If you were in the market for a chain mail bikini, an air plant growing from an animal skull or a less-than-friendly garden gnome, Saturday’s Area 22 Arts, Crafts and Oddities Fair in downtown Elgin was the place for you. At Sarah and Eddie Emerson’s Big Daddy’s Chain Maille Creations and Eddie’s Little Bear Sundries booth, for example, patrons could choose from among a variety of steampunk and renaissance fair items, including a handmade plague mask made of leather, a chain mail top and custom-printed cutting boards. Not far away was Chicagoan Lauren Muskara selling wild boar vertebrae and mink and raccoon skills adorned with plants; the Horror Floral booth, featuring curios made of bones and pinned insects; and the Gnomes for Homes display, with “redecorated” garden decor being sold to benefit PADS of Elgin.
Sarah Emerson’s steampunk leather items, including beaked leather masks similar to those donned by doctors during the plague in 17th century Europe, were among the unusual items being sold Saturday at the Area 22 Arts, Crafts and Oddities Fair in downtown Elgin. (Mike Danahey/The Courier-News) You could even check out a giant take on the classic board game Operation. The event was the brainchild of Tanner Melvin and Erin Rehberg, co-founders of the nonprofit Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin, which served as organizer and host of the decidely unique fair held on Riverside Drive.
That it was held on the same day as the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago .