One of a Kind Show lives up to its name
The 14th annual One of a Kind Show and Sale Chicago showcased work by more than 600 juried artists from Dec. 4-7 at the city’s Merchandise Mart. The show encompasses an array of handcrafted work in a variety of media, categories and price points. Offerings included furniture, home accessories, ceramics, fiber art, and more.
The show also featured the Etsy Pavilion, where attendees could shop the work of 40 Etsy artists, whose work is generally found online, and the Fine Art Gallery, a curated exhibition of fine art and sculpture pieces within the show floor.
David Stine of Dow, Ill., exhibited furniture pieces made from sustainably harvested lumber, including a 15’ long, 54” wide, two-slab walnut table. He has been attending the show for the last eight years and says it’s a great avenue for promoting his work.
“It’s a huge indoor show right before the holidays and I think they get around 60,000 people through that building during the four days of the show. It’s just a huge amount of people. So even if you have niche things like I do, you’re bound to see some of your [customers] there. It’s been good for me through the years and it’s only about 350 miles from my shop so it’s actually a lot closer than most of my clients who are in the mountain states and up in the New York area,” Stine says.
“You see a lot of artists and craftspeople there year after year, which tells you what kind of response they get. I’ve had plenty of shows where there have been plenty of people but nobody bought anything, so this is a good one.”
For information, visit www.oneofakindshowchicago.com.
Beyond Craft exhibit
The Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C, is hosting the “Beyond Craft: Decorative Arts from the Leatrice S. and Melvin B. Eagle Collection” exhibit at its Uptown venue through Feb. 22.
The exhibit highlights important studio objects made from the mid-1960s to the 2000s, with a special focus on the ’60s-through-’80s period.
“The Eagle Collection offers an extraordinary opportunity for in-depth study of the foundational period of studio craft history as well as a look at how artists active then have transcended historical traditions to create a new paradigm today,” according to a museum statement.
It includes approximately 90 objects by 50 artists, including Ralph Bacerra, Wendell Castle, Ruth Duckworth, Robert Ebendorf, John Garrett, Sam Maloof, Albert Paley, Tom Patti, Joyce Scott and Takeshi Yasuda. Media include ceramics, fiber art, studio furniture, glass, jewelry and works on paper. For information, visit www.mintmuseum.org.
This article originally appeared in the January 2015 issue.
