Small But Mighty
It’s that time of year when our gallery becomes Gift Central, where the denizens of Homer find those one-of-a-kind gifts made with love by their fellow Homerites, and the whole country celebrates our plethora of local small businesses with Small Business Saturday. Our artists are also busy little elves preparing for the myriad holiday festivals, fairs, and shows all over the Kenai peninsula, and some venture as far as Anchorage. Be sure to check out their schedules at the end of the blog so you can follow them around in case something falls out of their sacks.
Ptarmigan Arts has all sorts of holiday perks. When you purchase your unique gifts—for yourself or your favorite person—ask the artist of the day to gift wrap it for you and your wish is their command. If you just can’t decide, we have gift certificates and they don’t expire. How cool is that? And, just for you, loyal customer, we boot the wimpy winter hours out the door the day after Thanksgiving and stay open from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. until Christmas day. We have a Christmas tree, and little decorations are tucked here and there throughout the gallery. Sometimes we have hot apple cider and a cookie or two. You just never know what this festive bunch is going to think of.
As if you needed another reason to stop in, America Express is sponsoring Small Business Saturday on November 26 in celebration of small shops with festive bunches, and we’re a participating business. The national “Shop Small” campaign encourages shoppers to support small businesses in their local communities on that day and throughout the year. Money spent in local small businesses stays in the community, providing jobs and income to friends and neighbors. Last year, 88 million consumers shopped small on Small Business Saturday, spending $14.3 billion at local and independent businesses. That’s a good thing. Collectively, shoppers helped a lot of moms and pops and probably got personalized service like Ptarmigan provides. So since you have to shop for Christmas anyway, stop and see what your local, independent retailers have for you. We’re pretty sure you’ll like it. Oh, and American Express says there may be Small Saturday freebies from them, but we don’t know what they are yet. Come on in and we can be surprised together.
Even though together we Ptarmigans really cool, separately we’re pretty awesome, too. After all, without each individual artist that makes up our co-op, we wouldn’t be what we are. So here’s a list of fairs, bazaars, and shows in the area and the artists from Ptarmigan that will be selling their wares. Happy holidays, everyone!
Christmas Arts and Crafts Emporium
Dena’ina Center, Anchorage
November 19-20
Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
http://www.anchoragemarkets.com/arts_crafts.html
- Gary Lyon – stone lithography
Peninsula Art Guild’s Annual Arts and Crafts Fair (Kenai)
November 25-26
Noon-6 p.m.
Check the Facebook page under the same name
- Ted and Beth Heuer – woodworking
- Chris and Carol Beverly
- Chick and Barb Deal – jewelry
- Jean Steele – paintings, prints, copper jewelry
Nutcracker Faire Homer High School
December 3rd and 4th
Saturday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sunday noon – 6 p.m.
http://homerart.org/nutcracker-faire-first-saturday-and-sunday-in-december/
- Ted and Beth Heuer – woodworking
- Olga Amaral – watercolors
- Gary Lyon – stone lithography
- Paul Dungan – pottery
- Linda Skelton – fabric art
- Ruby Haigh – pottery
- Jeff Szarsi – pottery
- M’fanwy Dean – wood block prints
- Aleda Yourdon – black and white film photography
- Jean Steele – paintings, prints, copper jewelry
- Chris and Carol Beverly
For those who own their own stores: Chris and Carol Beverly will be at Alaska’s Best Wholesale Show January 12-14. Check out www.Alaskasbestwholesale.com for details.