Eric Weit, of Akron, is an award-winning rag rug weaver.  He’s recently set up a shop online on Etsy and its worth checking out.  Plus he just passed along a few rugs to show in our gallery shop until April.

Eric’s approach to weaving is “it is like a puzzle using recycled materials and trying to put them together using the colors of the material that I find and coming up with a new pattern for the warp.”

His Grandmother said something to him a long time ago which he uses as his inspiration and motto, “The secret to a happy life is to keep your hands busy”.

Although I won’t be one of them, I understand the wish to stretch a dollar.  But when the item only lasts a couple years, is it really even worth the cheap price paid?

Well, the Guild has an alternative for you: give locally handmade.  Starting this Friday we begin our holiday hours at our seasonal gallery store Handmade Holiday at 252 N. Prince St, Lancaster.  Sorry, you won’t find discounts.  The upside is, the work here is really worth what you pay for it.

If you’re brave, you can probably avoid the traffic snarls around Park City to get downtown to our gallery on Friday (we’re open 10 to 4).  If Friday’s not your top choice, we’re open this Saturday from 10 to 4 and Sunday from noon to 4.

As of this Friday we’re open seven days a week until Christmas day.  Here’s our hours…

Extended Holiday Hours

November 27 to December 20

• Mon – Sat: 10 am to 4 pm
• Fridays: 10 to 8, Sun: 12 to 4

December 21 to December 24

• Dec 21 – 23: 10 to 7
• Dec 24: 10 to 2

Closed December 25

December 25 to January 2

• Tues – Thurs & Sat: 10 t 4
• Fri: 12 to 9

Our Holiday Fine Craft Fair opens today at 10 am and runs til 6 pm.  Sunday hours are 11 am to 5 pm.  Full details are at www.pacrafts.org/holiday.  Have a question or need directions?  Call 717-431-8706.

There’s millions upon millions of options out there for holiday gift-giving.  But giving locally-made handmade crafts supports your neighbor-artist and your community’s economy.

Independent craft-makers are small business owners, which means their expenses are tied closely to their physical location.  If you know about the 3/50 Project then you know that $68 of every $100 spent with a locally owned independent business returns to their community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures.

31 out of the 126 participating members physically reside in Lancaster county.

If you’re an aspiring locavore, you may know about the concept of the 100 mile diet.  If we put that idea to our show, 86 of the total show participants live within that 100 mile radius.  So your craft diet will be full of options.  The bulk of the remaining members live in Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware (not exactly the other side of the world).

So come on out and browse thousands of unique, one-of-a-kind, handmade crafts at this weekend’s Fine Craft Fair at Manheim Township High School, and know that your money not only supports the artists you buy from but also supports Pennsylvania’s economy and the community services it offers.

Children 12 and under get in absolutely free (always have) to all of our craft fairs.   And we’ve always had a small component at our outdoor festival for kids.  But now, we’re making a bigger experience and I think this is going to be really cool.

Each child will receive a pencil (or crayon) and a festival passport with its own map.  It outlines a variety of things that they can do at the show:

1. Draw something they see at the festival
2. Explore handmade crafts and write about them
3. Listen to music and pick their favorites
4. Watch popcorn pop in a copper kettle
5. Get their face painted ($)
6. Make and take craft project with Distelfink Artisans
7. Get the passport stamped and more

If you’re a parent, we’re hoping that this new project will help entertain your kids while you’re looking for gorgeous handmade crafts.  Trust me, it’s gonna be fun for them exploring the show.  There’s so much to discover and now they have a game to play along with while you walk around.

We’re interested in hearing what steps you take on a daily basis to reduce the environmental impact your work has when created.  Many artists take small steps to reduce their carbon footprint (for example, using CFLs in the studio), but some craftsmen go further requesting changes to the materials from their suppliers. 

We’re looking to hear from you about what steps you’re taking, whether it’s using recycled, reused and repurposed materials or something larger in scale.  Write Mindy at mindy -at-pacrafts -dot- org and tell me what you’re doing! We’ll have our new Sustainable Practices Committee review the request and if you’re eligible, you’ll have a ‘Guild Green’ sign waiting for you to proudly display in your booth.