A People Party Productions will have its third Craft Fair Nov. 15.
Jennifer Harmel, owner and founder of A People Party Productions, said the business tries to have two craft fairs a year – one in the spring and another in the fall. This is A People Party Productions’ third craft fair. While the first two were at Mezamiz Deux Coffee House, this fall’s free admission craft fair will be at Kids Village on S. 14th Street.
Kids Village is celebrating its seventh year of business, or its seventh birthday as it is commonly referred. Harmel said she wants to be able to host the Craft Fair at different locations to experiment with different courtyards.
“It goes right along with what A People Party Productions is passionate about which is supporting local businesses,” Harmel said. “We are going to tag team with them and have a big celebration.”
The craft fair will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and host around 30 different vendors. Harmel said some of the goods customers will be able to find will be repurposed furniture, handmade headbands and jewelry and a myriad of other items.
After beginning JamFest at ACU in 2002, Harmel continues to incorporate music into her business life. She has scheduled six musicians to play live music during the craft fair, including a performance by Andrew Holmes. This will be Holmes’ third craft fair appearance, as he has performed at each one.
“I’m looking forward to the musical aspect of it this time,” Holmes said. “We have more performers with longer set times of about 45 minutes to an hour each.”
Someone who has helped Harmel along the way, from the beginning of A People Party Productions to each individual event, is her husband Forrest Harmel. He works with her to plan dates for events, who to bring to the events and anything else involved in the planning process.
“I’m definitely kind of a collaborator, a sounding board with Jen,” Forrest said. “I’ve gotten to connect with a lot of people in Abilene, so I kind of bring people together and we have a good time which is our goal with any event.”
Student vendors are encouraged to participate in the craft fair. While the general fee to set up a booth is $40, students are offered a discount of $20.
“One of the things we love about these events is that people who wouldn’t normally have the means to set up at an event like this, from stay at home moms to students, are able to do that here,” Harmel said. “This has given people the opportunity to get their feet wet in entrepreneurship.”
If you are interested in selling items at the craft fair, email Harmel at info@apeoplepartyproductions.com.
