The 48th annual ASUNM Arts and Crafts Fair weaves its way into the SUB once again, with products ranging from native honey to chain mail.
Among the established artists there, some of the vendors are students. Chain mail artist and sophomore public relations student Genevieve Sparks is selling chain mail belts, bracelets and earrings, but also has a chain mail skirt and bra on display to pique interest in the art. She said the bra idea originated when a man who wore a full chain mail suit to class made her one, and she just continued to wear it.
“It doesn’t pinch, it’s really cold, and it’s supporting,” she said. “And it’s more like I had had problems with self-image and such. The chain mail bra made me feel so much better in my own skin. It really helped me.”
She said she sometimes uses the bra as advertising for herself.
“I usually wear this (chain mail bra) at craft shows because people look at it and go ‘What is she wearing?’ and then they come over to my booth.”
Sparks said the craft fair isn’t as lucrative as other events she attends, but she still really enjoys it, especially because she isn’t looking to make a career out of the chain mail.
“I think it’s harder being on a campus because all the college students are poor,” she said. “It’s definitely for fun. I make enough money to justify me continuing this hobby.”
Jeffrey Nibert, a senior photography major, said pottery is a more permanent mode of expression than photography.
“A glitch on your computer, you’re down thousands of photos,” he said. “Thousands of years — that pot will be there. It’s really my way of leaving my mark on time.”
Nibert said he loves working with clay, and all of the pieces he makes are equally challenging.
“You get dirty. I mean, who doesn’t love getting dirty?” he said. “Bigger pieces are harder to make because it’s just more force you have to work with, but small, finicky things can be really meticulous to handle.”
Graham Chouteau-Lathrop, a senior majoring in chemistry, participated in a collective booth selling everything from feathered hair adornments to tooth diamonds, a jewel that can be fastened to your tooth with dental glue. He was selling informal art pieces, as well as small cacti. He said he saw a need for plants.
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“It’s come to my attention that throughout the years, people tend to sell really nice pots that have holes in the bottom for plants, but the plants are a little lacking,” he said.
He said the first cactus he bought was local, and others spawned from that.
“The mother cactus came from a cactus shop that has since closed,” he said. “It was next to the Kelly’s brew patio.”
Everything in the fair must be handmade, and it features more than 75 artisan booths.
48th Annual ASUNM Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair
Runs through Friday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
SUB ballrooms
