Vendors provide hand-crafted jewelry and fudge during annual craft fairs

Of the hundreds of crafters in Cape Girardeau this weekend to sell their wares at the annual pre-Thanksgiving craft fairs, two vendors familiar to fairgoers have been at it for more than 10 years each: Green Gardens Gems of Cape Girardeau and Arndt's Fudgery of Newton, Illinois.

Both vendors will be at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's craft fair, and both will be in the Osage Centre at 1625 N. Kingshighway.

The Show Me Center at 1333 N. Sprigg St. is the Arts Council craft fair's other venue this weekend.

Green Gardens Gems owner and artist Anne Foust said she's been making jewelry all her life, but started selling it only about 20 years ago. She's been selling at the Arts Council craft fair for probably 15 years now, she said.

She works primarily in metal, embellishing it with wire and beads or stones, Foust said.

A variety of handmade jewelry is displayed by Anne Foust Thursday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

"Like any other crafter, I collect things," Foust said, adding in her experience there are two types of artists: those who plan their projects out, and those who don't.

She's one of the latter.

Designing ahead means an artist has to find materials to fit the project, Foust said.

"I work with things I like, and I have to have everything out so I can see it," she said.

Her studio is lined with tools, ranging from about 15 pairs of pliers to jeweler's saws to a drill press and die cutters.

Anne Foust a jewelry maker and vendor at the Arts Council craft fair shows off her handmade necklaces in her living room Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

One of her anvils is attached to a tree stump because, she said, tree stumps don't have give in them the way a table would.

"You can hammer the daylights out of a tree stump," Foust said, and gestured to a tool belt clipped around the stump. Hammers and other tools are right there to hand, which she appreciates when she's creating a piece, she said.

A soldering workstation has a firebrick on a stainless-steel sheet protecting the table's surface, Foust said.

A nearby rolling mill can either make the metal pieces thinner or add texture, she said, depending on how she uses it.

She said she likes to make every component of her jewelry except the beads, which she'll buy in person if she can, so she can get a good look at the color and material and a feel for how she can use it.

Copper brass, silver and aluminum are a few materials used by Anne Foust a jewelry maker and vendor at the Arts Council craft fair poses for a photo in her studio Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Making clasps, toggles, chains is all part of it, she said.

The interplay between color and shape and texture intrigues her, Foust said.

Her pieces usually start out as sheet metal, she said, and she buys it locally from Sides Metal Products or hardware stores mostly, but does have to order sheets of silver.

She sometimes adds texture or bends the metal to add some visual interest, Foust said, then solders wire or beads or stones in place.

She said she'll bring 1,365 pairs of earrings to this weekend's craft fair.

I have to have everything I find so I can see it. Anne Foust a jewelry maker and vendor at the Arts Council craft fair said while showing her bead collection Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

"They sell so well, I try to keep the racks full," Foust said.

She's worked on pieces for this show all year, she added.

"Because I enjoy doing it, I have to find a way to sell it," she said, and the Arts Council craft fair certainly helps in that regard.

Another vendor, Arndt's Fudgery, has been selling at the craft fair since the early 2000s, said owner Tony Arndt. The company is in its 104th year and third generation, Arndt said, and while they haven't been making fudge all that time, they've been in business continuously for more than a century.

They've sold their fudge in stores and at craft shows across the Midwest, from Denver to Philadelphia, Minneapolis to Chattanooga, Tennessee, Arndt said.

Coral necklaces made by Anne Foust a jewelry maker and vendor at the Arts Council craft fair Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

"One year we did 162 events, had about five vans on the road during the fourth quarter of the year," Arndt said.

But now they're down to about 60 shows a year, of which Cape Girardeau is one.

"We are busy," Arndt said. "People like our product."

Anne Foust a jewelry maker and vendor at the Arts Council craft fair poses for a photo in her living room with her creations Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker ~ Southeast Missourian

More than 75 flavors of fudge grace their catalog, Arndt said, although plain chocolate is still their best seller.

They make other flavors, like peanut butter, Arndt said. In the fall, they also make pumpkin, pecan, caramel apple -- even some more unusual flavors, like maple bacon.

"We're trying to come out with new ones," Arndt said.

Arndt's has a central facility near Effingham, Illinois, in Newton, Illinois. The 1,200-square-feet facility houses their candy production center and a retail shop, and the family has owned it since the early 1930s.

"We feel like the Lord's blessed us in longevity, and we've been able to change our mode of operation to where even though big-box stores have changed the retail landscape, we've still been able to stay afloat," Arndt said.

Arndt said the quality ingredients the company uses in the fudge make a big difference, and he takes pride in that. Some places try to cut costs, he said, "and honestly, you can buy fudge for less than what we sell it for, but we feel like you can very definitely taste it."

The company sells at shows, at their retail store in Illinois and online. They also sell wholesale, to some of the smaller Cabela's stores, for example, Arndt said, and they even sell their fudge and candy to schools and other organizations holding fundraisers.

But the fourth quarter, that's where the bulk of their sales take place, Arndt said.

One thing Arndt said he appreciates about the Arts Council's Cape Girardeau show is that buy-sell merchandise isn't allowed.

"Pretty much homemade, handmade products there," Arndt said. "I think that's one reason why so many people attend those shows in Cape Girardeau."

"We try to have fun doing it," Arndt said. "I think that's important, for customers and for us."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

1333 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.