Every year, Grand Central Station hosts a Holiday Fair in the Vanderbilt Hall where dozens of artisans have tables offering the very best of their hand-crafted items for sale. It’s a shopper’s dream, with everything from hand-loomed knitwear, handbags, contemporary art glass, ceramic sculpture, decoupage trays, decorative pillows, silk items, and jewelry—lots of jewelry, both silver and gold, and hundreds of different designs with every kind of stone imaginable. There’s so much to offer that you’ll find the perfect item for that hard-to-buy-for friend or relative, or better yet, something to treat yourself for all the hard work you do during this stressful time of the year. And the best part? Almost every vendor takes credit cards. Here’s a tiny sampling of some of the beautiful items available.
Corrente creates elegant handbags (below) with the highest quality leather and materials, and it shows. They are an independently owned handbag label located in Brooklyn. Each of their designs is different than anything you’d find by the big-name designer labels on Fifth Avenue. Their collection consists of a wide variety of colors and styles, and every woman is sure to find one (or two, or three) of their bags that would be perfect for them. Check out their website at www.shopcorrente.com to see samples of their unique bags.
CC Creations (below) offers colorful, handmade decorative trays, bowls, and vases using decoupage under glass. There are all sorts of designs, from photos of cities to wine labels, ads featuring famous jazz musicians to scientific photos of wild animals. All items are fully usable and food safe (though not dishwasher safe), although they also make for decorative pieces to be put on a shelf and admired.
Tis the season to wear scarves with our coats, and JAK™ Designs (below) has the most lovely scarves and knitwear available for a Woman Around Town to stay warm and look fashionable. Owned and run by Jen Armstrong and Tanya Alsberg, these two women knit every piece in each collection, striving to make each garment and accessory the finest it can be by constructing everything with thorough attention to detail and quality.
They design for comfort, movement, and style using a vast array of natural and luxury yarns from around the world. In addition, JAK™ Designs is a certified Green business, and in an effort to add more natural and sustainable fibers each season, Jen and Tanya developed the organiJAK™ and JAK naturals™ lines, utilizing natural, sustainable, and organic yarns. To learn more about JAK™ Designs, visit www.jakdesigns.com.
Looking gorgeous is easy when you’re wearing Lauren Vidal outfits (above). Lauren Vidal is the signature collection of Parisian Revital Vidal, who travels the world to find inspiration for his clothing designs. The Fall 2010 collection is full of rhythmic colors, studs, and brushed prints. The color steel dominates as it is mixed with blue moon, petrol, cobalt, and wine. For even more photos from this stunning clothing line, go to www.laurenvidalusa.com.
Artist Jeffrey P’an creates beautiful contemporary art glass (opening photo and above) using the reinvention of old-world techniques in the design of modern objects. As light passes through each glass piece, blending the colors, patterns, and textures from all sides, colors and graphic interactions are created that vary depending on the perspective of the viewer. The color patterns are made from mosaics of handmade strips, tiles, and panels that are laid out and then fused together. To see examples of Mr. P’an’s glass designs, visit studiojeffreypan.com.
This is just a small sampling of all the wondrous items for sale this year at the Grand Central Holiday Fair. The fair is only open until December 24th, so make time in your busy holiday schedule to stop by—don’t miss out!
