Showing posts with label candles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label candles. Show all posts

Friday, November 14, 2025

Strongsville Brings in the Holiday Cheer!

Meet Erin from Erin’s Enchanted Gems!

I make fun and unique jewelry out of wood, metal and gemstones. I also make unique wood carved items including beaded pens and name badges.

My grandpa inspires me to create. He was an amazing artist and crafter. I went to all the craft fairs with him when I was younger, and my dream was to be just like him. I truly enjoy crafting. It calms me down after a long day.

I have always been artistic since I was a child, but it was not until the last couple of years that I was able to find my own unique process that I am proud of.


My process is abstract. I work with a laser cutter and engraver to create many items I did not know how to create. I begin by making or finding the design. I then laser and engrave the wood and hand paint the items.

In five years, I hope to grow my small business and have a small shop. I want to bring people joy with what I create. I love what I make, and I want to pass that onto the people who buy or view my creations. Most importantly, I want to make my grandpa proud!

Meet Loralee Wondrak from Miss Lee’s Mystical Emporium...
I started Miss Lee’s Mystical Emporium during the COVID shutdown. I wanted to create beauty and hygiene products that were healthy and sustainable. 

Health and happiness for the mind, body and soul was our motto. We make organic homemade soaps, body butters, lotions, soy candles and lip balms. We hand pick crystals & stones from around the world to delight and bring joy to others.

 Meet Tom and Mary Ann Vitou from Art by Vito...

Art has been a part of me since I could pick up a pencil and crayons. What could I do with this blank sheet of paper? I have always been drawn to color and line. In college, I immersed myself in all the drawing and painting classes that were offered. I have worked as an illustrator for art departments in advertising agencies. Now, I am a self-employed freelance landscape designer. On the side, I make paintings for family and friends. I hope to start selling my art on a commercial level.

I discovered my talent in junior high when an art teacher told me I should pursue my creativity further with more professional individuals. 

I have been an artist since I graduated from Cooper School of Art in 1981. 

I have always been drawn to drawing and painting, and I enjoy the creativity of other artists throughout history. 

I like the challenge of a blank canvas and creating something nobody else has seen.


My creative process involves preliminary drawings with pencil and pen which pushes me to create the final drawing or painting. I do a lot of work with watercolor, acrylics, and pencils to get the final piece.

In five years, I hope to be working as an artist full-time producing artwork for potential clients that will be happy with the final product. I also want to continue growing as an artist on the national level. I try to capture life and objects that reflect my views of the world.


Meet Courtney Hill from Candlelight Creations...

Candlelight Creations is a small business that focuses on making your house smell like home with our unique hand poured candles! We have been in business for a year, but we have been making candles for three years now.


We love creating beautiful pieces of art that smell as good as they look. Candle making is a great way for us to relax, and we hope you can relax with our candles too.


We discovered our talent through lots of practice. Our creative process often involves trial and error trying to see what looks good together. The message behind our work is relax, unwind, and enjoy the moment!


Meet Diana Krajewski from Whimsey by Diana...

My name is Diana Krajewski of Whimsey by Diana. I have been doing machine embroidery for 10 years. My sister-in-law had a single needle embroidery machine, and she showed me how it worked. I was hooked! I got a single needle machine shortly after that. 


After I retired, I was making so much stuff that I didn’t know what to do with it, so I started doing craft shows. That was six years ago. Now, I have three multi needle machines!

I love what I do so much. I’m now learning how to make my own designs. I hope to continue this for many years to come!


2025 Strongsville Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Saturday 10:00am-4:00pm
Strongsville Ehrnfelt Recreation Center
18100 Royalton Rd.
Strongsville, Ohio 44136
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Strongsville Holiday Shopping Awaits!

Meet Tabitha Prisinzano from Lunarcvlt Creations...

My name is Tabitha Prisinzano and I am the owner of Lunarcvlt Creations in Lakewood, OH. I have never been the type to feel comfortable in a regular 9 to 5 job. Back in late 2019, dissatisfied with my career in insurance, I took it upon myself to learn the art of candle making. I watched endless tutorials and studied into the wee hours of the morning creating the perfect candle recipe and creating lovely scent combinations. Let’s just say sleep was not at the top of the list of my priorities during this time. Turns out, it paid off. People loved my candles and I was making a nice supplemental income from candle sales. 

Then, in late 2020, I slipped on the ice and broke my ankle in two places. The break was so bad it required surgery and I was left immobilized for 2 months. Knowing I was going to be incredibly bored stuck in bed for that long I had a close friend bring me a couple skeins of yarn and ordered crochet hooks and darning needles from Amazon. This is where my journey began. I seemed to be a natural. I always knew I wanted to make plush toys. Within a year, I was designing my own patterns. Turns out there was a demand for my creations. Coworkers and social media friends began placing custom orders. I knew I had to expand. The thing that makes this work most fulfilling is seeing the laughter and happiness on peoples faces when they see my creations. The world is so full of hardship and sadness. Laughter is truly the best medicine and my cute little plushies give that to the world. This is my contribution. 

After years of hard work, I am now able to make my business full time. In five years I would like to see my blog and social media presence grow and to own my own storefront. Participating in these festivals is helping me achieve that goal. This will only be my second Avant-Guard Fair but I’m enthusiastic to participate in the years to come.


Meet Sarah Mitschke from Different Branches Same Roots...
Hi my name is Sarah Mitschke, I'm an ex racerdriver from Richfield ohio and current medieval gift shop owner. I started off back in highschool building chainmail armor for our senior art show and everything snowballed from there. I started building chainmail jewelry and then with all the extra wire I quickly got into wire wrapping. I build simple 5$ pieces out of copper or aluminum and I also do high end pieces that can go for hundreds out of copper or silver. The little 5$ pieces are my favorite because I get to follow the flow of the stone. I have yet to do a craft show with Avent garde but I am very excited. 
I always like to carry a little dragon on me when I go to shows so people can have a small taste of what fun I have back at my store in Richfield ohio. The thing that really blows people's minds is that I've accomplished all these things and I'm only 21 which I'm told is the youngest you can be to own an LLC in the state of Ohio. 
In 5 years I hope that my new little store takes off and can quit my day job working for myself full time with a nice large showroom with seemingly Neverending inventory.

Meet Heidi Toews of Horticulture by Heidi...
I spent most of my life in Maine only recently moving to Ohio. Avant-Garde will be my fourth show this year, but I have been quilting and crafting for over 30 years. Quilting provided a space for solace, creativity and peace in a very intense life as a pediatric intensive care nurse, wife and mother. Smaller primitive quilts are my favorite obsession with endless color palettes for creating simple snapshots of life. It’s not hard to find inspiration for these mini quilts, especially around the holidays!
After spending the last 4 months traveling across the country to welcome our three grandchildren, I’ve continued to collect and dry flowers from every state. This labor of love, from the moment they are discovered to the moment they are dried, is to display the simple beauty of nature. Often making the cards can take almost as long as a quilt, helping to find the right composition and simplicity. 

Meet Annie Ricker from ElegantAnnie22...

Hi my name is Annie Ricker.  I am a stay at home wife and mom to two children. I’m a Veteran who served in the Air Force as a Security Forces member.  

I started doing more with my hands after my first child was born.  My daughter loved to color and make things when she was very young and she still does today, she’s 12.  Watching her be creative has encouraged my creativeness.  Children are very inspiring!  I have experimented in lots of different hobbies including wood working, painting, crocheting, clay and sewing.  I have found that clay and sewing is where I get the most satisfaction.  I have been working with polymer clay for about a year and a half. I love that I can share my art by wearing it. I enjoy all the different colors and all the possibilities that you can create with clay.   Sewing is another passion I have been doing since high school.  My Grandmother inspired me to sew since I was young.  She would make me clothes and I loved them!

I am excited as this will be my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft show.  I started this fall sharing my creative work with others, and I appreciate all the feedback!  My creative process comes when I sit down and get my clay out.  It just happens! There have been lots of interesting pieces that have come out of this.  

Come stop by, I look forward to meeting you!  


Meet Kathleen Walker from Leaf and Willow...

I have been crafting and creating since I was child. I was a single mom for most of my adult life and pursued a career as a registered nurse , which supported myself and my three children for over a decade. Fast forward to today, when I’m finally able to make my dream a reality and turn my passion for arts and crafts into my own business! 
The bohemian aesthetic has always appealed to me and what better way to express that free spirited style than with handmade macrame! From wall hangings to plant holders, there is something for everyone to add a touch of boho flair to their home! 

Each piece is created with love and positive vibes! It makes my heart so happy to see other people enjoy my creations! This will be my second Avant - Garde show and I can’t wait to see everybody there!

2021 Strongsville Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday & Sunday, November 19 & 20, 2022
Strongsville Ehrnfelt Recreation Center
18100 Royalton Rd.
Strongsville, OH 44136
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Strongsville Spring Preview!

Meet Kelsey Hendren from Terra Artistry...
Hello, my is Kelsey, owner of Terra Artistry.  I make rustic jewelry using natural and recycled materials.  I am a long time crafter and have been selling on Etsy and doing art shows since 2016. I look forward to being in Strongsville for my first Avant-Garde show. I lived in Strongsville with my family for 10 wonderful years and then we took a huge leap of faith and moved to a small hobby farm in Valley City. Life on the farm has been such an amazing experience and has really been the fuel to my creative fire. I am deeply inspired by nature, and being surrounded by trees and fields has taught me to slow down and drink up the beauty all around me.

 Human beings are amazing creatures.  We have complex societies, create amazing art, and engineer skyscrapers, but there is something that takes my breath away when I look at a flower, or hear a bird's song.  I also love to repurpose, and enjoy the challenge of taking items no one wants and turning them into something beautiful.
I have always enjoyed crafting and DIY projects, but it was in June 2016 when I started to get serious about jewelry design.  That was the month when we were inundated with the 17 Year Cicada's. Our farm was covered with them and it wasn't long before I started to find their shed wings caught in the tall grasses beside our pond.  They were so beautiful shining in the morning light, I couldn't pass them up.  I ended up collecting thousands of them, and started using them to create jewelry.  That was the beginning of Terra Artistry.  From there, I continued to experiment with different techniques and materials and expand my business and grow as a designer.  Every piece of jewelry I create comes from a place of love and positivity, and that is what I hope to share.  A little piece of natural beauty, from delicate veins of an insect wing, to the wear and tear on an old watch, to the rustic charm of a rough cut stone.

Meet Fawn Michelle Fecca from Annie's Armoire...
I live locally and have always loved my pets.  Since I was unable to have children, pets have become my focus. I have been doing my craft now for about 5 years. I'm inspired to create by my beloved English cocker Spaniel Annie who loves to dress up. I created all my designs with her in mind.
I also got into my hobby because I was tired of the fuss that came with tying bandanasa around her neck. I needed something easy for me. I also make custom coats for our fur babies as I have found the sizes in retail do not fit.  
I come from a long line of sewers.  In fact my grandmother was a professional seamstress, and had several ball gowns at LBJ's inaugural ball.  I guess I picked it up more than anyone realized as I had not touched a sewing machine since 8th grade Home Economics class!

The message behind my work is to make pets happy one pet at a time.  I test all my products on pets and their humans before rolling out to the general public.


Meet Angelina Sheetz from Roots and Rain LLC...
Hello! My name is Angelina Sheetz, I am a wife and mother of two wonderful children. I handcraft a growing line of natural health and beauty products made with essential oils. I also make candles and wax melts from 100% soy wax in a variety of colors and fragrances. I am a Certified Herbalist (2010) and have been studying natural medicine for over a decade. I have a wide variety of hobbies and interests and I have been an artist with entrepreneur tendencies all my life.


I have been crafting a variety of natural products for my family and myself for several years, but this is only my second year vending. This will be my first Avant-Garde show and I am very excited!

I draw inspiration from life itself in all its infinite forms, from the unending battle against entropy, and the need to maintain balance both internally, and externally. I am inspired by the wonders of nature and the incredible healing powers that plants have over the human body. Of course, Need is the greatest of inspirations and wherever it exists, a creative solution will arise.
I have chronically chapped lips and after questing for the perfect lip balm with no success – even in the best brands the consistency was off or the ingredients were – I finally decided to make my own. I made it exactly the way I liked it and after giving some to family and friends I found that others liked it too. So then I started experimenting with other natural health recipes and candle making and found that people liked those too. So I tried selling my wares at a craft show and found I very much enjoyed it and so did everyone else. I think the part I like best is sharing products and information that truly help people. 

My creative process is simple; I select the highest quality ingredients I can find that have the most benefit to the human body, then I prepare them in a way that is practical, convenient, and effective, and finish them with a little artistic flair. Many of our product labels feature photography from our travels to the Amazon rainforest and many of the Sacred Sites of the Andes Mountains. I find that labels are an excellent way to display photography and natural plant oils and butters are an excellent medium of artistic expression. I consider my work to be true “healing arts”.
In five years I hope to see my products on store shelves and have a thriving family business. And I hope in five years it will still be just as much fun as it is now. 

If there was a message behind my work, it would be “Make the most with what you have” and “Nature provides everything we need.” We should always appreciate what we have when we have it, for things change so quickly and precious things, once lost, cannot be regained.

*As a rule, I only use ingredients that I know to be beneficial to humans, and none that are harmful. Our products do NOT contain any of the following: parabens, petrochemicals, titanium dioxide, EDTA, industrial preservatives, stabilizers, phthalates, aluminum compounds, pharmaceuticals, cheap fillers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). But I do put a lot of Love into everything I make, enjoy!

Meet Sarah & Rebekah Jones from Renee Originals...
Hi! My name is Sarah Jones and I own Renee Originals 1 with my sister and best friend Rebekah. We are two city girls from Cleveland, Ohio who believe in being classy, cozy and romantic; we love to express this by creating unique knit and crochet fashion accessories.


Rebekah and I, Started Renee Originals 1 back in 2011, however, we have been crocheting for over twelve years and knitting for about two. Being that we are 24 and 22 respectively, we literally have been working at this craft for more than half of our lives.
This will be our very first time attending one of the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows and we are super excited to be able to share something that we love and are so passionate about with the art community as well as fellow art lovers.

For us a classic style is timeless; it doesn’t become outdated with changing trends and it always flatters. I often tell Rebekah, ‘we have to keep working on this until it makes you feel something’. To that end we draw inspiration from classic textural ideas like lace and petals, updating them for the modern romantic. Being from Cleveland, we know cold, so the items we make have to be cute and cozy for when you’re bundled tight.

Think cityscapes and black and white movies… that’s us.
Crochet has been a part of our family for as long as I can remember; when our mother taught herself the art she did not hesitate to share such a wonderful skill with my sister and me. Ever since we were young our parents always encouraged the use of our imagination, and they would tell us that anything you can think of can become a reality if you are determined. Thus when our mother showed us how a simple hook and a skein of yarn could be turned into something beautiful, it did not take long for inspiration to captivate us. We began with the basics, and in time our love and ability gradually matured into what we do today. Since our beginning, we have continued the self-taught tradition and have included knitting in our skill arsenal; every day looking for ways to learn and improve our skills.

Rebekah and I have two very different creative processes. I am definitely more of a systematic creative, I have a list of things that I want to make or try and I continually work according to my schedule to achieve these goals. Rebekah on the other hand, is the type of person who works when inspiration hits. Working together we have been able to ensure that all the pieces we create are unique and truly things that we ourselves would wear.
The future is uncertain, but we would love to see our business having grown in its reach and scope, offering many more unique fashions for Men, Women and Children.  We would also love to travel and learn different techniques and styles associated with the fiber arts from around the world and thus be able to incorporate them into new designs and thus expanding our brand even wider into the global marketplace.

Everything we do can be summed up in the words Classy Cozy and Romantic. Our goal is to show how beautiful and practical handmade can truly be no matter the season.   Just as the classic little black dress or that well-tailored suit never goes out of style; we have designed Renee Originals 1 to express a timeless elegance that can only come from handcrafted art.

Everything we make can be completely customized ensuring that no matter your style or size we can make something that fits who YOU are.  We also have an expanding number of handmade items specifically designed for men in our shop further proving that a classic style can fit everyone. 

View more of our work at:
Reneeoriginals1.etsy.com
Instagram.com/reneeoriginals1

2017 Strongsville Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Strongsville Ehrnfelt Recreation Center
18100 Royalton Rd.
Strongsville, OH 44136
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN