A cozy atmosphere of locals supporting each other.

There's nothing quite like a unique, handmade item. Some of my absolute favorite belongings are hand crafted and special, as there won't be one just like it anywhere else. As I matured more, I quickly gained a strong respect for anyone who hand made items of their own. Rather it be wooden displays they carved and painted, or paintings they brilliantly made into art, or a doll, made from cloth, burlap, beads and buttons, all of the different hand crafted items that could be made caught my eye everywhere I went and gave me a sense of inspiration that I wasn't aware of at the time.

I would walk by a set of hand knitted baby booties in the old antique store we shopped in occasionally, and think deeper into these creative items. I would easily start to imagine the mother that made these beautiful feet warmers for little infant. How she might have began because she wanted to make something herself for her own babies. Maybe she was really good at it and enjoyed it, so she just kept doing it, and got better and better. It always made me think about what I might enjoy making one day, or if I would even enjoy making something of my own in the future.

I very vividly remember a farmers market type event that my parents took me to when I was a younger teenager. There were so many different vendors there with their own handmade items. My dad was a huge fan of things like that too so we walked through the whole place looking at everybody's creative inventions. I specifically remember this woman and her husband running a stand and they were selling different hand carved, decorated, and painted musical instruments. They had other random things like wooden paintings and decorated wind chimes, but it was mostly hand carved instruments. They were so intricate and eye catching. Some painted to look like animals or insects. Others were painted like scenes of nature, but I specifically remember this little wooden flute, carved and painted to look like a chameleon. It was my favorite piece. I haven't seen an item like it since, because it was handmade and favorably unique.

Last month I attended an event in September, that I was fortunate enough to retain a spot and table as a vendor. Attending one of these craft fairs as a seller rather than a buyer, was a great experience for me. These people worked so mindfully together and talked to one another like friends. I'm not always the most interactive person, but these folks really had a way of bringing out the more pleasant and social side of you.

With that being said, set up was swift and comfortable. Everyone gave each other space while taking time to compliment their neighbors hand made trinkets. There were so many different items to see. Hand made ornaments, wall hangings put together with different abundance of pieces to make a picture, key chains made of recycled plastic gathered off of our nearby beaches. So many different crafts, so many different ideas from each individual. Hand crafted soaps, bird houses, dolls, shirts, glassware. The experience was just truly amazing. I felt like I was in a place I belonged, and was also getting nostalgia, as these types of events were something both my parents took me too when I was younger.

If you have never attended a vendor fair or craft event, I would highly recommend the experience it brings. I was grateful to get to do another event as a vendor right before Halloween as well. It was just as pleasant as the first and there were even a lot of vendors from the first event I held a spot at. That was very nice to see. Some of these people had done this for years. Supporting locals, and even traveling to do so.

Amazing. Ten out of ten.