Growing up, Sharon Wilson, 70, was always infatuated with her grandmother’s jewelry collection. Now a full-time jeweler, Wilson sells her own handmade brooches inspired by her grandmother at art festivals and markets around the state.
Sharon Wilson Jewelry Designs and nearly 30 other vendors, from cigar box guitars to pottery, will take over Marion Square for the annual Piccolo Spoleto Artisan Showcase.
“It’s just a lot of fun to come up with something original,” Wilson said. “I love it when somebody comes into my booth and says, ‘Oh, I’ve never seen this before.”
Piccolo Spoleto will host its annual fine arts showcase Sunday, May 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at Marion Square. It will be a one-day event compared with two- and three-day events in previous years, but the lineup is not short on one-of-a-kind crafts, art and jewelry.
For the past 30 years, Wilson has sold her handmade jewelry at the showcase. Her multifunctional pieces, including convertible earrings, feature gemstones and freshwater pearls.
“Even though some of the pieces look fairly classic or simple, there’s a great deal of thought to the balance and proportion of the piece and how it will sit upon the person wearing it,” Wilson said.
She has a history in fine crafts beyond jewelry, including hand-painted children’s overalls. Wilson said she is especially excited to display her new brooches and lean into a “coastal vibe” at this year’s festival.
For potter Jennifer Romano, the showcase is new territory. Romano creates whimsical, functional pottery. She started Super Serious Pottery & Prints in October after looking for a new creative outlet following the pandemic.
“I really just like to make functional things that make every day a little happier and that usually are inspired by my daughter,” Romano said.
Her booth will feature ceramic berry and cereal bowls, garden markers, cake toppers and trinket dishes — each colorful and handmade. Romano said she already sees a future potter in her 7-year-old, Lucy, who loves getting her own hands into a ball of clay.
The showcase will be the largest market she has participated in since starting her business. For Romano, the showcase’s large reach isn’t the only thing she is looking forward to.
“I love connecting with other artists and people that just have the same kind of drive to make stuff,” Romano said.
The people are also a draw for South Paw Cigar Box owner Anthony Walker, 67, who is returning to the showcase for a second consecutive year. A Columbia resident, Walker travels in and outside the state with handmade cigar box guitars that he creates out of his at-home shop.
“I come in, I meet people, I have a good time and I talk history,” Walker said. “Basically make new friends.”
Walker’s guitars possess all the elements of a traditional guitar but carry something mass-produced instruments don’t — a slice of history. The instrument originated in the mid-1800s as a low-cost, improvised guitar for those who couldn’t afford factory-made instruments. Cigar box guitars are typically associated with blues and jazz music.
“It does have a unique sound to itself,” Walker said.
Besides blues instruments and coastal jewelry, Sunday’s showcase will also feature wood art by Alfred Conley, handmade candles, floral arrangements, tea, canned preserves and more.
Conley, 60, owns Lowcountry Wood Art. All of his products are made with local repurposed wood sourced from whiskey and wine barrels, driftwood, and historic trees. He has frequented the market for decades and has sold to buyers from 57 countries. Conley said the only downside to these markets and festivals is not being able to talk to everyone who passes by.
“Spoleto takes it to a whole new level, because of the diversity of visual and performing arts from all over the world,” Conley said. “It introduces Charleston to a whole new group of people that may otherwise not have been here.”
One of his more popular items is a smoke cocktail kit. When Conley gets a rare moment of rest between his full-time job in home furnishing sales and his wood art business, he uses a kit to make a neat Scotch.
There are endless options for handmade goods and unique art pieces for festival-goers and locals alike. The Charleston Farmers Market, with an additional 40 sellers, and the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit will both be in Marion Square that same day.
“I don’t want to have something that everyone else has,” Wilson said. “The fact that you are buying something that someone put their heart and soul into —it’s actually a piece of the artist that you’re taking home with you.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO:
The annual fine arts showcase will take place on Sunday, May 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at Marion Square downtown.
Remi Turner is a magazine, news and digital journalism graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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