RIPLEY, W.Va. — The annual Mountain State Art and Craft Fair continues at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley.
Artisans from across the region and several states are sporting their wares.
Dusty and Sara Catlett of Martinsburg work with soft pastels to make art with chalk.
It’s a real team, Sara told WMOV Radio.
“We work on the pieces together, he’ll start and then I’ll jump in and we’ll take turns on the pieces and then it’s really enjoyable to see the pieces we come up with and our concepts come together,” Sara Catlett said.
This week is the Catlett’s first trip to the Mountain State Art and Craft Fair.
“it’s nice. It’s beautiful and we got here we looked around and said this is a nice event,” Dusty Catlett said.
Natasha Zoe is from Alderson. Her business is Jarhead Farms.
She’s a Marine Corps retiree. She and her business partner, also a retired Marine, put jams and jellies, fruit, syrups and dried fruit in jars.
Zoe said she never thought she’d be in a business like this.
“I made a batch and I made another batch and it sold and eventually we have a company and we hire people,” Zoe told WMOV.
Jarhead Farms works with 45 small-scale West Virginia fruit farmers and two co-ops to get the product it needs.
Zoe said she goes to about 50 fairs and similar events a year. She said meeting people is what she likes best.
“Being able to tell them what we are doing, sharing our processes with people and being able to share our food with them,” she said.
The Mountain State Art and Craft Fair runs through Saturday.