Craft NB Christmas Festival an Overwhelming Success

The city of Saint John leaves artists and staff’s hearts full of gratitude after residents show their immense support after a year away due to COVID.

Work by Joyful Coyote

Work by Soul Impressions Handbuilt Clayworks

Work by Soul’s Journey Jewelry

After an incredibly hard year for everyone, we had no idea what to expect when we returned to the Marco Polo Cruise Terminal in Saint John this past December for our annual Christmas Festival.  With less than half the amout of artists we normally have at our Christmas Festival, and having to check vaccination proof as per government mandate, we set our expectations pretty low, but still had high hopes for a successful event.

Work by MacKinley Ceramics

Work by Bent Threads

Work by Heather McCaig Glass

Work by Kas Stone Photographic Art

 

With the uncertainties of COVID, our members faced a hard decision.  While most of them were working through the pandemic, the idea of travelling for a public event weighed heavily on some.  However, with only 20 booths, there was ample space for social distancing.  Despite the low number, the venue layout still felt cohesive and vendors had plenty of room to display their hard work.  The list below is shown in the order the booths appeared at the event.

Work by TerraBijou

Work by Cripps Pottery

The Artists

  • Shop Craft NB
  • Anne Stillwell
  • Five Crows Silver
  • Created Here Magazine
  • Atelier Pierre de Lune
  • McBride House
  • Midas Well Creations
  • Bent Threads
  • Joyful Coyote
  • Soul’s Journey Jewelry
  • MacKinley Ceramics
  • RB Designs
  • Topsail Canvas
  • Brettlynn Farms
  • Kas Stone Photographic Art
  • TerraBijou
  • Cripps Pottery
  • NB Wood Finery
  • Heather McCaig Glass
  • Soul Impressions Handbuilt Clayworks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work by RB Designs

Work by Topsail Canvas

Work by Midas Well Creations

Work by Anne Stillwell

The Statistics

  • Number of Vendors – 45 (2019) vs 20 (2021) = % 55.5 decrease 55.5% 55.5%
  • Admission – 1946 (2019) vs. 1937 (2021) = % 0.46 decrease 0.46% 0.46%
  • Average sales per vendor – $3293 (2019) vs. $4146 (2021) = % 25.9 increase 25.9% 25.9%

Work by Five Crows Silver

Awards Created by NB Wood Finery

The Awards

We always present three awards at the Christmas Festival.  Best Booth, Best body of work, and the CreatedHere promotions award. Our judges this year were none other than Nadia Khoury of Gallery on Queen, and Marie-Helene Morrell of CreatedHere Magazine.  And the winners are…

  • Best Booth 2021 – Patti Goodine of Five Crows Silver
  • Best Body of Work 2021 – Heather McCaig of Heather McCaig Glass
  • CreatedHere Promotions Award 2021 – Alison Murphy of Joyful Coyote

The awards for Best Booth and Best Body of work were commissioned by Nick Brown of NB Wood Finery.

 

Work by Five Crows Silver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work by Brettlynn Farms

Work by McBride House

Work by Joyful Coyote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work by Heather McCaig Glass

Work by MacKinley Ceramics

 

Overall, the event was a huge success! We did not anticipate the number of people who showed up to support our artists and organization.  We are amazed by the numbers we saw this year, despite the challenges we faced in planning this years event.  Thank you to our artists, and to the city of Saint John and the incredible arts community they have built.  We appreciate your continued support!  Until next year!

 

Work by Bent Threads

Christmas Festival 2022

 

Craft NB’s Christmas Festival 2022 will take place at the Marco Polo Cruise Terminal in Saint John, December 2-4, 2022!

Registration for members will be available on January 10, 2022!

 

Work by Topsail Canvas