Ridge Fine Art and Handmade Wares Show Today in Ferndale

After 13 years, the Ridge Fine Art and Handmade Wares Show has moved to Ferndale.

Co-founder of the show and owner Siouxsan Miller held the show each of the last dozen years at the Pleasant Ridge Community Center on Ridge Road, but now it's in Ferndale

Today, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 26 artists from ceramics to jewelry to lip balm will fill for the 13th Annual Ridge Fine Art and Handmade Wares Show. Admission is $2 but with that $2 you get snacks, treats and drinks that are available throughout the show.

The move came because as of July 2010, only Pleasant Ridge residents could rent out the city's community center, Assistant City Manager Scott Pietrzak said. Miller rented out the community center for the event each year for the show -- which wasn't affiliated with the city of Pleasant Ridge. Since Miller is a Ferndale resident, this new requirement made her seek out a new venue.

"We found the church and they were excited to have us," she said. "It feels new and exciting. ... The church is a great space."

The city of Pleasant Ridge, however, is holding a similar art show at the community center today as well. The show takes place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and brings in 21 artists from across the region, Pietrzak said. Addmission is $3.

Miller has been a Ferndale resident for 20 years and a business owner in the city since 2005. She's happy to be holding the show in Ferndale.

"This is my community, this what I know. I want to support my home town," she said.

Miller said a lot of the artists in the show have been with for a long time. And, when choosing artists, she chooses based on what she likes.

"This show is like my own personal shopping experience," she said, jokingly. "I hope you all like my taste!"

The show, she said, is ceramic heavy because there are "a lot of great ceramic people in the area." She also makes sure that there isn't a lot of duplication when it comes to jewelry artists.

She said attendees will also find a lot of upcycled items, from book covers and journal covers to handbags made out of old coffee bean bags.

Ferndale has no shortage of crafters and craft shows. Miller says that due to proximity and the openness of the city, artists and crafters tend to gather here.

"We are a little more open to trying different things. It's a hot bed for art, visual art, anything of art," she said. "Instead of Fashionable Ferndale, I like to say Friendly Forward Thinking Ferndale."

The Ridge Fine Art and Handmade Wares show takes place at the Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Nov. 19. Admission is $2.