by Mary Rupert
Eisenhower Community Center today was filled with one-of-a-kind handmade items and holiday shoppers looking for the perfect gift.
Parking lots were full at Eisenhower Community Center, 2901 N. 72nd, today as shoppers got an early start on their holiday shopping.
All sorts of crafters – some hobbyists, some retirees, and some start-up businesses – displayed their items on tables at the recreation center. For some, it has been a year-long effort to produce the perfect present.
One popular gift, the necktie, had a new twist at the craft show.
LaDale Beason, a Wyandotte County resident, was there with his family displaying repurposed neckties.
“I make each and every one of them,” he said about his bow ties. His LKD Kustom Kreations table displayed many ties.
A hairstylist by trade, one day he just woke up with the idea of making repurposed bow ties, and ran with it, he said. He started making the bow ties in May.
He said he’s noticed there has been a resurgence in men wearing bow ties in recent years.
David Nevils, Kansas City, Kan., made canes from oak and hickory, each one different. One cane, he said, took him three weeks to make while another one took nine days.
He was at the craft show with his daughter, April Nevils, who said the canes were handmade in her dad’s garage.
“He started making the canes after my brother passed away,” April noted.
Their card says the canes are “original, hand-crafted works of art.” They were a very popular item.
Kimberly Pierce, a resident of Wyandotte County, displayed homemade povitica and other baked goods at her table.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years for Christmas,” Pierce said. “My kids think Santa Claus rocks.”
She added she had been working 10-hour days for two weeks to prepare for the craft show.
Santa Claus was at today’s craft show, meeting with children and having his photo taken. The photos with Santa were a benefit for the Kansas City, Kan., Special Olympics program.
Don Parish, playing Santa Claus, said he was donating his time to the Special Olympics today. Special Olympics helped his late brother for many years, he said, and this was something he wanted to do for them.
Ladessa Donley of Kansas City, Kan., was displaying Christmas pins she made for $3 each.
“I can do five to six in one day,” she said.
Anita Walker, Kansas City, Kan., displayed aprons and casserole carriers that she made herself. It’s her second year at the craft show, she said.
She had several aprons with different designs on display.
“Once I get started, it doesn’t take that long,” she said about making the aprons.
Robert Blackmore, a Turner resident, was behind a table filled with airplane sculptures made out of soda and beer cans. A sign on the table read, “Can Do.”
He said he retired in 1994 after he fell on a construction job. He then started making and selling the can sculptures at craft shows 20 years ago.
The idea for the airplanes came from a time he saw one on display and thought, “I can do a better job than that,” he said.
Besides airplane sculptures, he also makes lamps out of recycled beer cans. It takes him three hours to make an airplane sculpture, and eight to 10 hours to make a lamp, he said.
Through the years, his plane sculptures have traveled widely, some even shipped internationally, he said.
Judi Roland, a Kansas City, Kan., resident and a retired teacher, said she has been displaying products at the Eisenhower craft show for 21 years, probably longer than anyone else.
“I enjoy visiting with people I see once a year at the craft show, so I keep coming back,” Roland said.
Passersby were trying free samples of Roland’s homemade salsa. It was for sale in jars for $5.
“I can’t tell you the secret,” she said when asked about its secret ingredient. “It’s just lots of love. It’s made with love.”