“It’s Coachella for crafts!”

“HAND MADE” mural by Lindsay Sochar at CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles. (photo: John Mattera Photography)

That’s how Brittany Boughner, a market manager at CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles, describes this year’s second annual CRAFTYFEST summer art festival, which returns to the makers market the weekend of July 26-28.

“CRAFTYFEST is like our summer festival, but it’s all about crafts,” explains Boughner. “It’s an arts and crafts festival where all of our vendors host some sort of workshop or class, whether that’s jewelry making, kids making slime — this year it’s edible slime — or a sewing class or even glass blowing.”

In addition to all the arts and crafts activity inside the restored 1940s-era warehouse, there will also be live entertainment (including local favorites Bella & Rudy playing Saturday afternoon), games, craft cocktails, a henna artist, face painting, food trucks, and stilt-walkers, adding even more to that Coachella vibe.

Boughner, who’s been with CRAFTED for over five years, says this year’s festival promises to be bigger than the last.

“It’s grown every year,” she says. “Last year was the first official CRAFTYFEST, but we’ve done it for the last five years and marketed it as a summer craft festival.”

This year’s line-up of classes, workshops, and demonstrations has something to pique everyone’s interest, and there is even more to discover.

Classes currently on the festival’s weekend schedule include making pottery wind chimes with Adewole Arts, bath bombs with Badcat Bath, peach salsa with Salsas Chingona, edible slime with Minty Bleu, and glass blowing art with Steve Bay of Sea Urchin Glass Arts, among more than a dozen others. Customers must sign up in advance for the scheduled workshops at linktr.ee/craftedportla.

There are also several walk-up classes and workshops with no specified times where customers can just show up at their leisure and create.

The entrance to CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles. (photo: John Mattera Photography)

Some walk-up vendors include making tie-dye bandanas and dog paintings with Rufus Ragz, aquatic terrariums with Mysterious Fathoms, wood-cut paint kits with JSSL Designs, and candle making with Homemade by the Hays.

While admission and parking for the festival are free, most vendor workshops and classes charge a nominal fee. Several food vendors, including a craft cocktail bar, are inside CRAFTED.

“We also hand out little scavenger hunts at the door and have a lot of photo booths where visitors can take selfies,” adds Boughner.

CREATING AT CRAFTED

For the vendors at CRAFTED, this is a chance to not only show off their talents and sell their creations, but also to pass on their knowledge and expertise.

Melissa Hay of Homemade by the Hays makes her candles at her booth at CRAFTED. (photo: John Mattera Photography)

“I’m excited about the classes and experiences that our customers get to join in on,” says Melissa Hay, owner of Homemade by the Hays, where she makes premium scented candles and sprays. “They get experience, see the work that goes into our crafts, and leave with something they created. And hopefully, they find a new appreciation for what goes into our craft.”

Hay, who also teaches yoga and organizes the San Pedro Makers Market pop-up events, is one of many vendors at CRAFTED who “graduated” from doing sporadic pop-ups around the South Bay to operating a regular booth at the makers market.

“I started making candles amid COVID,” recalls Hay, who’s been at CRAFTED since March 2023. “I burned a lot of candles at this time because we were home so much, and they made me feel relaxed.”

Not wanting to throw away all her empty candle jars, Hay researched candle making on YouTube to recycle them. Four years later, and her candles can be found in many homes in San Pedro and around the South Bay.

“[Candle making] is definitely more complicated than I thought, but I truly enjoyed the process [of learning],” she says. “Also, I use 100 percent soy and nontoxic products. This is something that I take a lot of pride in, as well as the option to refill your empty jars. I love bringing awareness of eco-friendly, nontoxic products to my customers.”

Steve Bay, a retired marine biologist and owner of Sea Urchin Glass Arts, found a second life after retirement when he decided to seriously pursue glass blowing as a hobby, which then grew into a small business. He’s been a vendor at CRAFTED for four years.

“It actually started over 50 years ago at Ports O’ Call Village. They had a glass blower there,” recalls Bay. “As a kid, I remember just being mesmerized watching the glass blower working in the shop, making dolphins and sailing ships and things. So that stuck with me this whole time. Then, about 14 years ago, as I was thinking about the next phase of my life and what I’ll be doing, I decided to get serious about learning glass blowing.”

Bay says his favorite part of CRAFTYFEST is interacting with people excited to learn a new skill.

“Folks are learning skills they’ve never had to use before,” he says. “So, it’s fun to take complete beginners and have them be successful.” spt

CRAFTYFEST 2024: A Summer Craft and Art Festival runs Fri-Sun, July 26-28, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Admission and parking are free. The event is for all ages and is dog-friendly. For more information, visit craftedportla.com.