Annual Craft Show Draws Crowd in Leesburg

By Kevin Myrick

Monday, March 10, 2008

Vendors and customers packed the Ida Lee Recreation Center this past weekend in a scene that could have come from a bazaar at a more exotic locale.

Still, there were no screaming vendors at the 11th annual Hometown Arts and Crafts Show and Spring Bling on Saturday, but rather artisans who sat in camp chairs behind folding tables as customers stopped and looked at their handiwork.

Meredith Jungen, of Centreville, set her table up next to the door. Behind her was a large wall-hanging, and on the table in front of her lay table runners and place mats. Much of her work looks like a handmade quilt.

Jungen took over the business from her mother, who retired a few years ago and taught her everything she knows about sewing and quilting. She said she was happy with Saturday's sales.

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Hometown Arts and Crafts Show

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Deb Matthews, owner of Chase Your Tail Bakery, displayed a spread of treats for her customers' favorite canines at the Hometown Arts and Crafts Show and Spring Bling at the Ida Lee Recreation Center. Matthews said the ingredients in her food are "human friendly" but would have to be made in a kitchen for humans, unlike her bakery, which shares a home with Dog Day Afternoon in Leesburg. (Kevin Myrick)

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Bruce Bucklin, a local potter, displays usable pottery at the Hometown Arts and Crafts Show and Spring Bling at the Ida Lee Recreation Center. This was Bucklin's second arts and crafts show for his business, 16 Paws Pottery, which he started after he decided he needed to "get rid of some of them." (Kevin Myrick)

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Meredith Jungen, a quilter from Centreville, waits for customers at the Hometown Arts and Crafts Show and Spring Bling at the Ida Lee Recreation Center. Jungen, who has been sewing for 25 years, said business was good, although she makes most of her sales in the fall. (Kevin Myrick)

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These necklaces on display at the Hometown Arts and Crafts Show and Spring Bling at the Ida Lee Recreation Center were made by Donna Chronister and Kathi Eanes, of Delicate Drapes Jewelry. The two came from Warrenton to sell their jewelry, which they make at home. (Kevin Myrick)

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“Most of (my sales) are in the fall and around Christmas,” Jungen said. “This is the only spring show that I'll do.”

Bruce Bucklin has more limited experience with sales -- the show was his second since he started selling his hand-thrown stone pottery under the name 16 Paws Pottery. The Leesburg native said he didn't intend to sell in the first place.

“(I) got into this as a hobby, but it turns out that you can only make so many pots before you have to get rid of some of them,” he said. “They don't biodegrade, so we decided that we were going to have to sell some of these.”

Whether it was dishes or animal-friendly items, everyone had something to display.

Chase Your Tail Bakery makes specialty dog treats that look like human cookies and pastries. Owner Deb Matthews said her business at the show was good but that the outdoor events later this year will see better sales.

Matthews, who's been making dog treats for the past five years, said all of her treats are healthy for animals -- if not people.

“These are all handmade with human-grade ingredients,” she said.

Others with handmade wares at the show were Donna Chronister and Kathi Eanes, of Delicate Drapes Jewelry.

The pair work out of their homes making necklaces and sold their jewelry next to other vendors, offering up some "spring bling" at the show. Eanes said business had been steady, but not as good as shows held later in the year.

“Spring shows are usually slower than fall or Christmas shows, but we've had a good response,” she said.

Next up, the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts Center will host the Flora and Fauna Arts Show and Sale in April.

Tagged: business_news, Ida Lee Park

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