Come to our indoor craft fair for live music and outstanding holiday shopping.  We have great gifts for everyone on your list, and we’ll help you have fun shopping directly from the people who made them.  Now more than ever it’s important and meaningful to shop from local small businesses, like the NYCreates artisan community.

We are also thrilled to be featured this weekend on NY1!  Thank you, Karen Seiger, of Markets of New York City for featuring our market in this interview and on the 2011 Holiday Markets Guide!

For more pictures and updates, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter!  We’re kind of new to this game, and so we appreciate your following us! 

Judith Eloise Hooper makes delicate, lovely ceramic trays, vases and more.  She uses primarily a pinching technique, and you will see the effort and detail that goes into making each piece.  Her glazes are subtle and rich.  She also makes truly unique and beautiful tea pots, which she sells in her online store.

Stephanie Monroe of The HoneyPie Tree makes sweet, soft, and playful toys for children, made from Wollfilz felt, a high-quality 100% wool felt product imported from Holland. The image here is of Riley, the adventurous rhino.  Stephanie’s animals, dolls, pouches, and more are wonderful gifts for children this season

If you want life’s little luxuries, come see Metropolis Soap Company. Megan Brame Finkelstein makes handmade, vegan soaps, oils, soaks, and more, with a wide array of beautiful fragrances, like Basil & Lemon, Orange Clove & Cinnamon, and Rosewood and Oatmeal.  Wonderful stocking stuffers for mom, and great hostess gifts.

Come see these three talented New York craft artisans at the NYCreates Holiday Craft Fair this weekend, starting Friday, December 16 through Sunday, December 18 at West-Park Church at 86th and Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side.

Catherine Joseph Fine Handmade Mens Shirts

Joy Reid - Oh What a Joy Baked Goods

Lovely Blue Vase by DS Berman Ceramics

Lemon Drop Body Butter by Body Stories

Wonderful Whimsical Hats by Serda Demen-Terry

Textured Ceramic Platter by Judith Eloise Hooper

Brass and Cubic Zirconia Bracelet from Falcon Feather

Story Keep records your family history

Wonderful Scents by Back2Land

Authentic New York Coast Sea Glass Jewelry Amy Burchana of House of Z

Handmade books from Gifted Papers

Beautiful Cosmos Burst ceramic bowl by Chris Dewees

White Rabbit by Stories and Tapestries in Wood

Wishing Pyramids from Wishcraft by Joanna Joy Seetoo

Hat and Scarf Set by Grace Derrick of Gracefully Done

Asymmetrical Earrings by Corinthia Peoples

Handmade velvet and WWII parachute fabric scarf by Janice Patrignani

Dreamlike Jenny Sparrow Doll by Debora Jackson

Silver Nest fingerless gloves by Suzanne Spellen

Bill Storoniak Photography

Gamelan Bells by Healing Jewelry for Pets

Nature's Nuggets Jewelry by Marian Stewart Titus made from ceramic beads from the Kazuri project in Kenya

This NYCreates event, as well as our upcoming Craft Fair at West-Park Church on December 16-18, are both sponsored by the Business Center for New Americans (BCNA) and the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).  These organizations understand the economic and social value of New York’s craft community, and they have been an invaluable supporter of NYCreates in our endeavors to promote and assist people who make fine handmade crafts.

BCNA is a special and remarkable organization.  Their mission is “to help refugees, immigrants, women, and other New Yorkers achieve economic self-sufficiency and wealth creation.” The organization provides on-going education and coaching around small business management and development, as well as personal and business financial management.  They provide start-up loans and also help their clients save money for new homes.

NYFA’s  mission is “to empower artists at critical stages in their creative lives.” They provide New York artists with a wide variety of services, including job postings, grant resources, education, and training.  They also conduct arts advocacy activities, and many other valuable services to this community, including assistance in finding affordable studio space.

We thank both of these organizations, and the Brooklyn Historical Society for their generous support of NYCreates and the craft artisans of New York City.

We have a wonderful lineup of artists for this five-day event.  Each crafter has been carefully selected to provide a wide variety of products and styles while maintaining originality and quality throughout the entire fair.  Our fair has talent, quality, design, and we’re none too short on whimsy.

Pets are a part of the family, and they deserve gifts at the holidays as well.  Sally Andersen is the designer behind Healing Stones for Pets and Their People. You can buy lovely charms and sweet gamelan bells that have healing powers for your pet.  This carnelian heart is perfect for older pets, as this stone is known for its qualities of boosting energy, improving appetite, and many more benefits.  Sally can help you pick out the perfect stone for you and your pet’s needs.

Amy Burchanal of The House of Z makes jewelry from sea glass.  And it’s real sea glass.  New York has been a busy harbor for centuries, and so it is possible to find beautiful and unusual sea glass in and around the city.  So you will be wearing a lovely new piece of jewelry, and also a true piece of New York City history.

Come meet Sally and Amy in person starting this Wednesday at the Brooklyn Historical Society!  They will both also be joining us for our second event later this month at the West-Park Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

New York Creates Holiday Fair at West-Park Church

Friday, December 16 – Sunday, December 18, 2011
The corner of 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper  West Side
Manhattan
Friday and Saturday 11 AM – 7 PM
Sunday 12 PM – 5 PM
Map

These holiday shopping events are sponsored by the Business Center for New Americans (BCNA) and the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)