Arts & Crafts Show Wows at the Wells Fargo Pavillion

San Angelo Crafters joined together at the Wells Fargo Pavilion on Saturday, May 7, to host the 41^st Greater San Angelo Guild Arts & Craft Show. Vendors from San Angelo and the surrounding areas displayed their best work for the public to enjoy.

“We have jewelry, jalapeño pepper poppers, and pottery,” said Sandra Sabine, president of the Guild. “Anything you can imagine.”

The crafts included unique sewn items, food, earrings, knives and wire bonsai trees among others.

 “People make things by hand and with love,” Sabine noted.

Not only is the craft show free to the public, but it also provides San Angelo residents the opportunity to interact with local crafters and their amazing creations.

Teresa Ballard, owner of Creations by Teresa, has been a member of the Guild for two and half years, and loves the sense of family the guild provides to its crafters. Her booth featured handmade id holders, blankets, and the crowd favorite, custom children’s nap mats.

For Tanya Lewis, a new member of the Guild and the organization's webmaster, craft shows are an excellent way to explore another world beyond the technology driven one we have today. Her booth showcased her expert needle work and adorable Raggedy Ann dolls. A former superintendent, Lewis said she finds crafting a relaxing experience and appealing to all ages.

“It’s pretty amazing to see what people can come up with,” she noted.

Michigan native Michael Sheaffer hosted a very unique booth at the craft show for his first time. Mr. Sheaffer makes wire bonsai trees from wires such as aluminum and cooper. His trees are environmentally friendly and use recycled products, from the wood base to the tree itself. The trees offered a unique twist to traditional gardening alongside the wide selection of wire figurines available at the booth. The idea stemmed from years of struggle trying to maintain real bonsai trees alive; so, the wire trees provided a solution to the problem.

“We love bonsai trees, but we have a brown thumb, so we killed everyone that we got,” said Sheaffer.

The craft show also offered multiple booths geared more toward the male public. Several knife and knife sharpening booths were available throughout the pavilion. This included Mr. Kelly Morgan, who attended the craft show for the very first time. A knife crafter for the past nine years, he offered hand crafted folding knives as well as knife sharpening using paper wheels. This method, according to Mr. Morgan, is the most efficient and quickest way to sharpen knives with minimal damage to the knife.

Mrs. Stella Raney, a new visitor to the craft show, was very excited about all the crafts she had seen.

“Everything they have is nearly homemade, and it’s so pretty,” she stated.

Raffle tickets were also sold during the show, and the winners had the chance to win a wide selection of prizes, including $175 in gift cards to local merchants. Alongside the raffle, the Guild hosted a canned food drive that benefited “Meals for the Elderly.” With each can donated, a raffle ticket was added to the drawing in the person's name.

For those people who could not attend the show, it will continue through tomorrow.