Homegrown Happy Valley

Hundreds of children wandering around Allen Street in the 90-degree heat? That’s the Children & Youth Day Sidewalk Sale at Arts Fest. Take a look at our genius locals and their creations for this year.

Will work for dog. Tasha Burman, a participant for the third year, works with wire and glass beads, eschewing plastic. Her passion for making all kinds of jewelry began about five years ago; now she can create a pair of earrings in the time it takes to finish a bowl of cereal. Tasha, 13, is even working on a business plan. For now her skills are earning her money toward a pet dog. 

Greening Happy Valley The booth labeled “Can-tab-u-loso” is the work of the Strauss sisters.  Ruthie, 14, and Nora, 12, searched through recycling bins for the soda and beer tabs showcased in their eco-friendly bracelets, which were inspired by something one of the sisters saw at camp. First they clean and file the tabs; then they weave them with gimp, a plastic lacing used in crafting. Silver not your style? Ruthie advises her fashion followers to go for the colorful bracelets made from energy drink tabs. If you didn’t see them today, the sisters will be back next year with Can-tab-u-lous earrings, headbands and necklaces.

Another reason to love duct tape The Madet brothers simply enjoy the fun of making things out of duct tape. Andy, 11, and Frank, 13, work with more than seven different types of colors and prints to produce unusual wallets and purses. The boys are using the profits to stuff their own wallets with vacation money.

A local American Girl Mollie Albert knows her audience well.  If there’s anything tweens love as much as this doll, it’s her accessories. Encouraged by a friend in Philadelphia who was making hats for her doll, Albert picked up a “Knifty Knitter” loom. After her own doll ended up with a hat for each day of the week, a business was born. Does Albert, 10, have aspirations to become an artist? “I have a couple of things in mind,” she says, rattling off her interest in crafts, animals, and photography. In fact, she’s been saving up for a new camera. Those American Girl hats may just get her one step closer.

Turning creativity into charity Precocious is the word that immediately comes to mind when Maddie Chen, 12, starts talking.  “I do whatever’s on my mind or how my mood feels,” she says, describing her jewelry. “And sometimes people inspire me.” One of Chen’s friends loves French braiding, so Chen designed some of her bracelets to mimic the hairstyle. Another bracelet, purchased for just $7 by a very lucky customer, took Chen five hours to make. About halfway through the event Chen had already sold a ton of bracelets. She’s thinking of giving her proceeds to charity. “I usually donate to Make-a-Wish, because I’m a Make-a-Wish kid, too.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 11:31 pm and is filed under Art, Events, Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.