Opening day at the 4th annual Ocala Holiday Craft Show

The World Equestrian Center is hosting the Ocala Holiday Craft Show this weekend. And David Martin is there. He loves this place. They always have something fun to do. Hey, David. David. So they've been doing this for four years, Amy and John. This is year number two for us. We came last year, fell in love with it, and thought we'd better come back next year. All new vendors, more than 350 of them. And they're all from around the different parts of the United States of America, including Megan Rogers. Where are you from, Megan? We are from Bowdon, Georgia. West, West Georgia, for those of you who don't know. And you are the creator of something called Rosie the Reindeer. I am, yes. Rosie the Reindeer. So what does she do? What's her character? So Rosie the Reindeer is a little reindeer in the North Pole that does not want to work with Santa's sleigh. She actually loves to dance. So she auditions for the North Pole Princess, which is like a rocket for the North Pole. And she actually finds out that her hooves light up red when she's dancing. So, it's just a fun twist on an old classic for a new generation to connect with. Got it. Getting kids to read again, which we love, of course. We do. By the way, Paola, look at the thing she's holding. Look at her. Her hooves are all lit up there. That's adorable. A little light-up dancing reindeer. A little light-up dancing reindeer. This is, again, Rosie the Reindeer. Congrats on your product. Thank you so much. It's a love of labor. A labor of love, actually. Yeah, very good. And I hope you sell out today. Thank you so much. All right. So, when you come to the Ocala Holiday Craft Show, John and Amy... You got to make sure you pick up a tour map, a guide map on the front of it, all the different booth numbers of the 350 vendors, and then on the back. Not in any kind of numerical order. I mean, it's completely random. All the names of them. So you could be here for hours and not even know where you are. But that's the joy of it. Come on out. Here's Cheryl Kurtz. This is Cheryl Kurtz. Cheryl, where are you from, my friend? I'm from Trenton, Florida. I had asked her in the commercial break, where are you from? She said, Trenton, New Jersey. I go, are you nervous? She said, yes. Because I didn't know there was a Trenton, Florida. I didn't either until I moved there. What county is that in? Where is that? Gilchrist. Oh, Gilchrist. Okay, that makes sense. Right next to Chiefland. Right next to Chiefland. All right, so what do you sell and make here? We make ceramic trees. We make a lot of different ceramics, but we're showing trees this time finished. I also sell unfinished pieces. We do a showdown in Bushnell in February that's all unfinished, so if somebody wants to come make their own, They can buy it and do that. I see power cables attached to these things. I assume they light up. I've got some in the back that are lit. The second one in there is lit. That one on the end shows pretty. Yeah. They are beautiful. Some are batteries, some are electric. Well, I love them. We can pick them up and buy them right here at the expo, right? Yes. And what's the website if I don't want to buy here? I don't have a website. Fair enough. I have business cards with the address and phone number. Make an appointment. Come on out. I love it. It's old school. Thank you very much, Cheryl. Pleasure meeting you. We should mention, if you want to come out here, it's three days. It opens to the public today at noon. John and Amy. 10 to 4, actually, today. But I think it's a... Good morning, vendors. Oh. They're making an announcement. Doors are opening soon. They're also open on Saturdays and Sundays. That's the Saturday and Sunday only. We have one more vendor to show you before we send it back to you. And I'll tell you, every corner has a unique item. You never know what you're going to... Good morning. How you doing? All Natural Dips. I think that was Paolo's nickname in high school. All right, Melinda, you are our final vendor for this hour, Melinda's Unique Handmade Crafts. Melinda, where are you from? We are from Inverness. Inverness, we love Inverness. Come out here in front of your booth and tell us what you make. We make teapot whimsies, which are bee and butterfly waterers. We also make tabletop and yard ones, so you can get them either one. I guess I'll let you deal with it. Teapot whimsies for your garden. They are to water and feed bees and butterflies. Yes, they are. Oh, they're beautiful. So how do you make the, what's the actual water coming out of the teapot made of? There's no water. That's crystals. Crystals. My husband actually makes them. He puts crystals on a wire and lets them look like they're pouring water. But you actually pour the water over the marbles that you put in the vessel. These are adorable. Thank you so much. And they're so creative. I've never seen anything like that. What's an average cost for one of these? The highest, the ones that go in the yard are 65. Wow. And he just started the tabletop models for people who can't have these in their yard, 45. That's a good deal. Thank you very much. And you make them all by hand. Yes, he's made over 780 in five years. Oh, my goodness. He's been very busy. Too shy to go on camera, so that's your job. Well, I hope you sell out this weekend at the Ocala Holiday Craft Show here at the World Equestrian Center. I love this one for just $75. This goes outside. And it's got a clip. It's got copper in it. Yes, this is copper. He would not put PVC on them. He said, I want copper. He's a retired engineer. He's very picky. I love it. You've shown it all. Thank you very much. Again, this is Melinda's Unique Handcrafted Handmade Gifts, booth 101. That's us. That's a good number to have. It is. We're very lucky. Good luck. Doors open today at noon to the public. Are you ready? I am ready. I am sitting here waiting for customers. Your first year doing this? No, fourth year. Oh, you've done it in four years. We love Ballantyne management. They're wonderful. I'm glad. You said that. By the way, if you're at home and want to see the website for all this, it's bmgevents.com, BallantyneManagementGroupEvents.com, bmgevents.com. Hey, thanks, Melinda. I appreciate it. Thank you. Very nice to meet you. Meanwhile, the World Equestrian Center is hosting the Ocala Holiday Craft Show to get us in the season this weekend. And David Martin is there, and he's been showing off some really beautiful artisans. I can't get over how talented these people are, David. I know. It would make your Christmas shopping, your holiday shopping beautiful. And this is a three-day event. You can get it all done in a matter of three days. So many different things you never knew existed. Like, for example, a reversible washable purse handmade by Robin Cardona. How you doing, Robin? Great. Demonstrate what you make. Okay. My mother designed the pattern 45 years ago. And it's a washable, reversible purse. So you take the strap out. By untying the knot in the front. You flip the whole thing and then put your strap back in and then you have a purse you can use after the holiday. This is great and got different sizes of them. Congratulations. I know that you your mom was dear in your life. She passed this year, right? So now your husband's taking over her job. That's it. So you and your husband run Purses by Robin. I love it. Congratulations on your success. Thank you so much. More to show you here at the Holiday Craft Expo at the World Equestrian Center. By the way, it's $12 to get inside. Well, we had some people here who were selling wreaths and they've disappeared. Well, hello, Carla, how are you? I'm well, how are you, sir? Good, so these are beautiful wreaths that are slightly smaller in scale, which is good for a lot of people. That's right. And you make them all by yourself? Make them all by myself, yes, I do. And so how long have you been a wreath maker? Well, I've been a floral designer for about 47 years. So this is a lot of expertise behind each one of these. Yes, yes, there is. And I enjoy making every one of them. What's the average cost for your beautiful wreath? Average cost is between $55, $45. Great. They're gorgeous. Well, thanks for showing them to us. Thank you so much. Again, the name of the spot is? Yesterday's Gardens. Yesterday's Gardens. Yes. At today's prices. I love it. This is great. Very affordable here. We should mention that this is a... An expo that runs today, tomorrow, and Sunday, so if you can't make it up today, that's okay. You can come up over the weekend. It's going to be cold, so why not enjoy some indoor shopping? All right, we are here live at another booth here. We've booked here for this spot. It's called Berry Primitive. Hello, what's your name? I'm Lisa. Lisa, what do you make here on your booth? I paint everything. I just do anything that's old. And then I paint on gourds, and then I paint on teapots. Anything I can paint, fine, I'll paint on it. So it's very unique home decor. Thank you. Thank you so much. And that's the idea, is to make a statement piece. Look at this right here. Is it an ice skate with the candle sticking out of it? You put unique things together, don't you? Yes, I try to. And how long have you been doing this? A long time. Yeah. About 30 years. Good for you. And I'm only... 30 years. And I'm only 29. Absolutely not. Amazing. Out of the womb with such talent. Well, this has been a pleasure. What's the name of it again? Very Primitive. Very Primitive. And you are not... 609. 609 Booth Space. All right. Booth 609. Thanks for showing it to us. Thank you so much. Have a good day. You too. We should remind you... Actually, we got a great viewer email, Amy and Stephanie, that reminded us that this weekend at the World Equestrian Center is amazing. Amazing horse action, right? It is one of the top horse places in the world. They've got a dressage event this weekend. You'll see some of the most gorgeous horses out there on the arena. So you can shop and enjoy some great times at WECC. Well, hello, ladies dressed alike. What are your names? I'm Karen. And? Marilyn. Karen and Marilyn. Yes. Take a step out of your booth for a moment here and tell us what's the name of your booth. Okay. We are So Good by M&C. So Good. M is for my mom, and C is for me, Karen. All right, this is a pretty unique product here. I would think these might fly off the shelf. What do you make? We make reversible runners. So, obviously, if you have one season, like Thanksgiving. You can reverse it for Christmas, right? You've got pumpkins and cardinals, right? Yes, you do. So two seasons, two holidays. And sports. Yes. So we always joke and say this is the winning side, and then you flip it over, and there if they're losing, you're not watching your team. Generic football when they're losing. Otherwise, it's your team, your winning team. Well, how much does a runner cost? So we make two different lengths. The short ones are $50, and then the long ones are $75. And you hand make all of these, right? Yes. We hand-make, my mom and I hand-make all of the runners. Yes, we do. This is terrific. I just love this show. Is this the first time you've done the show? It is not. This is our second time. Okay. So Good by M&C. Where are you based out of? Where do you live? Jupiter, Florida. Jupiter. Welcome to Ocala. Thank you. Oh, look at the back of her shirt. Mom, let me see the back of your shirt. Did you make that too? Wish we could say we did. We did not. But you could have. We could have, but we're going to give the credit to Bucky's there. All right. Oh, my God. They're also so good, but for different reasons. Thank you, ladies, for your time. This is the Ocala Holiday Craft Expo, now through Sunday. Doors open to the public today at noon. Amy and Stephanie, so if there's something you want, let me and Paolo know right now. We'll shop for you. Welcome back, everyone. Who still needs to shop for the holidays? I'm starting. Yeah, exactly. So if you're looking for a unique holiday shopping experience, how about browsing for arts and crafts? You know what I did? I put my wish list on Amazon for Christmas. My daughter's used it to buy me birthday stuff. Now I've got to start again. So that's why I want to go to the World Equestrian Center because they have this big holiday craft show. It's the Ocala Holiday Craft Show this weekend. David Martin is there to show us around. David, I have a quick question, too. Is it all decked out for the holidays? Like, do they have all their holiday decorations up everywhere? At World Equestrian Center? Yes, they do. That kicks off like any day now, if it hasn't already. And we'll be back in December for that, of course. But here is the Exposition Center on property. It's home to the Ocala Holiday. craft show. They open the doors at 10 o'clock this morning for some advanced ticket buyers. People rushed in here. They have specific things they're looking for, and they know that product does not last. So if you can see us and hear us, you need to get up here today, tomorrow, or Sunday. It's only three days to experience the best in handmade, homemade things, including what's made by Cheryl. Cheryl, good morning to you. Good morning. Cheryl's from Williston, Florida, and this is Lily, her little doggie. So what do you make behind us here? These are, I call it yard art. Yard art. This is actually fence poles and outside land timbers, so they can be outside, they handle the weather, and they're solar. So we put them by our stairs usually, because that gives us a little bit of light. Unique solar lights with art all over it. And you're not from Williston originally. No, I'm Massachusetts. Yeah, I detected a Northeast accent. And over there on the right, what do we have on that side of the booth? My mother-in-law did the handmade quilts. And that's porcelain dolls that she poured from scratch from the slip stuff into the oven. She painted and cleaned them. So those are the porcelain dolls handmade. And she passed last year, so you're carrying the tradition of selling her items. Yes, yes. Good for you. It was a pleasure meeting you. Same here. Thank you. Let's go meet some more folks here. We should remind you that the tickets are just $12. $12. Parking is free, so you will have all kinds of unique items. All right. Well, hello. What's your name? Tricia McDonald. Patricia? Just Tricia. Tricia. Come take a step forward here because your booth's big. What's the name of it? Mimi's Craft Cottage. Mimi's Craft Cottage. And I was attracted by the flames that are in those little hearts there, right? Yes. What do you make there? I embellish the fireplace lanterns. I do all the wreaths, all the candles, pretty much everything I do lights up. That's kind of what I'm known for at this point. I embellish a lot of trees, put them in containers, things like that. Anything that I find that's interesting, I make it. I love it. You're very talented. I don't stick to one thing. You're always moving around. I got you. Well, thank you for taking your time with us, and good luck selling out. Thank you. I think you will. Let's meet some other folks here. What happens, Amy and John and Stephanie, we walk through here like, ooh, that catches my eye. And that's exactly what happened here at Rebecca Asch's Uniquely Crafted Sun Catchers. Well, well, well, good morning, Rebecca, and good morning, Mike. Mike, so you make your own sun catchers. Yes. They're gorgeous. What are some of the items, the actual pieces in there? I use... Earrings and old jewelry and stuff and... Cool. So it's like upcycled, recycled items. Yeah, some things are new, but yeah, anything that shines is going in there. And you've made a hit recently with putting bling on cowboy boots. Oh yeah, it's been a great hit. Everybody's been loving them. This is terrific. So you can buy the accessories right there and put them on your own cowboy hat, your boots. Well, good luck selling out this weekend. Oh, thank you. I think you'll do just fine. That's Rebecca Ashe Unique Sun Catchers. And again, catching the eye. That matters here at these kind of expos. You're about to meet Gary, who caught our eye earlier this morning. Gary, good morning to you. Hey, good morning. Gary from Gainesville. Now, you'll be intrigued by Gary's story there, John and Amy and Stephanie, because he has a 10-year-old son named Landon. Landon. And he watches Good Day Orlando every single day. Every day. He loves us. And so, Landon, if you're watching, thanks for your viewership. But just take a look at what your daddy makes here. What do you make? All of it's done with a CNC. It's all made with locally sourced hardwoods and been doing it for several years. It's like 3D textured wood. Yes. And so this is the one that caught our eye. Pat. Palos in particular, it's the gator hovering above the water a little bit there, right? Just simmering in the lake. It's beautiful. Absolutely. And you also make these wonderful games here. I think these are puzzle games. I forget the real name of this, but it's... A maze. It's just a maze where you gotta get the ball around here. Kids will be entertained for hours. You know, John, you said you had an Amazon wishlist. Come down here to the Craft Expo and make a wish list. This is just $35. People play it forever. And Paolo was wondering what this was, and you said it's a? It's a bread knife. It's a bread knife that you make all by yourself? It's a bread, correct. You're very talented. Thank you. Is this what you do full-time? No, I'm actually a nurse practitioner during the day. A nurse practitioner by day, a woodsman, a woodworker by night. When do you sleep? My goodness. And how many kids you got in total? Four. This is what makes up the Holiday Craft Expo so special, the unique stories behind each vendor, each booth. It's a pleasure meeting you. Pleasure meeting you.