Festival draws crafters, customers to Haddonfield

On most days, Kings Highway is the busy main thoroughfare through historic downtown Haddonfield. For two days in July over the past 16 years, though, it has taken on a completely different look as site of the Haddonfield Crafts & Fine Arts Festival.

Artisans of all sorts, some from the neighborhood, others from as far as Florida, converged on the borough this weekend to sell stained-glass mosaics, ceramics, oil paintings, and other creative, handmade items to hundreds of festival faithful.

"I would say being in this beautiful town makes it this unique," said Barbara Boroff, the festival founder and promoter.

Artisans pay $300 for a 10-by-10-foot plot and usually reap the benefits through sales that day or from the exposure. Visitors, meanwhile, reaped the benefits yesterday of clear blue skies and a five-block stretch of 265 tents, each offering something with a customized twist.

Gail Brooks, of Camden, has been coming to the festival "for as long as they've had it," and can usually get whatever she needs, especially jewelry and knickknacks for her garden. Her repeated visits made this year a little tougher.

"I don't see anything that I already don't have," said Brooks, sitting in the shade with her daughter, Adrienne, and their two 8-year-old poodles, Mojito and Indigo.

Tents were set up in the middle of the street with trees lining the sidewalks providing shade. The setup allowed local restaurants and shops to have outdoor cafes.

The location adds to the atmosphere, Boroff said, and the town itself is a big part of the festival's success.

"It's the attitude of the town that's the beauty of it," she said.

Boroff, a crafts-show promoter for 22 years, has seen the festival evolve from about 150 tents when it started in 1993. She spends about six months tracking down artists and gathering information to put before a committee that, ultimately, decides who's in and who's out.

Yesterday, Boroff walked around meeting people, inspecting the tents, and collecting checks from the artists. "What we look for is quality and variety," she said.

One of the weekend's main draws was the portrait and figure competition Saturday. Twelve artists were given four hours to sketch or sculpt photo portraits or models. Rachel Turner crafted a felt figure.

Turner, of Pennsauken, received honorable mention for the doll she sewed together from a picture of an old Halloween costume she wore in kindergarten. The dark yellow dress and clown face was made from all-natural fibers.

"I like taking the memory, because it was 25 years ago, and making it flesh again, as it were," said Turner, who travels to various venues to make similar dolls.

It was the first year for the portrait competition, but, judging from the response L'Arte store owner Adele DiMedio received, it may become a festival tradition.

"I was amazed by the amount of people that came by," DiMedio said. "I didn't realize how much it would be."

Out front of L'Arte, Patricia and Bill Hoffman, of Haddonfield, demonstrated the water conservation of their rain barrel by pouring buckets of water into a gutter alongside their tent. Patricia Hoffman started the company recently, putting into use an eco-friendly idea her husband, a contractor, had used around the house for years to conserve rain water for gardening and other uses.

"We have five on our house, so we have over 250 gallons when it rains," Patricia said. "And we use it all."

It wasn't hard to find talk of eco-friendliness. Adam Rung, a woodworker with a studio in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, does a lot of work with reclaimed wood, uses PECO Wind to power his shop, and recycles all of the sawdust when done working. This year was the second generation woodworker's third at the festival.

"It's such a nice town, it's centrally located, and it's a pleasant place to have a show," Rung said.