Craft Fair Goes Atomic

If there were a nuclear attack on crafts, the result would be the Atomic Holiday Bazaar.

The indie craft show returns for a sixth year on Saturday and Sunday at the , featuring crafts “that won’t make you puke or yawn,” said organizer Adrien Lucas of Sarasota.

That allows for a lot of room for creativity. The show features everything from highly technical laser cutwork to silly knick-knacks at the bizarre bazaar. 

Over the years, Lucas said she’s seen just about everything.

“The weirdest and most amusing would be the vagina and ovary pillows made out of pink satin,” she said, laughing. “They were pretty cool and beautiful in an anatomy kind of way.”

The show runs from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, and it’s free for kids 12 and under.

The first 100 adults at each show will get a tote bag screened by Clothesline, and filled with coupons, Atomic Ranch Magazine, jewelry, she said.

The Bayfront Room, at the rear of the auditorium, will be open for free and includes a free raffle filled with donated crafts, art and vintage pieces, she said.

For some post-bazaar fun on Saturday, the Atomic Bazaar is sponsoring an “after-after party" at , with the help of Sarasota Music Scene.

For $8, party-goers will hear four bands, and get to bowl. The party starts at 7 p.m.

Lucas also encourages people to stop by the S/ART/Q opening exhibit, "withTHIRTEEN," at on Friday and through the weekend to support local art that vibes with the bazaar. The exhibit continues through Jan. 7.

Bringing Crafty Back

Lucas brought her love of indie craft fairs from Los Angeles when she moved to Sarasota in 2000.

“There were tons of craft shows, but none of them had something for me – more of a punk rock, younger aesthetic vibe,” she said. “Craft shows tend to take themselves too seriously, and that wasn’t a fit for me.”

She’s sees the trends come and go at the bazaar and tries to keep tabs on what the next hottest thing will be.

For instance, Steampunk – a juxtaposition of  a Victorian-era vision of futuristic sci-fi costuming – appears to have reached its peak, she said, and mass media continue to pick up on the culture.

“Steampunk for the past three years has been on the rise, and I would say as popular as it is, it’s almost on the decline,” she said. “It has reached its peak and moving into a new repurposed style.”

Lucas has noticed plastics and acrylics becoming trendy and accessible.

“There are a lot of new machines out there that have become affordable as far as laser cut,” she said. “It’s very technical that someone back in the day would have whittled with a little piece of wood.”

The machines can cut intricate designs, like snowflakes, and illustrators also have better ways to translate their drawings onto fabric now, too, she added.

What’s the future of Atomic Bazaar, though and the crafters and people who love the bizarre? It’s like asking if teens who grew up with Nirvana and Dr. Dre will  listen and rock out when they're 80?

“Would I do it forever? Who knows, but I’ll be doing it until the cows come home,” said Lucas, who is on the “light side of the 40s.”

“When I’m 80, I really hope I’m somewhere else at that point. I was going to say in craft heaven, but really, that would be hell.”

If you go

What: Atomic Holiday Bazaar

When: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday and noon to 5:30 p.m., Sunday

Where: Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 North Tamiami Trail

Admission: $5 for adults, and it’s free for kids 12 and under. Bayfront Room is free