Crafters converge for annual Oak Brook event
More than 100 artisans are staged throughout Oakbrook Center this weekend exhibiting and selling their work as part of the shopping center's Fine Craft Exhibition and Sale running through Sunday.
Crafters working in a variety of media from wood and sand to fabrics and jewelry are taking part in the annual event that's been around almost since the inception of Oak Brook's renowned outdoor shopping center in 1962.
Noticeably absent from the myriad tents that dot the center's courtyard are artists specializing in two-dimensional paintings and photographs.
"It's nice to be with others working in the same media and to be with people creating on the more functional end," said Elmhurst jeweler Ofilia Cinta. "This is a really nice event all around and this aspect makes it just a little more special."
It might seem odd to pair crafters in the middle of a retail setting, but everyone seems to agree that the event and the mall share a symbiotic relationship. Otherwise, someone might have changed things a bit in the past 47 years.
"This is stuff you don't find in the retail stores," said Suzanne Beres, the center's senior marketing manager. "People may be coming for the shopping or they may be coming for the craft fair, but they may find something that interests them that they weren't coming for. That happens a lot."
Downers Grove resident Karen Watkins came for craft show, but did a little shopping at Nordstrom as well.
"I came out just to check this out and wander around a bit," she said. "This is a nice event because it's outdoors and a lot of the crafters are local, so if you see something you like you can contact them later."
Wood artist John Sternickle doesn't like his work to be pigeonholed as art or functional furniture. Even when he's creating something that's going to serve a functional purpose, he wants it to catch someone's eye.
"You can call it whatever you want as long as in the end I can come up with a final product that's pleasing to me and whoever wants it," he said.