by Noella Noelophile®
(Graphic courtesy of Torrance Craftsmen’s Guild.)
This weekend is IT!
This Saturday and Sunday, November 7th and 8th, ninety-two gifted artists and artisans will be on hand at Ken Miller Recreation Center, for Torrance Craftsmen’s Guild’s 57th Annual Arts & Crafts Fall Faire!
While admission is free, you may want to get there early. Hospitality chair Laurie Pelekai says the first 50 visitors each receive a free tote bag!
Attendees will find no shortage of treasures to carry home in them.
(Photograph courtesy of Kaye Bee.)
For example, those gorgeous clocks and candleholders on Dr. Allyson Yarbrough’s Instagram page.
Allyson , who is the proprietor of Allyson Yarbrough Designworks, is both a master woodworker and a textile artist. (As well as an award-winning engineer and educator!)
As she mentioned in our recent interview, her work combines beauty and functionality. Her textile work includes custom handmade bags designed both for utility, and for style.
Allyson also takes custom orders for woodworking projects, including larger items like the gorgeous dining table she crafted for her home! As well as for her textile work (her festive placemats have me daydreaming of Christmas settings!).
Anyone visiting the Arts and Crafts Fall Faire will also get a taste of Hawaiian aloha.
Not only is Laurie Pelekai all about hospitality–she focuses on welcoming guests in a particularly delicious way.
As proprietor of Likohina’s Tropical Butters, Laurie handcrafts small batches of twelve different flavors. Some of these are from family recipes, like her passionfruit butter, while others are of her own creation–like her new pumpkin-spice flavor!
And these aren’t just to be used over toast or waffles. Laurie shares a number of ways her tropical butters can add the flavor of the islands to a meal–including a cake suggestion that sounds particularly yummy!
Guests stopping by her booth, as she explained in our earlier interview, will experience the flavor of the islands visually, as well. Her space features all kinds of Hawaiian decor, to welcome visitors.
But–one warning. Visit her booth early! Her tropical butters have a tendency to sell out. (However, if you need a special gift for a “foodie” on your list–or something fun to serve with a festive meal–Laurie, too, takes custom orders.)
Now, what about the other 91 gifted artisans who will be onsite?
(Royalty-free image by Pedro Márquez from Pixabay.)
In the past, I have been unable to resist the Christmas decor, dichroic glass earrings, scented soaps and handcrafted greeting cards offered by talented TCG members. However, I also love the windchimes, ceramics, aprons, quilts, and candles…and the fact that 501(c)3 nonprofit Torrance Craftmen’s Guild has been supporting artists and the community, year-round, since 1970.
Every Christmas season, they put up a Christmas tree at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center–trimmed with ornaments handcrafted, year-round, by their members. Children and their siblings may take the ornaments home with them.
In addition, they handcraft stuffed bears for women’s shelters, and offer a scholarship program for Torrance high school seniors interested in arts and crafts. Members are required to spend “service hours” (which sound very enjoyable!), creating the bears or ornaments.
One final note–TCG’s crafts faires are biannual. If you know a talented craftsperson who might like to participate in their juried show next spring, the deadline for them to become a member is in early January. Here’s the link for information!