Friends encouraged me!

Innovation & Inspiration defines creativity to me and this is what my heart follows! My work always brings the best version of me. Each of my craft creations has a part of my heart to it, which keeps me going! So my creativity is my STRENGTH. Down the line, I pursue to have a TPT studio where one can buy handmade Paper Craft stuffs as well as there will be a space for people to come and make something by themselves to gift. "Handmade is Awesome!" is the message because it truly is.

Meet Kayla Ross from The knittin Kitten...

My name is Kayla! I knit and crochet and when I do that I call myself The Knittin Kitten.  I have a big family with 8 siblings and my sisters are my best friends in the world. I appreciate the simple pleasures of life like sleeping in on a day off, making a perfect cup of coffee, using a towel from right out of the dryer, and doing something nice for someone just to see their smile.

 I've been knitting for several years, crocheting for 2 years, and selling my creations for almost 2 years and this will be my first Avant-Garde show! I'm inspired by many things but the biggest for me is comfort. I love making anything that will make somebody feel warm, cozy, and comforted. I'm inspired by a perfect fall day and seeing the snow falling in the winter.

It all really just started as wanting something to do because I couldn't paint or play an instrument so I thought I'd give knitting a try. And it quickly became a love for all things yarn, knitting needles, and hats hat hats!  It was less of a discovery and more trial and error. I love art and I love music but neither one was a talent I possessed and I knew I wanted to be able to create something with my hands and feel a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Knitting was one of the many things I worked down on my list and it was the one I loved and luckily really good at!

It really just starts with me trying to write out a pattern for an idea that may have come to me or maybe I saw something while out shopping that I want to re-create. Sometimes I'll end up trying to work it out on my needles and it usually gets undone and redone several times. I always work with a cup of coffee and at least one blanket.  I just want to always love creating. As long as the love is there I can see it growing and growing to become my full time job! My message is to always give time to yourself for self care. As humans we can all get burned out and stressed and not give ourselves enough time to relax. When I'm creating something I want people to be reminded that we all need time to slow down the fast paced parts of life. Sometimes you just need to wrap yourself up in something cozy and read that book you've been thinking about.

Meet Garry Regan from No Rulz Art...

We are No Rulz Art (or just No Rulz), a collaboration of artisans with and without special needs. We started as a summer art project when there wasn’t much to do for young adults and 12 years later we are working to make No Rulz everyone’s choice for socks, headbands, and accessories created with Dharma colors and our unique skills. TIE-DYE IS OUR FAVORITE COLOR!

Our focus is tie-dye socks and headbands, but we love to create baby wear, purses & handbags, beautiful neck ties, various styles of tops, and unbelievable leggings/YOGA pants. Our Dharma orders speak to what we do and what we have tried.

Tie-dye, like No Rulz, is “perfectly imperfect”!  Art and color are only part of our inspiration, as pride, happiness, self-worth, the belief that everyone can contribute something, making ourselves and others happy (our stuff is fun), and of course success, are what drive No Rulz.  We are all able and we DO!!! 

2017 Rocky River Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sat. Nov. 18 (10am-5pm) & Sun. Nov 19 (11am-5pm)

Rocky River Memorial Hall (Next to Rec)

21016 Hilliard Blvd.

Rocky River, OH 44116

For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com

Visit us on:

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Creating with Color!

Meet Amy Pierce from Birds on a Wire Faux Floral Designs...
Hello my name is Amy Pierce Birds On A Wire Faux Floral Designs. I am a native Clevelander...I have been a floral designer for 35 years. I have raised two children as a single mother and love and enjoy my three grandchildren! 

How I got started in my craft.. When I was a child, I would help my mother plant flowers in our yard. I think that started the whole love for creating and designing. My mother was a huge inspiration to me in many ways! I still love to design gardens and have lots of color around me. Plus, I can cut from my gardens and enjoy some fresh flowers in my house as well! My two dogs love to follow me around when I work in my yard!
 
All these years I have been creating and designing for all kinds of venues, weddings, parties, all holidays, special events, etc...I have even had the opportunity to design arrangements for: Joan Collins, Tom Hanks, Phil Collins, Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue...which I was able to attend that event as well. I had many good years and great experiences in this field of work! 

I have a job now that gives me more time to be creative on my own...it's been a long winter and that outlet has been very helpful! So much color around me to design with, when it was so cold and grey out! I came across sola flowers, which are hand made flowers...they are made from a soft wood- Sola Wood is an entirely natural paper product derived from the tapioca plant. I also use...parchment flowers, faux succulents, craspedia, moss, seashells and other materials I find to be textural and colorful. 
 
I love working with so much color, it brings me joy and inspires me to keep creating! I get a lot of great feedback from people that have purchased my floral designs, they seem to love all the colorful choices and it brings them joy as well.

Where do I see myself in five years?...Still designing and hoping it brings inspiration to others with an itch to be creative themselves! I love coming up with other designs and creations that people can enjoy! I also enjoy living life to the fullest and spending time with my family! 
 
This is the first Avant-Garde Arts & Crafts Show I will be in and I am excited to be a part of this talented group of Artisans!!! 

Meet April Hardin from Kanyon Creations...

My name is April and I'm a stay at home mom with two boys ages 7 and 5 months. I've been crocheting since I was 8 or 9 and I was taught by my sister who learned from our great grandmother.This will be my second Avant-Garde show!

My inspiration comes from my children. I've always loved arts and crafts. All the girls in our family all love drawing, painting and crocheting. A few years ago after only making blankets, I started watching You Tube tutorials on hats. Once I realized how fun they were to make I kept going! The rest is history! 

My creative process is basically envisioning a child wearing the items and what I want them to look like. The goal is too make the items adorable, while also functional in keeping them warm!

My five year plan is to continue to build out my online business and continue attending craft shows. The message behind my work is that children are a true blessing and I truly enjoy making things for them to wear and enjoy!

Meet Bill Winter...

My name is William Winter but I prefer Bill. I am retired from the heavy equipment , engine, transmission and marine business. I am the father of two, the grandfather of two, and one on the way! I live in Rocky River with my wife Donna and Max my dog.

I have been working in wood most of my life in various home owner building projects and minor artistic attempts. It wasn’t until my retirement that I seriously started working with wood for various furniture pieces, canes & other odds and ends.

This will be my first art and craft show. My wife and daughter have urged me to show what I create, especially my wife Donna, she told me we are running out of room in the house for any more pieces!

My inspiration to create comes my love of wood, it’s texture grain patterns and colors. No two pieces are ever the same they are each unique. My father was my true inspiration, he was a very talented wood worker. He was also a carver of animals and birds that won many awards. I do not have the carving talent but really enjoy what I do. The first table I made was from a slab of wood left in the garage from the previous owner of the house. I noticed the beauty of the grain in the wood, and made a table as a Christmas present for my wife. From then on I was hooked!

My wood creations are made of fallen timber or reclaimed lumber. I do not use nails or screws on any of my furniture, all joints are glued and doweled only. On some pieces I incorporate images of animals that are wood burned in to the piece. I do not try to remove all the blemishes in the wood. I want piece to show the textures from age, insect damage and saw marks made while rescuing the piece. The legs are made from fallen branches and are draw knifed to remove most of the bark. All work is done by me.

I once asked my Dad how he knew what to carve, and he said the wood will tell you what it wants to be. I never understood that until I really looked at the piece of wood; not with a builders eye but with an artists eye!

My five year plan.. To be honest, I do not know where this will take me! My only hope is that people would enjoy what I have created and be remembered for it!

Meet Cody Brooks from Cody's Sugar Shop...

By day I'm a programmer creating lines and lines of code... by night and on weekends, I love to explore delicious ways to bake and the art of decorating. I see it as a great creative outlet. I love learning something new and challenging myself to get it just right. It's so motivating to see others enjoy something I've created as much as I do. Bakery just makes people happy.

Officially, Cody's Sugar Shop is a little over three years old. I've always enjoyed baking and had the inspiration to pursue it as a business over 4 years ago when I did my first wedding and learned how to make fondant that actually tastes good. What a blast that was!

I enjoy trying new things and that sense of accomplishment it brings. I'm often inspired by colors, flavor combinations and textures/shapes, especially as they appear in nature. I firmly believe texture and flavor are as important as pretty decorations. Decorations capture the eye and flavors and textures capture the heart, mind and tummy!

I got into baking as an outlet for creativity, to learn something new, and to work toward build business of my own. One day I casually asked my husband what business he would like to own if money was no object.  He immediately said bakery. When I asked him why, he said because bakery just makes people happy.  I knew then this was the direction to put my energy into! Baking has become so much fun for me that it's almost therapeutic!

How I discovered baking... Actually from my first attempt at buttercream, which was a near disaster. It tasted fine, but looked horrible!  I was determined to get it right though...and I eventually did. Once I discovered what making something from scratch tasted like, and that I could actually do it, I was hooked. I started researching how to make more things from scratch like marshmallow fondant (yum!), cake pops, decorated cookies, and on and on...!

I enjoy reading recipe books like they are novels, searching online for inspiration, which doesn't always come from food, and sharing ideas with my husband who is a natural at flavor combinations. My process can differ depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. If it's something new, then I like to take a little extra time to experiment. I'm fortunate to have lots of family and friends who enjoy being my taste testers and advisors.  I'm grateful for their honesty,  encouragement, and support.

Where do I see myself in five year? An actual store might be nice! I would like very much to have built up my business enough so that having been a programmer by day will be a fond memory. There are a variety of options as to where my business can grow to. While I believe in setting goals I also believe it's critical to be flexible enough to be able to adjust your goals as needed. Most of all, I want to be able to maintain the same level of motivation and excitement to create as I do now.

The message behind my work is that I make fresh, made-from-scratch delicious treats to be enjoyed as part of any occasion, or just when you want a little something special! After you've tasted made-from-scratch, the other kinds of bakery (boxed, or mass produced) loses its appeal, really! Maybe it's that funny taste from the chemicals or preservatives in them! And of course... enjoy the sweet life and chose made-from-scratch from Cody's Sugar Shop!

For more info:
Email: Cody@CodysSugarShop.com
Website: www.CodysSugarShop.com

2015 Rocky River Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sat. March 21st (10am-5pm) & Sun. March 22nd (11am-5pm)

Rocky River Memorial Hall (Next to Rec)

21016 Hilliard Blvd.

Rocky River, OH 44116

For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com

Visit us on:

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On Our Way to Rocky River! Vendor Preview!

Meet Brenda Witt from I Once Was...

I Once was……... a sweater.

         

Brenda Witt came by her talent for sewing and crafting as one of four sisters born to a mother who could fashion anything from fabric and a father who could turn any piece of wood into something useful and beautiful. As an adult she worked for Jo-Ann Fabrics where she honed her skills and fashion sense into many things including these functional, warm, funky, and fashion-forward mittens. 

Made from recycled wool sweaters and lined with the softest fleece, these mittens are cut from Brenda’s original pattern then carefully sewed together and are completely machine washable. No two pair are alike in color and pattern, the hardest part is deciding which pair or pairs to have! Her mittens have been sold in stores in the area including, The Mermaid’s Tale, Endless Summer, and Gabby Road Studio.

Brenda was inspired by her mother to make these warm and cozy mittens because her mother’s hands always seemed to be cold. She went to a second hand store and bought a wool sweater, washed it and felted it and started to experiment with a pattern. It “snowballed” from there into the successful business she has today.

I Once Was…..., her business name was inspired by her recycling sweaters and colorful buttons into these beautiful mittens. After spending 20 years in the educational field at Oakwood Elementary School in Elyria, Brenda is ready to retire and pursue her passion for creating beautiful items from fabrics and materials. Several folks have brought her sweaters or jackets of loved ones who have passed in order for her to create a one of a kind mementos from the garments to gift and cherish in memory.

        

This is her third year selling at Avant-Garde and the previous years at this show were very successful and at times a complete sell out. Brenda looks forward to having you visit her booth and browse the countless creations she has mastered.

Meet Shannon Goodyear from Lucy Bell's Treats...

My name is Shannon Sisley and I am the proud mother of a 7 year old daughter and an 11 month old Lhasa chon (puppy).  I am originally from Arizona, but moved to Ohio 13 years ago and must say I really do enjoy it (maybe a little less snow).

Lucy Bell’s Treats became official this year and I am so excited about it! I have been the owner of dogs for 20 years and know how much they are a part of the family.  I can honestly say, this is my passion and I am so glad to be able to share my treats with everyone.

This is my first Avant-Garde Show and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Lucy Bell's Treats are baked fresh, healthy and homemade dog treats. I started this business after getting a puppy of our own. I would go to the store to purchase healthy dog treats, but would be completely overwhelmed reading all the labels and not knowing what half the ingredients were. I didn't want preservatives, I didn't always know where they were made and wanted something nutritious. That is when I decided to make them myself, with lots of help from my wonderful loving daughter Katelyn.

Lucy Bell and my friends/family dogs are what have made it so easy for me to create the treats that I do. I know that they are healthy, fresh and what ingredients are in them.  My daughter, Lucy Bell and I have tried all the treats (did I just say my daughter and I tried them..HAHA), so we have confidence in saying they are safe, healthy and yummy too. That is why I am so excited to be able to share in this passion of mine with others who have fuzzy family members too.  

In 5 years I aspire to be a successful entrepreneur doing what I love (making Lucy Bell’s Treats)!   We currently have 5 different flavors of treats and I hope to keep building on that to have an even larger variety. I believe we have to take care of everyone in the family!!!

Lucy Bell's Treats are homemade and health dog treats that have been label approved from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. We put our love for pets into every treat we make!

Meet Monica Horner from Triple C Sweets...

Our names are Sandy and Monica. We are a Mother-Daughter duo with a love for sweets. Sandy is a mother of 3 and grandmother of 6 who has been retired for 3 years. Monica is a mother of a 2 year old, as well as a Step-Mother to 9 & 8 year olds. She also has a full-time office job.

We both have been in the kitchen baking, cooking & creating goodies from love with our Mom’s and Aunt’s since we were young. This will be our 4th Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show.

Whether it is the design on a Bride’s dress, school colors for the Graduate going off to college or even an edible image of the Birthday person, we love to incorporate a special item for an event into our treats.

We have always loved to be in the kitchen creating sweet treats. In her 20’s, Sandy took a candy making class. Monica has also taken some cake decorating classes through the years. After our classes, we were hooked. 
We discovered our talent by feedback from friends & family.

We are creative by trying something new, i.e. a new recipe or design. We have tried many different ideas that sounded perfect in our head but did not quite workout how we expected in real life. Luckily, we have great taste testers around us.

In 5 years, we see ourselves doing this as a full-time business. 
Let us make something sweet for your next event or to satisfy your sweet tooth!

2014 Rocky River Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sat. Nov. 15 (10am-5pm) & Sun. Nov 16 (11am-5pm)

Rocky River Memorial Hall (Next to Rec)

21016 Hilliard Blvd.

Rocky River, OH 44116

For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com

Visit us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

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