Allentown Art Festival: A Crafter's Delight

This weekend is the 50th annual Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo. It's a huge festival, filled with enough funnel cakes, kielbasa and deep fried oreos to satisfy the art-disinterested, and more than enough artisans and crafters (well, can you ever have too many?) to satiate me for a weekend. There are over 400 juried exhibitors, as well as a super-fun non-juried fringe festival.

I took some photos of exhibitions that caught my eye. Enjoy!

#1: Kreepy Doll Factory


In addition to the fact that their creations are colorful, playful and one-of-a-kind, the members of Kreepy Doll Factory are all dedicated to making the world a better place with their own hands... an idea that resonates with me, as do the comics on their website. Independent crafters who focus on reusing existing materials make me happy.

#2: Can Do Planes



Most of the Can Do Planes exhibit was full of, perhaps unsurprisingly, planes. They are all crafted from used aluminum cans. I was particularly smitten by this small gold elephant. I may try to make one myself, though I'll have to get a can from someone because we rarely drink from them. I have a feeling my brother may be willing to oblige, given that he's currently the beer writer for a local website.

#3: Flying Fibers





Here's my lovely sister Sarah modeling a cool hat from Flying Fibers, run by fiber artist Jeri Robinson-Lawrence, who also retails imported rare breeds and organic yarns.

#4: Nguyen's Chi Art



Though there's a bit of a glare on the glass, hopefully you can see that Lee and Christina Nguyen have mastered Vietnamese embroidery art. I bought some beautiful embroidered art in Hanoi a few years ago, and have been fascinated with the skill and patience required ever since.

#5: SiOx Glass




My fellow crafty friend Diane is currently pondering how to garden in her very shady front yard. She gleefully purchased three of these glass flowers- they're certain to bring color to her house's exterior in the summer, and to the interior in the winter. Note the red and blue glass mushrooms, for those wishing to suggest a Through the Looking Glass feeling in their gardens and/or abodes.