Throughout the Melbourne home of Sindi and Philip Karman you’ll find hundreds of cute, colorful magnets – but not on the refrigerator.
Instead, these custom, hand-made magnets are used as part of the decorative wall art the couple sells at craft festivals across the country, including the upcoming Indialantic Craft Festival this Saturday and Sunday. The Karmans were selected to attend the popular, seaside show, presented by American Craft Endeavors.
“We wanted to create something that was different and unique,” Sindi said. “Our art can be displayed as a picture that can be hung or standing up on the attached easel.”
Each piece has a different theme, one to cover most any occasion or interest, including baby, wedding, unicorn, mermaid, beach, grandma, cruise and theater – along with accompanying decorative magnets to hold a photo, message or recipe card in place. They range in price from $23 to $38.
The couple designs each magnet and board individually from their home studio, Oceans of Gold, Inc.
“We make our art in different stages, but we can create an average of 90 finished pieces in a day,” Sindi Karman said. “We began with popular themes that we thought would be of interest and we are constantly creating new designs especially if we are asked.”
When they first started out 30 years ago, the couple created handmade jewelry, but after five years they felt a change was in order and one day, during a craft show, Philip Karman decided to look around at what other artists were selling.
“I wasn’t looking for ideas to copy,” he said. “I was looking for what wasn’t there.”
And he came up with picture frames. Not the old-fashioned kind that open from the back and are hard to change out, but ones that were easy to use, with fun themes and easy-to-use magnets.
Each year they display their work at between 25-40 shows across the country; many of these are coveted spots in juried shows, where artists are specifically selected by a committee for the quality and nature of their pieces.
“I thoroughly enjoy being outside and meeting people from all over the country and especially when I have repeat customers who tell me they bought my art and how much they love them,” Sindi Karman said. “That is very rewarding.”
This weekend marks the 18th annual Indialantic Craft Festival. It will feature more than 75 craft artisans from across Florida and offer an array of items including folk art, stained glass, jewelry, pottery, handmade clothing, exotic live plants, handmade soap, and gourmet sauces. Prices range from $5 to $2,000.
Elizabeth Dashiell, spokesperson for American Craft Endeavors, the organization that produces the event, said crafters are hand-selected from hundreds of applicants to be part of this showcase.
The jurying process can take up to a month as a committee thoroughly reviews an artist’s work. To be eligible, the work must be handmade, and the artist must agree to be present at their booth throughout the entire show.
“When we receive our applications, we try to jury our handmade artists and crafters on quality, diversity, creativity, uniqueness and their display,” Dashiell said. “Indialantic is a beautiful coastal town, loaded with art and craft lovers. This is our 18th year bringing the event to Indialantic and many of our crafters have done the show for years.”
The free, two-day event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Nance Park, 201 N. Miramar Avenue in Indialantic.