Trinity Methodist Church on Cedar Road hosted a craft fair on Saturday, October 5th. The church provided pretzels, coffee, and donuts for visitors while the vendors displayed their works which varied from stuffed toys to earrings, and keychains to painting projects. A few of these vendors shared not only their work but their stories.
“We are a body-positive boutique, where we cater to women’s sizes small through 3x.” Shannon Marcussen said, owner of Annie’s Cranny on Main St, Mullica Hill. On her table, she displayed jewelry from her partnership with Park Lane, as well as some custom bags and various accessories. “We have pieces in our boutique that can level up your style, for events that are more formal, as well as a more casual vibe of clothing selections,” said Marcussen. A significance that stands out from other boutiques is her two outstanding goals. “We’re all about looking fabulous in everyday clothes that are comfortable and affordable.” Annie’s Cranny is open Wednesday through Sunday, with a new website in the works, anniescranny.com/shop-now.
“These are boogie-eyed creeps. It’s a character I created when I was 10 years old.” Judy Money Shappell, retired teacher of 28 years said. On display, Shappell had furry and fluffy creatures with big “boogie” eyes. “Each boogie-eyed creep has a story and a name,” Shappell said. “They come from Planet Hugs because as a teacher, kids would come up to me and hug me and say, ‘Mrs. Shappell what a perfect name, a planet where all things huge!’” From a creative character from Shappell’s childhood slowly became a product for Shappell to sell. “My son, a Clearview graduate and graphic designer, branded me.” As her brand began to flourish, Shappell realized that she needed to make some upgrades. “I’d sell them for $ 13 and it takes me three to four hours to make them, so then I had Big League toys from Ontario, Canada make me over 900 creatures for each of the creeps.” Shappell now appears at assemblies and craft fairs with her branded motto, “Hug a creep.”
“I’m selling everything related to junk journals. It’s a type of scrapbooking.” Andrea Hollander, owner of Dragon Lane Store, said. “The original idea of junk journaling was you take scraps of things you may not need like junk mail and you turn it into something pretty and aesthetic.” On her table, Hollander had several handmade tags, bookmarks, mini journals, and junk journaling packages on display. Some of her selections were seasonal. “I have ‘a cup of cheer’ bag for the holidays,” Hollander said, “which contains hot cocoa, a candy cane, bookmarks, and tags, to cheer people up who are in the midst of the Christmas season and are in need of a ‘pick-me-up.’”
Local vendors enjoy showing off their work at community events and craft fairs. The businesses and proprietors of our area feel supported by the response of their community when they share what they love.
