Great Gifts and Good Cheer at Artist Boutique

The atrium of the National Science Foundation in Ballston was a fantastic place to kick off the holiday gift marathon on Thursday. Local craft vendors filled the space for the 2010 Ballston Holiday Artist Boutique to sell their jewelry, purses, gift cards, and gourmet whoopie pies.

Yes, gourmet whoopie pies. Beryl Hall, of B. Hall, Baker LLC, created a mini version of the classic dessert that's just rich, delicious and compact enough to make a run for the best trendy sweet in DC. At the Artist Boutique, Hall had samples of her pies and took orders for tins to be shipped for the holidays, and explained the reasoning behind the scaled-down version of what's sometimes thought of as a monstrosity of a dessert.

"They're 3 to 4 perfect, delicious bites, which is all somebody really wants for dessert," Hall said, adding that each little sandwich of cake and icing is only 135 calories.

The whoopee pies are constructed to be a good inch or two shorter than a cupcake, which means you can easily take a perfectly proportioned bite of cake and icing in a dignified manner.

"We just didn't think anyone looks good eating a cupcake," Hall explains.

Like many of the craft vendors at the Ballston fair, Hall has received great support from the community and even national news outlets like 'Food & Wine' and USA Today.' Many of the participants had shown their work at Ballston's outdoor Arts & Crafts market during the summer and fall, and came back for the winter show because of the friendly community.

"Ballston feels like home–the people are so friendly and supportive," Betty Mudd of Bette's Bags said.

Mudd started designing her purses, wristlets and clutches after her daughter had gone to the mall to buy a designer purse, only to be disappointed by seeing another woman with the exact same bag just after leaving the store. Mudd made a one-of-a-kind bag for her daughter, and when she started her business, she kept the same philosophy–"one of a kind made one at a time."

"If a woman's purchased a bag thinking its one of a kind, I can't go back on that promise," Mudd explains. No two bags are exactly alike, and Mudd keeps track of which fabrics and patterns she's used to make sure there's no duplicates.

"I learned a long time ago to choose fabrics that I like, so if they don't sell I can wear them," Mudd said. It doesn't seem like she has a hard time convincing people to buy her bags, though. Bette's Bags won third place in this year's City Paper Best of DC poll.

Many of the crafters had inspiring stories about how they started their own businesses. Another baker at the fair, Sharon Crow, created Two Belles Southern Pound Cake bakery after running into a friend at a school function, where they'd both brought pound cakes. Both hailed from the south, and Crow said she was lying awake in bed that night, and thought to herself: "Wow, Two Belles Pound Cakes, wouldn't that be great?"

The cakes are great–moist, creamy, and in more flavors than you'd expect for a pound cake. Each flavor that Two Belles sells is named after a woman who inspired them to create the recipe. The Annemarie, named after one of the baker's neighbors, is flavored with rum, coconut and almond; and the Effie Mae pays tribute to Crow's grandmother, with an incredible combination of cream cheese and chocolate chips.

Crow says she and her baking partner got their ideas from a lot of great ladies, and enjoys seeing what twists can be brought to the traditional pound cake.

"We've had a lot of fun figuring out different ways to make them," Crow said.

Fun was also had all day at the craft fair itself. Lots of shoppers passed through, and got to buy great gifts for everyone on their lists.

Jessica Blaszczak, Markets Coordinator of the Ballston Partnership, and the organizer behind the Ballston Holiday Artists Boutique,  was happy with the day's events. "The talented exhibitors, the wonderful visitors the warm and welcoming National Science Foundation – everything just fell into place. Good cheer was truly in the air," Blaszczak said.

Joyce Wagner, of Reinvented Elegance, creates jewelry and mosaics out of gorgeous colored glass and natural items like flowers, shells, or leaves. She also was excited about the Ballston crowd, and explained the benefit behind running her own business as an artist:

"I have the best job in the world. I work myself harder than any boss ever would."