Seiad Valley Crafter’s Show their Skills

by Judy bushy

Hole in the Earth Pottery was beautiful!

Seiad Valley is such a fun community! They work together so well and they sure do love their Volunteer Fire Department! That’s why the Seiad Day in August and the Craft Faire in November are such great events!! The proceeds go to the (All volunteer) Firefighters work.

When we first arrived we could see the tables that Les Helsley had set up outside with his wonderful pottery from Hole in the Earth Pottery. The bright colors were sparkling in the sun! There was a wide range of colors and designs, and even a 25% off table! There were only a couple of vendors set up outside as it was quite nippy even though the sun was shining beautifully. A lady had notebooks and folders and pictures that she had made. If I still had kids at home, I’d have loved the wipe-off charts for chores.

An evergreen with snowflake ornaments was the first thing you saw entering the Fire Hall! Tim Pinkos had leather work and there were nifty items by the wire-works skilled craftsman. I remember a few years ago he had a knight’s armor in wire that was so neat, but didn’t see that as most of the items were practical.
Some of the tables were high with placemats and colorful sewn items for the home. Someone put a lot of work into all those projects and they were lovely. There was woodworking too, but the woodworker had stepped away from his table when we were admitting his wood projects.

Pete & Leona with beautiful jewelry and delicious eats!!

It was good to see Leona and Pete McLaughlin who not only had the beautiful jewelry Leona makes, but pretty little bags to use for giving them as gifts. She also had made carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting which are so delicious! Across from her was a display of beautiful large polished jade and other rock materials, made into belt buckles and other things. Floyd Brady had really beautiful stones!
Next to Floyd was Bob Humphries’ son, Chris. He had made Rice-Krispie bars, cookies as well as jam. The jams were cranberry and strawberry. Although they were tempting we didn’t want to eat until lunch which was chili, chowder, filled baked potato and bacon soup or sausage tortellini. I loved the potato and bacon soup, but I got the last bowl. So my husband got the tortellini, but he enjoyed that as well.

Yummy snacks and jams for sale!

Lunches and shopping at the Crafter’s Faire!

Seiad Valley Crafters Fund the Fire Hall Activities

Iris, Amber and Linda made such cozy blankets pillows and other fabric arts!

AFter lunch we browsed the rest of the Seiad Crafter Faire offerings!
Linda Thompson had cozy blankets that were just perfect for the chilly weather, in pillows. There were all kinds of lovely patterns and one that held a baby. A doll was shown with it and I thought my granddaughter’s doll would have loved it! Amber Ogborn and Iris Edwards were next to Linda at a table with beautiful things they had made. Cody Sindle was there, or I think he was under the hood hiding!

Right across from Linda, Amber and Iris was a table of beautiful frames by Annie Buma, Annie’s Custom Woodworking & Framing. She has hand-milled sugar Pine, Douglas-Fir and Ash wood, with bark on some, made into beautiful picture, or mirror or art frames.

There were cookies, candies and treats for sale to enjoy as well.

Girls with snacks and candles at the Seiad Fire Hall.

Some young girls, Hannah and Mercy, had a table they had candles, some arranged in polished wooden branches. They had a good bunch of things for sale. It was good to see youthful entrepreneurs!! All ages were there from the youth to the more mature. Mr. & Mrs Long had their beautiful woodworking items for sale.

Teri Colwell had soaps and lotions, of great variety. She was sharing a table with someone with flower arrangements as well. Jill also had some lotion, sustainably harvested in Siskiyou County!

Jill Livingston and her sister Kathryn had books. I love books so that was great1 They also had calendars with historic photos of Siskiyou County or beautiful photos of Mount Shasta. The item that really fascinated me was a series of brochures at only $.75 each of Campsite Critters—a camper’s guide. The text and illustrations were by Irene Brady. There was a guide to big animals like “Bears” and the wild cats and dogs, “Mountain Lion” and “Wolves”, to little animals, “Chipmunks.” And those tiny little guys, “Mosquitoes, Ticks, and Fleas!” When I say that the artful sketches are beautiful, it isn’t just the picture of the animal on the front, there are tracks, in the chipmunk one, about twelve other drawings as well as a map of their territory. In fact, Jill showed me on the back they have a little suggestion who you could begin trying to draw them yourself. I wished that there was one on otters or raccoons. In fact deer and elk would also be interesting. There is a lot of information on both sides of a four -fold brochure!!

Wildlife Brochures that Kathryn and Jill Livingston showed at Seiad.

Our neighbors along the beautiful wild, Klamath River are some very talented people! They had such a wide variety of skills represented and wonderful gifts to give for the coming holidays. It was all for a good cause, the Seiad Valley Volunteer Fire Department, so you know that the fire fighters also give their time and labor to the community. Seiad Valley has faced evacuation from forest fires four of the last five years and they appreciate the work of the Fire Fighters!! We have so much to be very thankful for!!