Kris Kringle’s Craft Market elves are busy finishing up their last toys and tasks. With costumed characters, carriage rides, a children’s station and plenty of prize opportunities the Kris Kringle Craft Market is unique among the many fairs competing for attention this holiday season.
With more than 150 quality crafters displaying wares during the annual extravaganza there will be something to please even the most finicky of shoppers with everything from intricate jewelry, hand crafted pottery, bath products, clothes and of course toys.
The hotly anticipated market at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre begins Thursday Nov. 24 at noon and runs daily through Sunday, Nov. 27.
The family friendly market features the Kringle Family, Kringle entertainers, a face painting station, gingerbread cookie decorating station and free carriage rides through Parksville.
There are over $5,000 in door prizes to be won including a three night stay at the Quality Bayside Resort and $1,000 Kringle shopping spree. Admission is $6 daily of $8 for all four days. For more information visit the website www.kriskringle.ca.
Among the 150 high quality B.C. artisans who will fill the centre are Shirra Wall and Alexis Jennings of Wilde and Sparrow in Parksville.
With backgrounds in fashion and art, Wall and Jennings have merged their talents to create hand crafted one-of-a-kind fashion and accessories.
Their funky hand bags made out of recycled material and screen printed up-cycled shirts are not only unique they are environmentally friendly. Wall said she uses vintage fabric for the hand bags which she said can come from a myriad of sources.
“I used a curtain for one oversized tote.Now it is a modern, one-of-a-kind fully lined bag,” Wall said.
Old clothes also get a make-over. The up-cycled items are screen printed by Wall who transforms the hand me downs into modern fashionable apparel.
“They are good quality second hand clothes. I turn them into cool unique vintage clothes,” she stated.
Jennings uses her creativity to convert old jewelry into modern wearable art and she is most proud of her birds nest necklaces.
Jennings who has a background in interior design said she has always been creative and added her feathered hair accessories are hugely popular right now.
She said for a unique look this holiday season you can have a feather hair extension woven into your hair.
“The hair extensions are fun. We use a salon quality silicone lined bead and then clamp it in. They can last up to two months and can be washed, blow dried and flat ironed just like real hair,” stated Jennings.
She said her love of hair accessories stems from the days she used to make bridal veils and hair accessories when she lived in Victoria. She added she was quite surprised to learn that her great grandmother had been a millinery artist.
“She made hats and fascinators for the who’s who in the states. I guess it is in my blood,” Jennings admitted, and added, “Shirra’s mom used to be a fashion designer.”
It is only recently that Wall and Jennings decided to combine their artistic endeavors by opening up Wilde and Sparrow in the iconic old Parksville Jewelers building earlier this spring.
Even though they now have a store of their own they will have a booth at this years Kringle market with lots of handmade loveliness.
The pair both hail from craft show backgrounds and that is how they initially met. They have been busy working away at the Craft Shack as Wall likes to call it. The studio in Coombs is where the two get crafty and also do workshops. In fact from now until December 15, they are offering craft workshops from 6:30 to 9 p.m. every Thursday night.
For $50 you are supplied with all materials to make festive crafts including wreaths and vintage fabric stockings.
Wall and Jennings invite the public to check out their booth at the Kris Kringle Market November 24 to 27 or stop by their store at 144 West Island Highway in Parksville.
