NEWS

First Queen City Craft Show shines through the rain

Jon Swedien
JSWEDIEN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Find prints by Kwanalee Art at the Indie-style craft show downtown this weekend.

A strong turnout for the first Queen City Craft Show in downtown Springfield heartened organizers, who want to turn the show into an annual affair.

Despite deary, damp weather, hundreds made their way to 425 Downtown on Walnut Street for the show, which featured 25 vendors, some of whom hailed from the Ozarks, others from Oklahoma, Arkansas and St. Louis.

"A lot of people really like this whole shopping small movement, so this is kind of a perfect way to showcase that," said organizer Summer Trottier.

Trottier put together the show with her business partner Brittany Bilyeu and friend Kendra Miller. Trottier and Bilyeu own Cultural Flock, an online clothing store based in Springfield. Miller owns Kwanalee Art and sells her work online.

Trottier said she was pleased with Saturday's turnout and the variety of vendors on display at the event. Items for sale included lamps made from repurposed musical instruments, leather goods, art prints, furniture, fashions for kids and adults, soap, pottery, party goods and bar ware.

For Dustin Stewart of Springfield, who makes wood furniture and home decor products under the name DG Stewart Hardgoods, the craft show was a great marketing opportunity, he said.

"It gets my name out there," he said.

Organizers put out a call to artists in the region and received way more applicants than they could accept, Trottier said.

"So obviously Springfield had a need for something like this and we hope to expand it next year and have more vendors but keep the same quality," she said.

Mari Moore-Mosby of Springfield, a physical therapist, who sells hand-made kitchen ware under the name Mudbug, said the Queen City Craft Show was a well-run, fun event. She complimented the organizers for doing a lot of promotions that brought people out to the event.

"This is one of the best shows I've been to all year because the marketing was amazing," she said. Moore-Mosby said it was also exciting to participate in an event that served a charitable cause.

Half of the event's proceeds went to Rescue One, a Springfield-based group that rescues and fosters homeless dogs and cats, Trottier said. She said all three of the event organizers are "big animal lovers."

Kristin Duncan, of Joplin, came to the craft show to buy Christmas gifts for her family. As a craft maker herself, Duncan also wanted to see the talent on display, she said. It is good to see Springfield has a downtown craft show, she said.

Duncan said, "I'm surprised it hasn't happened before."