Nov 28, 2017 5 min read

Seven Washington County crafters have been juried to participate in Pittsburgh’s award-winning craft fair, Handmade Arcade.

Called one of the “Top 35 Craft Fairs in the World” by BuzzFeed and featured in international publications such as the Huffington Post, Thrillist and Condé Nast Traveler, the Arcade is now in its 14th consecutive year. Scheduled from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday at David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, the Arcade features free admission and parking in Pittsburgh Parking Authority garages.

Along with 170-plus other vendors juried into the show from crafter applications sent in from all over the nation, Tamara Barker of Monongahela will travel to Pittsburgh to exhibit her hand-crafted items. These include her hand-poured soy candles in thrifted tea cups and glassware, tea towels with printed vintage images, along with a mix of other assorted items she makes in an old Victorian farmhouse she calls home.

“I’ve been crafting and selling at shows for at least 25 years,” Barker said. “I first got started in college in the late 1980s making Victorian-themed crafts like dried flower wreaths, swags and Christmas stockings with the help of my grandmother.”

If You Go

Situated adjacent to the Handmade Arcade vendor marketplace, the Hands-on Handmade features short and day-long drop-in projects, demonstrations, mini-tutorials, make-and-take activities, games, performances and large-scale art installations.

For a complete list of HOHA activities, go to www.handmadearcade.com/hands-on-handmade/2017-hands-on-handmade/.

Admission to the Handmade Arcade is free.

A limited number of Early Birdie tickets for Hands-on Handmade are for sale in-person at The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh, Mt. Lebanon. A limited number of tickets will also be sold online at www.handmadearcade.com for $10. Important note: $10 tickets will NOT include a Swag Bag.

Employed full time as a controller for Travelers Aid, Barker began making scented candles poured into old tea cups and glassware she rescues from thrift stores in the Pittsburgh area about five years ago.

“The tea cups are so beautiful and just sit there in shops unloved, so I decided to repurpose them and give them new life,” she said.

To prevent the tea cups from being ruined when the candle burns down, she researched different waxes and found one that serves the purpose. After the candle wax burns away, the cup can be reused instead of discarded. Barker added some of her patrons even bring them back to her to have them refilled with their favorite scent.

Over the years, she said she’s retained her early-Victorian aesthetic, using images of antique bicycles and octopuses she prints on her tea towels. She also uses unusual images like bugs and anatomical hearts she decals on china plates that provide a vivid contrast to the look of the antiquated china and brings it “into the modern era.”

In Peters Township, Emily Shedlock began looking for a way to help finance the cost of her son’s preschool in 2009 after retiring from Macy’s. Intending to be a stay-at-home mom, she discovered soap-making instead and spent the summer learning her craft.

This year, she joins Handmade Arcade for the fifth year.

“I started out making goat milk soap but extended my Buttercup and Thistle line with foaming sugar scrubs, glycerin shower bars and bath tub teas,” she said.

The latter are large tea bags full of assorted salts, oatmeal and dried flowers, made in rose, chamomile and lavender scents to help soothe the skin.

If you’re wondering, the name “Buttercup and Thistle” comes from the image on the first soap mold she purchased.

At Handmade Arcade, Shedlock also plans to sell her lip balms, emollients made with four simple ingredients in four different flavors – toasted coconut, mint julep, sugared acai and root beer. She’s also launching a new line of linen sprays.

“I always thought it was essential to sell my handcrafted luxury items at a reasonable price,” said Shedlock, whose products range from $4 for the lip balms to $8 for the soaps and nothing priced more than $20.

Other Washington County crafters in Handmade Arcade include Sandi Eaton of McDonald, who paints images, mostly of animals, an inspiration she got from a stray cat she rescued from Nose 2 Tail Cat Rescue. Most of her products feature cats from the rescue, where Eaton volunteers. Eaton, who also does commissioned pet portraits, will have prints, notecards, stickers, magnets and desktop calendars featuring her paintings available for purchase.

In Peters, Audra Azoury designs a variety of jewelry made from laser-cut steel, copper and leather, which she turns into items like bracelets, earrings and necklaces, but also stand-up steel bridges and cityscapes.

From Washington, Jane Caldwell makes creative durable items for children, including hooded towels and original dress-up costumes she markets under The Rowdy Ladybug label.

From McDonald, Tawney Roddy offers items by Willowbrook Alpacas that range from raw alpaca fleece and felted soaps to dryer balls, beanies, baby booties and felted fedoras and cowboy hats.

Washington jewelry-maker Sarah March uses fine-quality vintage components in combination with seed beading to create unique pieces of Louie Prior jewelry.

For more information, visit www.handmadearcade.com.