Last weekend my crafty woodworking sister Bethany set up a display at Holiday Haven 2015 — a fair of creative vendors selling original products that make great gifts. It was held at the Happiness Lab coffee shop at The Grove in New Haven. I snapped photos all day and want to share a bunch of them here — mostly because I’m proud of my sister and her artwork, and also because you might spot a unique gift among these vendors that can be ordered online.

Bethany handmade this A-frame display for her woodworking projects — it folds up easily and the shelves come off to fit into the car.

As you can see, she makes a lot of Connecticut-themed crafts, as well as geometric shapes like triangles, hexagons, etc. that can hang on the wall or sit on a shelf.

Beth’s company is called B.Meyer Studio and that links to her website — lots of great stuff for sale.

Here, Beth holds up one of her more unique pieces — she made three in various sizes from reclaimed wood:

Beth’s handcrafted ornaments proved popular as she sold all 30 made for this event. But good news — if you want to order any of these products, she has since made more for her Etsy shop (one ornament for $12, or two for $20). You can even pick the colors, if you’d like. Same goes for the small and large CT’s that will appear later in this post.

Beth made a whole bunch of Connecticut nail art in various colors:

She uses a branding iron to mark the back of her handmade pieces:

These are the small and large Connecticut pieces — they can be hung on a wall (perhaps as part of a larger collage of frames) or they can sit flat on a bookcase, mantle, etc.

Beth also made these Connecticut votives, which proved to be her next best seller after the ornaments:

These wooden triangles in various stains are also popular:

She’s made several hexagonal shaped pieces with an inlaid design:

And this is one of four handcrafted boxes she’s made:

Beth also plays around with woven designs:

I dig this WILD one:

Lots of people came to support Beth — here are two close friends from college with their families:

And our parents and long-time friends:

Shout-out to other family and friends who stopped by, too — I forgot to snap photos of everyone!

I’d never been to the Happiness Lab before, so I was eager to try their coffee. I got an iced soy vanilla latte that was A+. I just added it to my New Haven coffee guide.

Whisk + Brush was part of the event, selling their delicious donuts (regular and gluten free) with vanilla bean, chocolate, or strawberry glaze.

I tried a vanilla bean one that was heavenly.

A woman named Melissa organizes this Holiday Haven event each year — she runs a gorgeous shop on State Street called Vintanthromodern that sells vintage and handcrafted goods by local artists. Totally worth stopping by if you’re in the neighborhood. Here is Melissa’s table:

Kate Stephen Jewelry sells elegant necklaces, bracelets, and earrings — having long-admired Kate’s jewelry, my sister splurged on a necklace for herself. Many of the pieces are made with thin copper and brass combined with unique beads or crystals.

Peterson Sweater Co. sells these woven beanie hats, among other items:

I LOVE these soy candles by Rayne Home Decor — they have one called Java Buzz that smells exactly like a coffee shop; I kept walking over to take a hit off of the candle. My sister swears by their Adam & Eve scent. They have some great seasonal varieties, too.

I didn’t check out this Small Story Booth, but they appeared to be interviewing people on camera. A nice creative touch for a holiday craft fair.

Finally, I have to mention these custom lighting fixtures by Stonehill Design — they are mesmerizing to look at:

How great are the “firefly jars” below?

There were other vendors I didn’t get to visit up close since it was pretty crowded most of the afternoon — but I want to mention Poor & Pretty’s natural beauty products because my sister uses a bunch and loves them.

Happy holiday shopping!