newsminer.com

Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS — For holiday shoppers, weekend arts and craft bazaars are a quick way to check off a Christmas gift list in a couple of hours or find that special Alaska present for a relative or friend.

For other shoppers, the indoor craft sales replace weekend tours of summer garage sales and are a good excuse to get out of the house on a dark winter day.

Then there are bazaar addicts like Bonnie Low.

“I love bazaars. I usually go every weekend,” she confessed. “I love to see what people are making and trying to get ideas for Christmas.”

For those who love the handmade, the practical and the artistic — not to mention the socializing that comes naturally to local businesses — Christmas shopping at holiday bazaars is the way to go.

The many weekend craft sales start in the late fall and continue until shortly before Christmas, crowding the calendar and drawing a wide variety of people to gatherings both big and small.

Entering the busy, cheerful atmosphere of a craft fair where the artisan/vendors can answer questions about materials and techniques energizes shoppers and satisfies their curiosity about the origin or creation of the product as well.

Saturday, Low purchased some small address books during the Green Holiday Sale at the Alaska Bird Observatory and was looking over the pottery, woven items, art and warm woolen mittens at the Boutique on Two Gift Shop and Sale on the second floor of the Lathrop Building. The sale continues today from noon to 5:30 p.m.

Also downtown, Native arts and crafts, including ivory carvings, beadwork jewelry, moccasins, gloves, fur dolls, kuspuks and art prints filled the large reception area at 1 Doyon Place.

Margene Abrams, a second-year Alaska resident, moved here from Ohio. She finds immense satisfaction in looking over the handmade wares of local craftspeople.

“I love the Christmas bazaars and the Native crafts,” she said. “I also craft and love to look for ideas.”

Abrams is delighted with the number and variety of bazaars she has found in the Fairbanks and North Pole area.

Her bazaar partner for the day, Pam Rothwell, also shares Abrams’ enthusiasm.

“I do beadwork and crafts, and I like to look at the different designs and colors,” she said.

At the Green Holiday Sale, Melissa Simpson enjoyed herself by first selecting a dragonfly refrigerator magnet then finding an artistic rendition of the same insect on a colorful notecard, which she quickly tagged “a theme present” that she plans to send to her sister.

Simpson said she shops at local bazaars for many reasons.

“I like to support friends and neighbors and keep our money here. And you can buy high-quality gifts for your special people here,” she said.

From birding guides and tree ornaments to organically dyed silk scarves and beautifully crafted wooden bowls, the ecologically oriented ABO sale is designed to please the eye and support various green organizations around town.

One of the gifts offered wasn’t so much about creating as it was throwing things away. The perfect gift for the person with everything or the person concerned about recycling everything, Interior Alaska Green Star (info@greenstar.org) is offering recycling gift certificates for $20, less than the regular charge at their spring and fall e-waste recycling events.

Perhaps the long winters and isolation are what turn so many people to handwork and crafting. Whatever the reason, the tradition is strong, creating big demand for handcrafted products and the raw materials that go into them.

However, because of the recession, sales haven’t been as strong as usual, said beadworkers Selina Alexander and Nancy Butler.

Butler said her gift shop orders are down too.

“It definitely has affected the sales,” Alexander said. “I actually lowered my prices.”

Butler brought her prices down for the same reason.

“It really has helped my sales,” she said.