Local arts and crafts show gives Lincolnites opportunity to showcase their work

On Saturday, Superior Bingo Hall in Lincoln hosted an arts and crafts show for small business owners.

On Friday night, Lincoln resident Sandy Ogden won $275 playing bingo at Superior Bingo Hall off of 48th and Superior. To artists and craftsmen across the city, what she did on Saturday was even more incredible.

Ogden is a regular at Superior Bingo. After a suggestion from her grandson Kirby, Ogden decided she wanted to organize arts and crafts shows at the bingo hall to help out small business owners.

“It just gives people an opportunity to sell their stuff,” Ogden said.

Kendra McFayden and Michaela Sievers are among those appreciative for the platform that the arts and crafts show at Superior Bingo has given them to promote their wrapped jewelry business, Wrap All About It.

“We’re very grateful to everyone that has helped support our dream,” McFayden said. “Supporting small is literally, you get a sale and you’re doing a happy dance!”

Sievers says that there is a real solidarity between small business owners that come together at local arts and crafts shows.

“Everybody just kind of roots each other on,” Sievers said. “You see a familiar face almost every time you go to a craft show, so it’s kind of cool to see everyone pull together.”

Debbie Martin, a local artist who owns a small business called Whiterose, says she is inspired by coming to arts and crafts shows and seeing other people’s work.

“Some of this stuff is really cool,” Martin said. “I love looking at everybody’s different talents because I know what goes into this stuff.”

Several artists and craftsmen say that shows have been far less frequent since the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States.

“Overall, with COVID, it’s been kind of rough,” says Justin St. Clair, owner of J Street Jewelry. “Not a lot of people are going out, not a lot of people are shopping and all that, a lot of people lost their jobs so they can’t afford it. But at the same time, it’s a good time to advertise, a good time to get your name out there and a good time to make friends.”

Local woodturner Jim Ruppelt says that he believes it is possible to hold arts and craft shows in a safe manner during the pandemic.

“I think it’s great,” Ruppelt said. “A lot of people ask me, ‘Will you feel safe going to the crafts shows in the pandemic?’ Honestly I do. Everybody wears a mask and everybody’s very respectful of space. I would encourage people to go out and support them.”

What is it about arts and crafts shows that makes them special?

“It’s special to me because sometimes these are lost arts,” says Mollie Roberts, owner of Aunt Pauline’s Cupboard. “It’s people doing things with their hands, whether it’s woodcrafting or with yarn. It means more, I think, because you put all that love into what you make.”

This is the last arts and crafts show that will be held at Superior Bingo in 2020. Ogden says that the bingo hall typically hosts shows around Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. After Saturday’s show concluded at 3:00 p.m., it was back to playing bingo for Ogden.

“I’m nothing but a bingo player who opened her mouth and asked if I could be a promoter of the craft shows,” Ogden said.