Cherrywood Art Fair Welcomes Event Co-Chairs and Announces Artists for Upcoming December 12th & 13th Holiday Shopping Event

Produced by Chula League, the event is fun for the whole family, featuring a vast array of artists, makers & artisans as well as live music, food trucks and family activities

October 15, 2015 (Austin, Texas) — Cherrywood Art Fair (CAF) is thrilled to announce local community leaders & art patrons Sarah K Wolf, Marketing Director of The Austin Chronicle and Lia Crockett, Associate Producer of Pachanga Fest as event chairs for the 14th annual Cherrywood Art Fair. This year’s fair taking place at Maplewood Elementary on December 12th & 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., will feature hand-made art & crafts from local artists, family friendly activities, cuisine by some of Austin’s hottest food artisans, as well as a silent auction benefitting Chula League’s Little Artist BIG ARTIST program.

“I love that Cherrywood Art Fair gives Austinites a chance to shop from talented, local artists and vendors while giving back to the Little Artist BIG ARTIST mentor program”, said Co-Event Chair Sarah K Wolf. “I’m excited to be involved with an organization that supports local artists of all ages and backgrounds.”

This year’s confirmed artists represent a vibrant group of style-makers and a wide array of unique goods; from men’s and women’s fashion-forward jewelry to fun and functional children’s toys, graphic novel style original paintings to handmade accessories and paper goods. Keeping the cool factor high, the Fair’s curated selection of wares will interest everyone from the discerning shopper to the art collector and make for perfect, hand-crafted treasures for everyone on the holiday gift list.

“I’ve always enjoyed attending CAF as a shopper,” said Lia Crockett. “And when I learned more about its platform for professional artists and the Little Artist BIG ARTIST program, I knew I wanted to get more involved.”

CAF encourages all types of artists to apply in a variety of categories, and from there, the CAF team cherry-picks the top 85 artists through a juried selection process. The CAF art team is very proud of the work from jurors Chris McCray, Principal at McCray & Co. – a Cherrywood neighbor and principal designer on interior design projects for Lenoir, St.Philip and Uchi; Sierra Bailey, owner and jewelry designer at Manic Trout and Annie Wells – visual artist and owner of Little Pink Monster Gallery.

Some of the great talent—a mix of highly visible veterans in the Austin maker community and also newer, yet very promising artisans—includes:

Graffiti Western – Federico was raised in the border town of El Paso, where he was influenced by cultures from both sides of the border. It was this cross-pollination of pop-culture images from rock and roll album covers to cartoons, Lucha Libre and comic books that inspired him to create fine art, gifts & fashion wear.
Savvie Studio – Wood + fiber jewelry, home décor and kits inspired by everyday interactions and nature.
Triple Z Threads – Custom embroidered, vintage, western pearl-snap shirts worn by celebrities like Ben Harper, Quentin Tarantino and Patton Oswalt.
Koke gardens – Featuring Kokedama which translates to “moss ball” in Japanese. Considered the ‘poor man’s bonsai’ as the moss and dirt are used to create a pot. Easy care and beautiful.
Inviting Inc – Elegant letterpress printed stationery, cards and gifts
DavidLamplugh.com – Co-author and illustrator of several graphic novels, may be best recognized for his cartoon design on the Franklin BBQ sauce bottles.
Slantt – Parsons School of Design graduate’s line of small batch jewelry and art objects that are inspired by the clean minimalist and organic properties found in midcentury design as well as nature.
Pretend with Poppins – Let’s play! Handmade dolls and plush toys.
The Good Hippie – Small Batch, all-natural, vegan and handmade skincare items produced in Austin.
Curious Prints – Vintage reproduction prints & home goods
Tiny Deer Studio – Miniature menagerie photography
M Schopper Ceramics – Featuring functional Slip-cast ceramics

The full line-up of artists and makers spanning 3D Art, Ceramics & Pottery, Fine Art, Home Decor & Beauty products, Jewelry, gifts for Kids and Pets, Paper Goods, Photography, Textiles and Accessories is available here: cherrywoodartfair.org/artists-information/2015-artists.

Although CAF remains, first and foremost an art fair, the team is also hard at work planning entertainment and activities for parents, kids and everyone in between. The rain or shine event will also feature great live entertainment from Austin’s indie band scene as well as food from popular local food trucks and all day family-friendly activities.

“I love the Cherrywood neighborhood and CAF is a great excuse for all Austinites to get together, enjoy some music and support local artists” said Crockett.

Emcees from KOOP Radio’s Dennis Campa of ‘Adventures in Sound’ and Jason Vines of the legendary ‘Improv for Evil’ and ‘Simply D-VINE’ will be on hand as well as music headliners indie/soul band Taylor & The Wild Now and Americana/alt-folk group Sons of Santos. Live performances by Flamencura Music & Dance and the aerialist troupe Michele Frances & The Aerial Sugar Squirrels are sure to be crowd pleasers. The Kids Art Corner curated by Little Artist BIG ARTIST art teacher Emily Leaman & Catheryn Prystup of livemom.com will feature festive, easy to make, holiday arts & crafts. The complete line up will be available in November.

The free and open to the public event benefits Maplewood Elementary and Chula League’s Little Artist BIG ARTIST program which provides an opportunity for East Austin elementary school students to celebrate creativity, develop personal expression, and strengthen social skills through professional artist mentorship..

For more information about the 2015 Fair, including updates on confirmed bands, food vendors and more, like Cherrywood Art Fair on Facebook: facebook.com/cherrywoodartfair, follow on twitter and Instagram: @CherrywoodArt or visit: www.CherrywoodArtFair.org.

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