Graig MantleArtwork like pottery and blown glass from students and local artists will be on sale today at the University Union Plaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The sale, which is sponsored by the Associated Students Inc. Craft Center, is designed to showcase the artistic talents of both students and locals.
“You can find anything from glass to handmade bags, handmade cards, ceramic things and framed photographs and pictures people have taken,” biology sophomore Nicole Balvanz said. Balvanz is also a craft center manager and ceramics teacher. “A lot of the stuff is made in the ASI Craft Center, but not everything.”
The event has been on campus for nearly 20 years and Balvanz said that anyone can have his or her crafts and arts on sale.
“It’s mostly (coming from) students, but it’s also open to non-students,” Balvanz said. “Some of (the vendors) come into the Craft Center and say that they want to sell their stuff.”
She noted that the Craft Center takes a small percentage of the sales to fund its operations, and artists receive the rest of money that they earn from the event.
“The Craft Center only keeps 15 percent of student work, and 25 percent of non-student work,” Balvanz said. “Those costs mainly go towards our staff. Otherwise, the artist gets all the revenue.”
Given that Mother’s Day is Sunday, Balvanz had a few suggestions on what items at the craft sale could make moms happy.
“There’s a lot of jewelry, a lot of earrings, and there’s also a lot of cards if you wanted to go smaller,” she said. “But if you want to go larger, there (are) vases and sets of plates and bowls.”
Even with all this selection, Balvanz indicated that the price ranges for items sold at the event are friendly to many students’ budgets.
“It’s definitely cheaper because the students don’t want to pay so much. But we still want to sell it,” she said.
Students can buy items like pendants between $10 and $20. Depending on the size, ceramic art is priced between $10 and $50. But Balvanz said that very few items at the plaza are selling for more than $50.
However, these sales are adding up to significant revenue for the craft center.
“Our biggest one was last winter,” Balvanz said. “We made about $14,000 after three days. But the winter craft sales are usually much bigger than spring (sales) because it’s right before Christmas.”
Balvanz predicted that this sale could generate between $8,000 and $10,000 for the craft center.
“It’s a good atmosphere, so if you need any gifts for birthdays or Mother’s Day, feel free to come on by and support students,” she said.