So Cindy M and I went to the Grand Rivers Craft Fair down by Kentucky Lake (it’s like 45 minutes away – down the street from the famous Patti’s that I’ve never been to) – and boy were we impressed!
The people and the vendors were friendly (of course it was early so nobody and heat stroke yet) and there was an excellent selection of crafts – actual crafts for that matter, none of that factory produced stuff glued to a log and called craft.
They even had the gourd guy there (I didn’t get his card – ’cause I suck). He had a flat bed trailer with bins made out of fencing and all the bins had different sizes and types of dried gourds! From the tiny spinning gourds for 4 for a $1 to 2 1/2 foot tall bottle gourds for $15 each. The prices were more than reasonable and the selection was amazing! Cindy M got a dipper gourd – I believe she’s going to make an actual dipper out of it.
Of course there were at least 3 gourd crafters there (not counting Gourd Man). One was a bit ho-hum, one was pretty good, but the 3rd one gave me tons of ideas. Don’t get me wrong – her gourds were lovely – they just were not done to my style so of course now I have to make my own. (My gourds are doing well – but I’ll talk about that in the next post).
This lady had done everything imaginable with her gourds. She had jewelry and bowls. She had cut sections out of some, all the way around, and used the ‘spokes’ left in the gourd to weave around – the gourd acted as the ribs of the basket and then she took reeds or whatever and wove around it – it was so cool! Some had removeable tops, like boxes, and several of those were lined with fabric on the inside. She’d made little nativity people with little gourds and then used a bigger gourd to serve as the barn – several of those had lights put in the top! She’d even used wood clay to sculpt ears and snouts on some of the smaller ones to make mice and bears. She had used leather dyes to color them, glued on dyed gourd seeds in pictures (there was a chicken made of seeds on one gourd!), wood burning, beads, you name it and she had it!
My favorite vendor by far though was Ken Herman of Moonlight Glass. He’s out of Grantsburg, IL 62943 (phone # 618-658-2761). He does ‘Unique Handblown Glass Art’ – and can I just say Squuueeeeee! We stopped because we saw a skeleton hand… made out of glass! A clear glass skeleton hand was serving as his business card holder – it was like $125 and so totally worth it! If I wasn’t broker than dirt I’d have had me a glass skeleton hand (and yes the country is coming out in this post apparently). The sculpture next it was of a pretty flower… eating a guy! It was hilarius! And reasonably priced around $150. Now he did have regular things as well – for those of you who don’t share my sense of humor but the time and effort he put in to these things was awe inspiring – and none of it boring – even the normal stuff didn’t look like your typical mall kiosk offerings. There was a beautiful sculpture of a group of flowers pulled together by a spider web with a garden spider in the middle – absolutely beautiful. If you don’t know what to get someone quirky for the holidays – call this guy.
Then there was Debbie Schmidt of Dream Catcher Artworks – she does Portraits (human & animal) & Landscapes. She’s at 539 Lower Alsup Rd, TN Ridge, TN 37178 (phone # 931-721-3649). She also does lessons. The art was beautiful – I’m thinking of have a portrait done of 3 of dearly departed fur-babies.
Wildlife Creations by Tony Campbell made me think of my hubby – they do, of course, wonderful wildlife paintings (think ducks and deer!). They are at Box 582 Clarkton, MO 63837 (Phone # 573-448-5590). www.tonycampbellwildlifecreations.com
Blue Malibu Jewelry had Cindy M drooling – they had a gorgeous wirewrapped sapphire bracelet that she was eyeing. They do hancrafted jewelry made with sterling silver and gold-filled wire. Jill Gentry is the artist from Glasgow, KY (phone # 270-678-7192).
And finally there was B & L Baking Sheets. They state that theirs is “The last baking sheet you will ever need to buy!” The crafters were David & Lynn Mayes (phone # 931-552-6134) and they can be emailed at lifetimebaking@charter.net . They make cookie/baking sheets with a lifetime guarantee – and let me tell you, they were Very nice.
Cindy M and I didn’t buy a whole lot (she got the gourd and I bought a hankie bunny) – but it was totally due to finances and nothing to do with the selection. I haven’t seen a selection this good at any of the other events I’ve been to (and I do mean ANY). It’s worth a look, although I’m sure the crafters would appreciate a bit more than that 
– I can guarantee you’ll find something you want there and the prices were very reasonable as well. There was something for everyone – from affordable to ‘ouch’, but even the ‘ouches’ were worth it. I didn’t see a single one of those unfortunate vendors who thought their stuff was worth more than gold (you know ‘em – you’ve seen ‘em – you run from them quickly!).
So take the kids (there’s a park amidst it all) – they’ll find teepee’s and wood swords, take hubby – he’ll find ducks, deer, and outdoor furniture; and there’s stuff for you too.
They have a food court in the middle – with folks grilling and frying away. The only thing missing was a live band. I give the Grand Rivers Craft Fair five stars!
For fellow crafters who would like to set up a booth there next time – call 270-928-4411.
