From unique patchwork bags to walking sticks with hidden compasses in the top to beach-inspired mugs printed with seashells, there was a bit of everything at this year’s Piccolo Spoleto Craft Show.
Organized by the Charleston Crafts Cooperative Gallery, the show brought artists from across the South to Wragg Square (near the Second Presbyterian Church) to sell their works to the many patrons who attended the first two weekends of Spoleto Festival USA and of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. .
Syracuse University graduate student Riley Utley grabbed her camera and captured some of the performers and their versatile work during the show.
Pictures of Riley Utley
The Piccolo Spoleto Craft 2022 show took place on the weekends of May 27 and June 3 in Wragg Square. Artists of all kinds from across the South come to sell their wares at this fair hosted by the Charleston Crafts Cooperative Gallery.
Clay Tinney (pictured) and his wife, Lora, have been creating metal jewelry with fire for 45 years. The two are from Key Largo, Florida, and travel all over the country to sell their jewelry.
The Tinneys’ jewelry is made of silver, copper and brass. They use fire to create the jewelry designs, then oxidize and burn the copper to create the color effects.
Myra Bowie is the owner of the Terrace Clay Studio in Charleston, which has over 20 members working there. She sells her work at the studio, online at terraceclaystudio.com and at craft fairs around Charleston.
Bowie (pictured) has been a ceramist for 30 years and has worked professionally as such for 15.
Bowie uses a small seashell and a BIC pen to imprint his mugs. She also creates her own glaze for her pottery. She said some customers would pick up each cup in search of the perfect match.
Sara Davis Powell (right) only started making mosaics this year when she decided to create a piece above her fireplace. Before that, she was a math teacher and also taught education students at the College of Charleston.
Davis Powell said this Piccolo Spoleto show was his first craft show. (And her last, at least for a while: she will write a new edition of the education manual “Your Introduction to Education: Explorations in Teaching”).
When Davis Powell started making mosaics, she says, she found she couldn’t stop. She has created hanging vases for flowers (pictured), hangers, large wall hangings and many other creations. Although she won’t be at a show anytime soon, she said she’s been working on tailoring. She can be contacted by emailing [email protected]
Marc Tannenbaum has been selling his woodwork at the Piccolo Spoleto craft fair for nine years. He has been working with wood since he was 10 years old and took it up full time after retiring as Marketing Manager. He said everything he did “had a story and a joke”.
Tannenbaum creates unique versions of typical items, like these salt and pepper mills. It also manufactures coffee grinders, spinning tops, clocks, tables and canes, among others. He sells his work throughout the Lowcountry, at the Charleston City Night Market and the Charleston Crafts Cooperative Gallery. His work can be found on Facebook at thatwoodguysc or by emailing [email protected]
Tannenbaum said he enjoys mixing wood and experimenting with color. His handmade pens are a prime example; each has a different shape, weight, color and wood.
Uniquely MC is a mother/daughter team that creates all types of bags from various materials. Mary Catherine (MC) Kunze and her mother, Sherrie (pictured), started the business. MC cuts and Sherrie sews.
MC and Sherrie create round shoulder bags, clutches, purses, backpacks, totes, handbags and more. MC said their wide price range helps make the brand accessible to different customers. Each bag is one of a kind and no model is exactly the same.
MC (pictured) said she previously worked in fabric and antique shops. When her mother retired from teaching, the two decided to start the business together.
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