As a preteen in the late 1970s/early ’80s, Kim Krause helped her grandparents run their crafts show booths each year in what was then Eastgate Mall.
“My grandmother would make handmade dolls, and my grandfather would hand-whittle log cabins out of hickory sticks. They were retired and sold those to supplement their income. I learned a lot about crafting from my grandparents. I would go sit in their booths and help them sell their crafts and run the booth,” she says.
In her 20s, she began crafting for herself and, by her 30s, she was selling on the craft circuit.
“I was a craftswoman for 15 years doing wreaths and candles. Later on, I was making my own homemade salsas, jellies and jams,” she recalls.
This summer, she took the next step up to become a show promoter and now organizes her own events under the name K&S Craft Shows. She has already held three since June and has three more coming this fall: Fall Into Winter, Halloween Bash and Crafts Time in the City. The latter show, in November at Eastgate Town Center, feels like she has come full circle back to her origins in crafting.