Avant Garde Arts & Craft Show Unwraps Unique Holiday Gifts

There are no potholders, stockings or dollies at the Avant Garde Arts & Craft Show. Founder Becki Silverstein knows shoppers are after something more special. "People want to show their uniqueness in a way that reflects their style and tastes, while also supporting their local community," she says. Started in 2011, the 14 annual Avant Garde shows are now home to more than 100 local vendors. Kick off the holiday shopping season early by stopping at one of these shows: Nov. 7 in Canton, Nov. 14 and 15 in Rocky River and Nov. 21 in Strongsville. For more show dates, visit avantgardeshows.com. If you need another reason to browse the whimsical bazaar, a portion of the show's profits go to different local charities, including North East Ohio Make-A-Wish and Cleveland Animal Protective League. We introduce you to five of the fun crafters you'll spot at the show.


Tiny Star Accents: Creator Cassandra Blasé's love for her home, her pets and comic books drives the vision behind her rustic and homey signs.  From the inspirational to the downright nerdy, her creations speak to all kinds of shoppers — especially ones born in Ohio. "I'm Ohio born and raised, so I want to do a lot more with Ohio."  Her hand-painted wooden signs also include varieties for animal lovers and signs with comic-book favorites Spider-Man and Transformers.
Buy This: "Ohio" sign for $15

Cleveland Candle Co.: Here's your chance to truly find your own scent. The company offers an in-house candle bar at its Mentor store. "You can actually sit around a bar top and build your own candles together," co-owner David Gin says. Those not able to make the trip out can choose from new holiday scents that will be debuting in December.
Buy This: 8 ounce fresh apple candle, $12

Necklascarf: Wearing a scarf has never been easier with the Necklascarf, which combines a magnetic necklace clasp with a vibrant statement piece. Entrepreneur Terri Brewer wanted a product that would appeal to women who found infinity scarves too bulky and complicated scarf knots frustrating.  In addition to being stylish, the pieces give back too. Her designer fabric is cut by Vocational Guidance Services, a nonprofit that helps educate and train people with barriers to employment, and sewn by Esperanza Threads, a nonprofit that teaches low-income individuals and immigrants industrial sewing skills. Helping make the trend more approachable is fulfilling to Brewer too. "I just delight in seeing women that come to shows and put these things on and get a big smile on their faces," she says.
Buy This: Patterned Necklascarf, $36

BootEmUp Designs: Bev Burkhart's boot jewelry takes your favorite cold-weather footwear from simple to eye-catching.  Made by hand, the jewelry combines durability, beauty and versatility: tough enough to withstand Ohio winters, each piece is also wearable as a necklace or even as a belt.  The Columbus-based artist loves sharing her passion for boots. "When people put the boot jewelry on, they have a sense of pride about themselves: they pose differently," she says. "It's so incredibly amazing to watch how this transforms people."
Buy This: Flowered piece, $27.50

Dream In Color Jewelry: Artists Sarah Friedenberger and Erica Speer's desire to break away from more traditional gemstone jewelry lead them to create steampunk-style pieces with found objects such as keys, gears, and typewriter parts. "We are recycling objects that tend to get thrown out," says Sarah. "Our motto is 'find your missing piece', and that's exactly what we want our customers to do." So find unexpected creations such as a wire-wrapped skeleton key that takes form as an owl pendant created from watch parts.
Buy This: "A Piece of Time," $40

By Katherine Blubaugh

Bump to Bows: A Crafty Mom's Destination

Becki Silverstein and Sarah Pozek

Sarah Pozek and Becki Silverstein are bringing handmade children’s goods to Cleveland one onesie at a time. Bump to Bows, a Mommy Boutique Show, is popping up throughout Northeast Ohio. Pozek and Silverstein, the creators of the traveling baby boutique, wanted to bring artisan children’s goods together after struggling to find unique gifts for their nieces and nephews. “We wanted something that was personalized,” says Pozek. “Sometimes when you order from Etsy or online, you can’t get your hands on it and really get a good visual of what it would look like. It brings the essence of Etsy into your home.” Combining Pozek’s past in event planning with Silverstein’s background as founder of the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows, the duo hatched the idea for Bump to Bows, which will feature products such as fashionable cloth diapers by Sew Snappy and toddler aprons by Radish Balloon. Catch the boutique at the Strongsville Ehrnfelt Recreation Center June 27 and 28, where some of the event proceeds will be donated to the Children’s Hunger Alliance. We chat with Pozek about getting bumped into the boutique world.

Q: What kinds of reactions did you get at the first Bump to Bows show?

A: One of the families that came, she has two daughters under the age of 2, and she walked out with just bags hanging off of her stroller. One of them [had] this teething ring, and she wouldn’t put it down. It was so cute.


Q: You donate a portion of your proceeds to children's charities including the Children’s Hunger Alliance and Alex’s Lemonade Stand for Childhood Cancer. Why did you decide to partner with charities?

A: Becki and I both just believe in giving back and actually, at my day job, I work for the American Heart Association. So we’re two believers in nonprofits, and especially in children’s charities in particular. So we wanted to be able to do that, every little bit helps.

Q: What are some of the most unique products sold at the show?

A: One of the most interesting ones we have is we have somebody [Meet Your Miracle Ultrasound] who comes in and actually will do on-site 3-D ultrasounds, and then they actually take the recording of the baby’s heartbeat and put it in a stuffed animal. So I think that’s really cool. We also have Pink Newborn Services, and they do sleep training and things like that.