First Day of the Alaska State Fair!

Yes, the fair opens today at noon.  How do I have time to write a blog post, you ask?  How come I'm not in a panic, running in circles?  Well, I woke up early and realized that the booth is just about complete and ready for tons of customers.  I think we will have a  great opening day because our fabulous weather streak looks like it will continue for at least 2 more days!

Here are some photos I took yesterday as the booth neared completion.

Our brand new set of drinking items: ceramic mugs, travel cups and water bottles (yes, they're BPA free).  Selecting the colors for these items was another one of those extra fun tasks.

On the far right of the above photo, you can see a small selection of birch bark baskets.  We've had birch bark baskets in our booth since the beginning of time.  They are made by Ardella Hagen and her daughter Lucinda Durham.  This year, we have baskets made by Lucinda.  Ardella, one of my most favorite people in the whole world, passed away a few weeks ago.  I have given many of Ardella's baskets away as gifts and have quite a collection myself.  I miss her already.

New to the booth this year are some amazing handmade pillowcases by our friend Margaret.  She does a great job of matching fabrics into these rich combinations.  At the very top is one of her quilts.

And a collection of Heather's hats comes next.  We have a slightly smaller selection than usual, but we expect another shipment (she lives in Fairbanks) in a few days.

More picture to come -- of Cindy's metal art, my jewelry and Carol's soap!

Baskets

I have a bit of a fascination with baskets of all sorts -- wicker, birch bark, rattan -- so when I found these silver ones at a bead show, I just had to have them. I've tried using them in necklaces, but the detail gets lost amid the other components. The best use of these lovelies is in earrings, where they can stand alone and be the center of attention!

I've hung the baskets on handcrafted sterling silver headpins and earwires that I oxidized and tumbled for a shiny gray finish. The contrast between the bright and dark silver is perfect. These earrings are for sale in my etsy shop.

More News from the Alaska State Fair

Today I am featuring 2 other artists whose work we carry in our Fair booth. The first is Heather Krawiec of Fairbanks. She makes fabulous fleece hats and each one is unique. Her company is Mountain Heather.

The other wonderful artist is really 2 artists! Ardella Hagen and her daughter Lucinda Durham create treasures from birch bark in the form of baskets, bowls and cylinders. I am a big fan of theirs and have quite a collection!