Fun Finds at Hallmarket

A few weeks ago, some of the creative people I work with came together for an art fair. They call it Hallmarket (ha!) and it's in its fifth year. Amy from Sebastian the Sensitive Soul and I went to browse and buy.

I knew I had some very talented coworkers, but was surprised at how many of them show their love for cats and dogs through the art they had for sale.

Amy & I both bought several things and drooled over lots of other things. I asked some of them if there were ways non Kansas Citians could buy some of their cool stuff, and they said yes. So here is just a small sampling of what we saw, with the links for you to browse if you're so inclined.

I recently shot a video with Flora Chang. She's so sweet and makes amazing kids cards (among other things) for Hallmark. On her own, she makes tons of cat stuff, including these adorable cat buttons. She loves cats. Can you tell? Here are her links - she has a few stores: RedBubble and HappyDoodleLand on Etsy.

A retired Hallmarker makes these amazing cat beds out of gourds, but they need to be ordered a year in advance so they can grow just the right size gourd. She auctions them off for shelter donations.
She also makes these really cute gourd ornaments.

I don't have her contact info, but the gourd ornaments were only $7! I'll try to hunt her down and update this post soon. (yeah, that was kind of mean, teasing you like that...sorry...)

And a really, really good friend and the person who sits right next to me at work, Kristin Smith, makes out of this world art prints.

No, I mean, literally out of this world. Check out Space Kitten, below.
You can check out all of her fun work at Kristin Smith Creative.

Yep, I have one of these hanging in my office!
And for all you kitties out there who love watching Squirrel TV, do your squirrels do this?

Finally, Donna Van Hooser, another retired Hallmark artist, was there with her amazing mosaic pet portraits. They're simply gorgeous! Not cheap, but wow. If you're looking for a beautiful keepsake, this is worth considering. I know I will be.

You can contact her through her web site or her Flickr page, seen below. Isn't that amazing stuff? The top photos were of her booth at Hallmarket. I came so close to buying a mosaic pendant and am mad I didn't. That way, though, I've saved more to go toward the pet portrait!

Happy shopping!

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