From one-of-a-kind patchwork bags to walking sticks with compasses hidden in the top to beach-inspired mugs imprinted with shells there was a little bit of everything at this year’s Piccolo Spoleto Craft Show.
Put on by the Charleston Crafts Cooperative Gallery the show brought artists from all over the South together in Wragg Square (near the Second Presbyterian Church) to sell their works to the many patrons attending the first two weekends of Spoleto Festival USA and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.
Syracuse University graduate student Riley Utley grabbed her camera and captured some of the artists and their versatile work at the show.
Photos by Riley Utley
The 2022 Piccolo Spoleto Craft show was held the weekends of May 27 and June 3 in Wragg Square. Artists of all kinds from all over the South come and sell their goods at this fair, which is put on by the Charleston Crafts Cooperative Gallery. 
Clay Tinney (pictured) and his wife, Lora, have been creating metal jewelry with fire for 45 years. The two are from Key Largo, Fla., and travel all around the country selling their jewelry. 
The Tinneys’ jewelry is fabricated in silver, copper and brass. They use fire to create the patterns in the jewelry, then oxidize and burn the copper to create the color effects. 
Myra Bowie is the owner of Charleston’s Terrace Clay Studio, which has more than 20 members who work there. She sells her work at the studio, online at terraceclaystudio.com and at craft fairs around Charleston. 
Bowie (pictured) has been a ceramicist for 30 years and has been working professionally as one for 15 years. 
Bowie uses a small seashell and a BIC pen to make the imprints in her mugs. She also creates her own glaze for her pottery. She said some customers will pick up every single mug in search of the perfect match. 
Sara Davis Powell (right) only started making mosaics this year when she decided to create a piece above her fireplace. Before that, she was a math teacher who also taught education students at the College of Charleston. 
Davis Powell said this Piccolo Spoleto show was her first craft show ever. (And her last one, at least for a while: She will be writing a new edition for the education textbook “Your Introduction to Education: Explorations in Teaching.”) 
When Davis Powell started making mosaics, she said, she found she couldn’t stop. She has created hanging vases for flowers (pictured), coat hangers, large wall hangings and lots of other creations. Even though she won’t be at a show anytime soon, she said she does do custom work. She can be contacted by emailing saradavispowell@gmail.com. 
Marc Tannenbaum has been selling his woodwork at the Piccolo Spoleto craft fair for nine years. He has been working with wood since he was 10 years old and took it up full time after he retired from being a marketing executive. He said everything he makes “has a story and a joke.” 
Tannenbaum creates unique versions of typical items, like these salt and pepper grinders. He also makes coffee grinders, tops, clocks, tables and walking sticks, among other things. He sells his work all over the Lowcountry, the Charleston City Night Market and the Charleston Crafts Cooperative Gallery. His work can be found on Facebook at thatwoodguysc or by emailing gardenguy53@hotmail.com. 
Tannenbaum said he loves to mix wood and experiment with color. His handmade pens are a great example of this; each has a different shape, weight, color and wood. 
Uniquely MC is a mother/daughter team who create all types of bags out of various materials. Mary Catherine (MC) Kunze and her mother, Sherrie (pictured), started the company. MC cuts and Sherrie sews. 
MC and Sherrie create round crossbody bags, clutches, coin purses, backpacks, totes, purses and more. MC said their wide range of prices help make the brand accessible to different customers. Each bag is one of a kind, and no pattern is exactly the same. 
MC (pictured) said she previously worked at fabric and antique shops. When her mom retired from being a teacher, the two decided to start the business together.
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