Story by Susan Glauner

A craft fair is truly a feast for the senses. It’s a veritable cornucopia of aromas, colors and textures. Within the stalls, booths and tables of Southern Maryland’s plentiful fairs and festivals you can find a one-of-a-kind paper creation alongside a home-baked tart or a handcrafted bath lotion. Or a craft – a painting, piece of pottery, wood carving, piece of jewelry, hand-sewn baby gift or hand-woven basket – as unique as the artisan who created it. Local craft fairs provide a special space for local artisans to display their talents and interested buyers to discover them.

Story by Danita Boonchaisri and Photography by Somchai Boonchaisri

“There are many things to induce women to piece quilts. The desire for a handsome bed furnishing, or the wish to make a gift of one to a dear friend, have inspired some women to make quilts. With others, quiltmaking is a recreation, a diversion, a means of occupying restless fingers. However, the real inducement is love of the work: because the desire to make a quilt exceeds all other desires.”  -Marie D. Webster, “Quilts: Their Story & How To Make Them,” 1915.

One of the first crafts I learned when my husband and I moved to Okinawa, Japan, was making washi paper eggs. The Japanese use washi to do origami, and the ornate paper is perfect for decorating eggs.