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CHRIS LISINSKI PHOTO

Have a creative talent but don’t know where to show your work? Mattituck Presbyterian Church has you covered.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, the church will host its first-ever East End Emerging Artisan Fair, a festival designed to give local artists and artisans a chance to showcase and sell their work.

Caren Heacock, the church’s pastoral care assistant, stressed that the event is not a fundraiser — participants will keep all the money they earn from sales — which she hopes will place the focus on the artisans themselves.

“Maybe they don’t have a large portfolio, or maybe they just do crafts and say, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to try selling my crafts?’ ” she said. “It’s really to give people the opportunity for exposure and to sell their creations and to be a good neighbor to the community.”

Artisans must pay a $10 registration fee, which Heacock said will cover the cost of advertisements and refreshments for the event. Attendance is free.

By Friday, more than 20 artisans had signed up, but Heacock expects that number to grow before the event. The deadline for registration is today, Thursday, Oct. 15, and those interested can sign up at www.mattpres.com.

Heacock said artisans on board to date represent a variety of crafts, from homemade jewelry to recycled furniture to driftwood sculptures. The only rule: The participants can only sell items they created themselves.

“It’s not yard sale stuff,” she said. “It has to have been made by you, with your own hands.”

One participant, Cathy Simicich of Mattituck, produces “Grandma Moses-style” folk art.

“I have a very country home and I looked at the prices of everything to buy to make it really country,” she said. “I said, ‘The only way I’m going to decorate my house is if I do it myself.’ ”

Embellished mirrors made by Catherine of Laurel. (Credit: Chris Lisinski)
Embellished mirrors made by Catherine Crook of Laurel. (Credit: Chris Lisinski)

Laurel resident Catherine Crook will show her “embellished mirrors,” which she makes from old recycled materials.  Crook has been doing this kind of work for more than 30 years.

“I repurpose and recycle everything because I look at stuff and it’s art,” she said. “Ordinary objects become artwork.”

Crook shows her work at “two or three” fairs and festivals per year, but she was particularly excited about the church’s upcoming event because it allows her to connect with her own community.

“I feel like I want to show what I’m doing to people I live near,” she said.

Donna Burden, a Mattituck resident who will be selling homemade, all-natural treats for cats and dogs, echoed that sentiment.

“People should know you’re selling a local product,” she said. “What I like most about [the fair] is they’re highlighting East End artists.”

There is no cost to attend the fair which runs from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Mattituck Presbyterian Church is located at 12605 Main Road in Mattituck.

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Top Photo: Laurel resident Catherine Crook plans to use pieces of broken bottles she collected from a Brooklyn beach to decorate a mirror before Saturday’s artisan fair at Mattituck Presbyterian Church. (Credit: Chris Lisinski)

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