Beach and the Gardens - Two Great Events Coming Up

Those Dog Days may be bringing on the heat, but we're having a cool time at all the fairs and festivals. Next up - the beach:

 The following weekend - the garden:

Crafts and Arts by The Sea in Ocean Grove

Oh you wacky New Jersey weather. You try to keep us from our weekend fun - but you will not succeed. Especially this Saturday! Join us at the Ocean Grove Giant Craft Fair! Artists and crafters from across the state will be there. You can shop for gifts, treasures, or a little something for yourself. And doing so you'll be helping small businesses run by people like your friends, relatives and neighbors.

Stop by and visit Celtic Chairde Creations along the central path on the ocean side. We'll have some new products you'll just love.
 

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Amazing Under the Sea

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of being at the Ocean County Artist Guilds Artisan Marketplace. First, it was an honor to be included. Second, it was fun to be in lovely Island Heights. And third - I was floored by the beautiful and amazing exhibit Feathers and Fins by Beverly Golembeski and Florence McLaughlin.

My sad photography doesn't do the artwork justice. When you walk through the exhibit, it's like walking through a tropical fish tank without getting wet!

Individually, these two women are wonderful artists, but their combined creativity makes for a delightful and playful experience.

The exhibit runs through the end of the month. If you find yourself in the area, it really is worth stopping by to see. Most of the exhibit pieces are available for purchase or even leasing.

If you don't want to get wet, but want to journey under the sea, stop by and be amazed.

Art & Music Make a Song; An Emerging Artists Showcase

Chairde means friends in Irish. So we love to share news about great projects our friends are working on. This promises to be lots of fun with some great friends!

The third and final installment of
Art & Music Make a Song; An Emerging Artists Showcase
will be on Friday April 23rd at The Nutley Museum.

Artists showcasing will include photography by Ken Miller, painter Caren Frost Olmsted, music by Jillian Tully & Mandy Heck (Akwarian Sea Rebel), poetry by Devyn Joseph Michael Barat and Candice Tomlin, and a film to end the night by StrangeDog Film entitled Kill Your Friend.

Please come and enjoy some great wine, great cheese, and more importantly, GREAT ART!

Date: Friday, April 23, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: The Nutley Museum
Street: 65 Church Street
City/Town: Nutley, NJ

It's almost here - The 29th Annual Granny's Attic craft fair!

Celtic Chairde Creations is delighted to be a part of
the 29th Annual Granny's Attic Craft Fair
Saturday, November 21, 2009
9 AM to 4 PM
Thompson Middle School, Middletown, NJ

We have heard about this event for a number of years, but have never participated. We've very excited to be a part of this enormously successful and popular holiday tradition. We'll be in space 135D, which is in a classroom off of the court yard. It will be like a treasure hunt - come and find us!

There are over 100 vendors presenting their hand crafted items for you to peruse - including, of course, Celtic Chairde Creations. From what we understand, there are also many shoppers, so the atmosphere is festive and fun. Just the right thing to kick off the holidays.

Tis the Season for Holiday Craft Fairs - Support your Local Crafters & Artists

The Autumn Art and Craft Fair season is winding down. Soon the outdoor events will heed to the chill in the air and move indoors. The hectic, fun and exhilarating Holiday Craft Fair Season is about to commence.

Cindy and I love going to craft fairs and festivals. Not just to sell the terrific products we make, but also to see what other artists and crafters have been creating. It a wonderful way to get to meet the creators of your purchase and find out the history of the item. Even before we started Celtic Chairde Creations, we enjoyed spending a few hours (or a whole day!) going through a fair finding unique gifts for friends and family - or ourselves.

Jane Sandlar from Ducky Life Teas is one of the folks we've been blessed to meet at our fair outings. In fact, we now use some of her marvelous teas in some of our jams and jellies (we love to drink them, too!) Her newsletter from September says it best:

"Craft shows started out as huge outdoor events held mostly in rural towns and usually in the summertime. They provided an outlet for local craftspeople to display and sell their creations. When shows moved indoors (in the early 1970s) and tapped into the holiday gift market by continuing into the fall, their popularity grew tremendously, propelling the crafts industry to new levels of recognition and potential profitability.

For some artists and craftspeople, creating and selling their personally crafted products is a hobby. For many though, it is their main source of income. Shows, fairs and festivals, with their low overhead and growing appeal, remain the ideal marketplace for artists and crafters to sell their unique creations directly to the public.

Art & craft shows, fairs and festivals run the gamut from free, local events held in churches or schools and featuring traditional country crafts and very affordable homemade gifts to large, regional, juried events that charge admission and feature higher end jewelry, art, handcrafted furniture, and pottery.

If you prefer green, sustainable products and locally created and individually crafted goods, these shows are the places to find them. Prices, even the higher ones, are reasonable. For your dollar(s), you get art and crafts made with real materials and personal workmanship.

If you still need convincing to support the people who display their wares at shows fairs and festivals, there's the sense of community you'll feel. You get to actually meet and interact with the person who crafted your necklace, wove your basket or used their hands to form your pottery. And how much more special can a purchase be than when it helps artisans continue to pursue the work they truly love?"

What more can I add, other than I hope to see you at one of our upcoming craft fairs and we can get to know each other!