Fall '03 Edition
25th Annual Craft Sale draws large crowd of students and community members
Bethany Krajelis
Daily Egyptian
 Robert Lyons ~ Daily EgyptianKim Watters, senior in glassblowing, has her dress adjusted by Ica Crawford after purchasing it from Crawford at the craft sale in the Student Center. Crawford, along with friend Margaret Adams, sells clothing that they make themselves from raw and recycled materials. |
After browsing through the 81 booths set up for the 25th Annual Holiday Craft Fair, Kim Powell completed her mission of finding a unique Christmas gift.
Holding up a pair of children's corduroy pants patch worked with frog material, Powell knew that her 2-year-old son, who is obsessed with frogs, would love the gift.
"He is going to flip over these," Powell said. "But I don't have any money on me."
Ica Crawford and Margaret Adams, who sat behind their booth, quickly looked at each other and without hesitating told Powell to take the pair of pants.
"Don't worry about it," Adams said. "Just buy me a beer sometime."
After Powell showed her appreciation, Crawford handed her a small, blue stone.
"They are instead of receipts," she said. "This way we don't waste paper."
Crawford, a junior in business management, and Adams, a Carbondale resident, have been working together for the past three years as part of their clothing line titled "Dreads 'n' Threads."
With the hope of starting a business, the two women prepared for more than a month to be part of the craft fair, which took place Thursday through Saturday in the Student Center and was sponsored by the Craft Shop. Approximately 36,000 people attended the event and supported local artisans and student organizations that were selling a variety of handmade items.
Besides the popular Christmas items such as snowmen and Santa Clauses, clothing and jewelry made from used and recycled materials were a large part of the sale.
Crawford and Adams use old clothing and fabrics to sew new clothing.
Patchwork pants, dresses, shirts and homemade jewelry were only some of the items being sold by the two women.
"We do a little of everything," Adams said. "Our line can only expand from here."
The items made by Crawford and Adams are currently being sold at Makanda Trading Co., located in Makanda, and the Yellow Moon Café in Cobden.
"They are great community based businesses," Crawford said. "They have a good vibe and are positive and supportive of local artists."
Crawford said craft sales such as this one are important to local artists.
"People do this for their job," she said. "Look at Wal-Mart. They sell a hemp bracelet for $3 while there are people like us making handmade items hoping to make a living off of it."
In addition to recycled clothing, Margaret Goodman, an SIUC student, made necktie scarves for the SIUC foundry booth.
"After my father retired, he had so many ties he didn't wear anymore," she said. "My mom hated them anyways, so I started to make bags and scarves out of them."
Goodman said it is often difficult to make a profit at craft sales.
"So many people came and picked one up," Goodman said. "They said they would come back but never did."
After selling two of her glass pieces, Kim Watters, a senior in glassblowing, decided to trade her work for a handmade dress made by Adams.
"I never really thought of trading before, but we are all here for our crafts, so it is a way to share," she said.
Watter, who was taking a break from her duties of helping out the Southern Glass Work booth, walked through the halls modeling her new dress.
Crawford made a few last minute adjustments as they discussed prices. They agreed to trade a glass piece made by Watters for a portion of the dress.
Downstairs in the Student Center Hall of Fame, recycled guitar strings were being sold as jewelry. The booth was filled with necklaces, bracelets and earrings, which each varied in style and were all handmade.
Dawn White, who graduated from SIUC in May with an interior design degree, said she incorporates the concepts of her degree into each piece of jewelry.
"They take about an hour to make and each one is different," she said.
White uses guitar strings from her husband's band to create necklaces, bracelets and earrings. On each piece, a small tag reads, "This guitar string lived in harmony," and lists the date of the gig the string was used at.
White's mother, Debbie Timmons, came to the sale to help her daughter. She said the sale was successful and mentioned how two girls sold their books in order to purchase a bracelet.
In addition to selling her work at local craft shows, White also has here handmade jewelry in eight stores including Visions, located on the Makanda Boardwalk.
Carbondale resident and business owner Preston Barrett said nine out of the 10 items he purchases are used or recycled.
Barrett, who is also a cook for Mainstreet Marketplace in the Student Center, said he came to the event to support local artists. He purchased a rain stick and a necklace from Dreads 'n' Threads.
"If you can get use out of something that someone else has already gotten us, it's even better," he said.
Crawford and Adams handed Barrett a 'stone' receipt and thanked him for purchasing from them.
"People throw away a lot of clothing," Crawford said. "I believe we can take these old clothes and recycle them into something beautiful. It's a small and easy task that can make a huge difference."
For more information on Dreads 'n' Threads, Ica Crawford can be reached at dreadsnthreads@collegeclub.com or 618-561-4194
Bethany Krajelis can be reached at: bkrajelis@dailyegyptian.com
Newsbriefs | pulse - Arts & Entertainment | Calendar | Photo Staff
Apts & Rentals | Photo Personals | Live DE NewsCam | Classified Ads
Last update: Sunday, November 12, 2006 at 11:39:41 AM
Copyright 2009 Daily Egyptian