Rocky River Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows: fresh baked goods

Friday, March 22, 2019

Less Than 24 Hours to Go!

Meet Colleen Ward of Colleen Ward Studio…

As an artist and photographer, I find so much joy in creating things, capturing memories and connecting with all types of people. Cleveland is my home but I love traveling the world. I'm fascinated by introverts, people who love numbers and scary movies - I'll never understand. My mom is my hero and gave me a love for fresh flowers, hospitality and the ability to make friends with a doorknob.

My mom is what got me into art. Besides being superwoman, she was always very crafty and innovative in her own ways. She always encouraged me to step out and try everything. I've been an artist my whole life, but I fell into this style of painting about 4 years ago. I'm still discovering my talent. It's a process that I'm overwhelmed by. I always want to be pushing myself to learn and be better. I believe talent is God-given and our only responsibility is to use it and be grateful.

As artsy as it sounds, I'm inspired by people. We are all different, full of depth and texture - not one the same. My process is to start, stop, walk away, come back, tweak, and let it be done. You always know when it's done. I'm often asked what is the message behind my work, but I don't always have an answer. Sometimes, I'm inspired by a story or a place but most often music plays a big part. I've found that if I'm too planned out, I mess it up. I like to go with the flow and see where it leads. My favorite part of the entire creative process is when someone is connected to a piece and tells me how they feel or what they see. In five years, I would like to be doing larger custom work in people’s homes or commercial spaces.

View more of my work at: https://www.colleenwardstudio.com/.

Meet Michelle Root of Chocolate 143…

My business is Chocolate 143! I make gourmet chocolate treats that are really fun. I try and make something that makes your party extra special by making treats that no one else has personalized or theme created so that each treat is a reflection of you to make your event stand out but at an affordable cost. We make some of our own molds so I am able to offer some items that can't be found elsewhere on chocolate such as some of my BB8 from Star Wars or Pokémon. I have been doing this for about 2 years and we offer chocolate treats for parties, weddings, graduation, holidays and any other kind of party.

This is the fourth Avant-Garde show that I will be participating in. My good friend Angel from Fallen Angel told me about your shows and I was accepted and have done very well and am excited to have received a following of customers that has also lead to many orders. I have been concentrating on doing larger, exclusive shows like Avant-Garde and getting away from smaller shows. I will be signing up for many other Avant-Garde shows and concentrating on that customer base.

I made chocolate with my mom as a little girl and didn't continue making it as I got older due to work, family, and just general life. I started making it again for schools treats and my son's friends. All in a sudden people would call me asking me to make some for their child's birthday party or for a platter at work and so on. Now I have a calendar filled with future orders. We pride ourselves in offering the typical chocolate treats but also new things or themed items that give your party that personalization to make you stand out. My dream is to have a chocolate shop where I could devote full time to making chocolates. It is such a great feeling when people see my stuff and say "OMG! THAT is an Oreo cookie. It is too cute to eat". The message behind my work is to create something fun and something different that makes people smile.

Meet Amanda and John Lambert of Lamb Baked Goods…

We are a husband and wife team. Amanda handles most of the baking while John handles bookkeeping and homeschooling our two kids. He also helps in the kitchen as needed. Amanda has been selling baked goods out of our home since 2012 but has been baking most of her life. Chagrin Falls will be our second Avant-Garde show and we're looking forward too many more.

Amanda gets her inspiration from whatever she sees around her and whatever others ask her to create. She got into baking for 4H at around age 8, where she realized that she could put artistic expression into her foods and has continued to refine it from that. In 2012, she started selling her goods at garage sales and it has continued to grow since then.

Amanda scours Pinterest a lot for ideas that she can make into her own. She sometimes received requests for certain things and tries to make the vision of the customer come to life. Our five-year goal is to continue full time with craft shows, growing nearer to Jesus and shining Him to everyone we encounter at shows. Our primary message is John 6:35: "Jesus said, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.'" A secondary message is Psalm 34:8a: "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

2019 Rocky River Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Saturday and Sunday, March 23 and 24, 2019

10:00am-5:00pm on Saturday

11:00am-5:00pm on Sunday

Rocky River Memorial Hall

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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Friday, March 15, 2019

Are you ready, Rocky River?!

Meet Andrew & Cassy Quillin of Home Slice Pies…

Hi there! We are Andrew & Cassy Quillin. We live in a cabin in the woods and bake pies! We specialize in four-inch mini pies that are baked fresh daily. We also bake up full-size pies for the holidays and special orders. We focus on seasonal flavors and use local and organic ingredients to the highest degree possible. From our all-butter crusts to our fresh fillings, every piece of the pie is made from scratch, with love. Launching in October 2018, Home Slice Pies is a roaming pie shop, which means you can find us at local farmers’ markets, craft shows, breweries, and other Cleveland area events. We love to cater weddings and parties too! We are brand new to Avant-Garde, but we are excited to be participating in 3 shows this year!

What inspires us? We love pie! In fact, we believe pie has special powers - it can heal, comfort, say thank you, apologize, and congratulate. It is such a cozy and nostalgic treat! We also believe that pie is meant to be shared. And that's what really inspires us: sharing our pies with our community! We have a large collection of pie cookbooks that we read for inspiration. We also love to brainstorm ideas for new pies based on the seasons and holidays. We have a lot of fun coming up with seasonal flavors and spending a weekend testing them out.

We wanted to find something that we could do together and really enjoy. Since cooking and baking has always been our number one shared passion/hobby, we knew that was the direction we wanted to go in. The idea for Home Slice Pies came up in one of our brainstorming sessions and we just fell in love with the idea and ran with it. We cook together every night and we love to bake up new treats on the weekends. After Cassy was in a bad car accident 2 years ago, we got really into pie making - it's very therapeutic and healing! It really became a passion for both of us and the feedback we got from friends, coworkers, and family who sampled our pies made us realize that we could be onto something! In five years, we would love to have a food truck. A larger commercial kitchen space and savory pies are also on the wish list! Overall, our message is that pie is a simple (and delicious!) pleasure in today's chaotic and complicated world - share it with those you love!

Meet Denise Sutak of Designs by Denise, Just Beads…

I am retired from corporate America and am completely content with my life. My schedule is mine and I am volunteering to keep busy. As a child, I went to summer camps where crafts were the "big thing." I remember enjoying crafting but then school and life moved in and took over. I began making jewelry about one-and-a-half years ago and have found I enjoy the design process the most. My inspirations just seem to come to me as I am sitting at my work desk. I have a very creative mother and I guess it took this long for me to realize I inherited some of her talents.

I believe I should have tapped into this craft years ago as it has been hiding inside me. I have a sister-in-law who began working in metal once she retired. That really pushed me to give it a go. My creative process beings by choosing my beads, then I work a design, walk away from it for a while, and then go back to tweak it. I don't believe jewelry should match, it should be an extension of the way you are feeling. For example, a red dress and purple jewelry or a blue dress and yellow jewelry, why not? If it speaks to you, wear it and wear it often. This will be my first Avant-Garde Show and I am excited to be able to participate.

Meet Rachel Town of Beach Glass Treasure...

I’m Rachel Town owner of Beach Glass Treasure. I started this company because of my son who has autism. For three years now, when Lake Erie isn’t frozen we walk the shore every day hunting for beach glass and it has been the most inspiring journey for both of us. Over the past year, I’ve created beach glass necklaces, charm bracelets, earrings, rosaries, and purse charms for women (in sterling silver), along with men’s beach glass necklaces, bracelets, and keychains, made using leather and stainless steel. We’ve participated in one Avant-Garde show, and more in the future.

The beach, my soon to be husband and my son inspire me the most to keep creating. I discovered this hobby when I just kept trying and figured it out along the way. I create with an essence of the shore. If I have an idea when I begin my hunt for the beach glass it finds me in a way I cannot explain. Beach glass turned my hobby into a career and I love it.

I plan to open a physical shop on Bridge Street in Ashtabula, Ohio by 2020. My jewelry is also in the Millcreek Mall in Erie, PA at the Le Petit Jewelry And Antique store until the end of 2019. By 2024 I plan to have the physical shop booming while continuing to branch out into other markets, keeping the website up and doing shows still. My message is this: be a rare treasure amongst the waves. Just like every human every piece of beach glass created into my jewelry is unique, one of a kind and has an extraordinary history.