The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
LCCC holds craft fair features, local vendors
More than 50 local vendors were looking to sell their holiday-inspired creations Nov. 18 at the Holiday Blast Craft Fair Lorain County Community College’s Spitzer Conference Center.
“I’m all about pinecones in my section,” said Jeanne Palmer, one of the local venders at the fair. “I feel there are limitless possibilities with pinecones, there’s so much you can do with them.”
Palmer’s favorite thing is to design the pinecones to resemble actual flowers.
“I have some that are painted to look like twosided flowers,” she said. “I also have two-sided flowers, poinsettias, and I have them displayed in these Christmas-lighted wicker baskets that really bring in the holiday aesthetic.”
Palmer said she has always had a fascination with pinecones.
“I just think they’re really neat,” she said. “They really invoke a warm and calm feeling which makes them perfect for the holiday season. Pinecones can also be very therapeutic. Moving your finger along the bottom, in a circular motion, helps to relieve stress.”
Palmer also runs a business called Cleveland Crafty Girls.
“I run a Facebook page that I use to feature other local women and their creations,” she said. “The hobby of crafts is something that many women share and this is my way of giving these women, who may just do this as a hobby, an audience and a way to capitalize on what they do so well. People notice how talented, hard-working and creative these women are when they see some of the things they make.”
Margaret Guadagno, another vendor at the craft fair, has a passion for making angels.
“Angels on Earth is what I call my business and making these little angels is truly my passion,” she said. “I make these angels to resemble people who I’ve known or do know. I find they make great gifts during the holidays and give off a very welcoming vibe.”
Guadagno, a former member of the Cleveland Singing Angels youth singing organization, believes that is where the passion started.
“I’ve always been associated with angels in some regard, so this business was a natural step for me to take,” she said. “I moved away from Cleveland and went to Florida for a few years. That is when I began my crafting, but there’s something about this area that made me want to come back. It’s really great to go to events like these and see just how many people are passionate about the same things you are.”
“The hobby of crafts is something that many women share and this is my way of giving these women, who may just do this as a hobby, an audience and a way to capitalize on what they do so well. People notice how talented, hard-working and creative these women are when they see some of the things they make.”
— Jeanne Palmer