\u201cThis is my other COVID baby,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Full of brightly colored, vintage-inspired clothing, prints, and lifestyle goods inspired by her time in Australia and the women that have supported her throughout her journey, everything is designed to be \u201can ode to that time period of my life,\u201d Casanova said.<\/p>\n Casanova was one of over 200 vendors at Dear Handmade Life\u2019s biannual Patchwork Show Makers Festival<\/a> on Nov. 13, where visitors shopped for everything ranging from jewelry, apothecary items, pottery, gourmet food and more.<\/p>\n All of the event\u2019s vendors are selected through a jury process, so that participating artists represent a variety of product types and styles, explained event organizer, Spaulding, who goes by just her last name.<\/p>\n The festival, initially founded in 2008 by Nicole Stevenson and her aunt, Delilah Snell, began in Santa Ana with just 25 vendors, before expanding to five California cities: Tustin, Oakland, Santa Rosa, Ventura, and of course, Long Beach, which is the largest of Dear Handmade Life\u2019s events.<\/p>\n The Long Beach fair featured the most extensive Patchwork Junior section, along with live music, artisan food vendors over 10 food trucks, plus crafting activities such as creating chalkboard art, jewelry making and succulent pot decorating.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of our locations have their own sort of flavor and their own vibe, and Long Beach really always embraces creative makers in a way that a lot of other places just don’t,\u201d Spaulding said.<\/p>\n When the event was created, there were not many similar crafting events available, and the idea was to foster a sense of community for artists, Spaulding said.<\/p>\n Next season, there are plans to expand at even more locations, Spaulding said.<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially for emerging makers, (the event) gives them a safe space to really build community,\u201d Spaulding said.<\/p>\n While some participating businesses, such as Casanova\u2019s, are relatively new, other business owners have been honing their craft for years, such as Betsy Bothell, who creates mosaic art from sea glass and repurposed wood, typically old fencing.<\/p>\n \u201cI started collecting my sea glass 21 years ago, and I just kind of became obsessed with it,\u201d Bothell said. \u201cAbout eight years ago, when my husband and I moved in together, he was like, \u2018You have too much sea glass, do something with this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Bothell\u2019s first project was a mosaic sea turtle, and it wasn\u2019t long before her business, Marea Baja Designs<\/a> became her full-time job.<\/p>\n \u201cI get to collect all the sea glass and have the hunt of that … but then on a daily basis, I’m actually interacting with it again,\u201d Bothell said. \u201cMost of the time, you just get your sea glass, you put it in a jar, and it just sits there for the rest of time, and this way, I’m constantly re-seeing the pieces and getting to put them together in cool ways and sharing them with other people.\u201d<\/p>\n For Bothell, events such as these provide the majority of her business.<\/p>\n \u201cI do a little bit of online sales, but I think my artwork is something that you really need to see in person to appreciate it and understand what it is. Photos don’t always do it justice,\u201d Bothell said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.staging-live.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/13153208\/CraftFair_Tkazenoff_111322_04-scaled.jpg\")
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