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  Bonnie Blandford March 4, 2011 at 9:40am

   

  Geez Connie, you'll make my head swell! Thank you so much for all your very kind words. Before all the actual founders of the Guild speak up, I was not one of the founders but have served on the Board and many committees. Love the Guild!

  I do so love this show. I've run regular art fairs back when times were great and really enjoyed them but this is so different. You can do all those things you can't do at regular shows and it's just more fun! Plus we get to see all our friends (including you) in February!!!
  

   
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  Karen Steininger March 4, 2011 at 9:16am

  Can't say enough good things about this show...and Bonnie and Michael. They really know what they're doing.
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  Connie Mettler March 3, 2011 at 4:48pm

  The Garage Sale Art Fair opened at 9:30 am at the Kalamazoo Fairgrounds. We arrived at 10:10 am. There was not a parking place left! We had to park in the lot for the Reptile Show. There were long snaking lines inside!! It makes an artist's heart sing to see this.

  (not a great photo - but can you see them lined up out the door?)

  I believe they raised the admission fee from $2 to $4. Did anyone care? You tell me.

   

  It was body to body inside. You couldn't get into all the booths it was so crowded. There were people lined up in the booths to buy. I had to wait seven minutes to hand over my credit card to a busy potter.

  (I don't know who this artist is, but he had fabulous "yard art" - and I mean that in the best sense - metal and stone cool stuff - how many people do you see in this line all standing there waiting to buy?)

  I took a new friend with me and she had a great time (and was a good shopper). She has another circle of friends who were all mad at us for not knowing about this ahead of time. We live 50 miles away from Kalamazoo. So our plan for next year is to take our art fair van (E250 extended van) and put easy chairs in the back end and travel to the show in style.

  Bonnie Blandford should receive a lifetime achievement award for all she has done for art fairs in the last many years. Not only is she

  • a fine artist whose presence and jewelry are a model of what art fairs are all about
  • she has also been a founding member of The Guild in Ann Arbor and has served uncountable hours on its committees
  • she has served on the Board of the NAIA for several years advocating for artists needs around the country
  • she runs this fabulous event that really perks up the long winter days here in Michigan for artists -- again as a volunteer. Do you suppose she will get her reward in heaven?

  (My nice new pot 14" tall from Philip Wilson, perfume bottle from Mike and Shery Rothfuss; missing from photo: Paul James photo, wood utensils, ceramics from Mike Kifer. My companion brought home a gorgeous lamp from Mike Kifer, jewelry from Rosalyn Tyge and beautiful hand-dyed yarn.)

  I need to know Bonnie, did you have record attendance? Many thanks for this great shopping.
  
  Thanks to the artists who participated. It was great seeing so many old and young friends - Stan Baker (selling like a madman), Kristy Jo Beber, Carol Caron, Rich Peterson, Sherrill Cannon, Michelle Gauthier, Bonnie Greenwald, Kelly Hewitt, Deborah Hoover, Jeff & Stephanie Hutson, Earl James, Madeline Kaczmarczyk, Jerry Berta, Peter Katke, Darryl Pfau (a former woodworker reincarnated as a glass jeweler), Marjorie Rawson, Jim Reinert, Mark Schlabaugh, Jonathan Shuff, David Smallcombe, Sharon Snoeyink, Becka Strachan, Mike Taylor, Phil Thompson, Fred Warren and Sara Youngman.