Margaret Mimnaugh with Tidal Creations from Ketchikan sets up her seasonal creations made with found hand painted sea urchin shells, along with snowmen and jelly fish at this year’s Stocking Stuffer Showcase on Saturday at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Margaret Mimnaugh with Tidal Creations from Ketchikan sets up her seasonal creations made with found hand painted sea urchin shells, along with snowmen and jelly fish at this year’s Stocking Stuffer Showcase on Saturday at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Stocking up for the holidays

Annual $25 and under market boasts biggest turnout yet.

Longtime Juneau resident Merridy Davis of Lottie’s Eye knows all about catching people’s eye with her wide selection of arts and crafts.

“Mini collages are my new interest, it kind of offers a little something for everyone,” Davis said. “I’ve been a paper hoarder for a long time, I used to do book binding but now I’m getting into collages. It’s just a fun little artistic hobby, I enjoy it.”

There was no shortage of artistic hobbies to be found on Saturday as the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council held its annual Stocking Stuffer Showcase at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. The market featured local vendors with items for sale, all $25 and under, which were marketed as last-minute gifts and stocking stuffers.

Corinne and Lyle James celebrate their new business venture, Tlingit Aesthetics, selling stickers, prints, cards and apparel at the annual Stocking Stuffer Showcase on Saturday, Dec. 10. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Corinne and Lyle James celebrate their new business venture, Tlingit Aesthetics, selling stickers, prints, cards and apparel at the annual Stocking Stuffer Showcase on Saturday, Dec. 10. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Suzanne Hudson of Nana’s Attic in downtown Juneau was there with her husband and Dale Hudson, who when he isn’t busy standing in as Santa Claus, is busy making toy ray guns.

“I collect daisy BB guns and I was looking at their website and they used to make toys for Buck Rogers space guns and somewhere through that I stumbled onto steam punk ray guns and I thought, ‘Hey, I got this kind of stuff, let me see what I can do.’ That’s how I got started, I’ve been at it three or four years now and I’ve made about 300 of them so far,” Hudson said.

Neyshmy Sandoval and her mother Malena and baby Luna sell Puerto Rican homemade desserts with Boriken Classic Flavor at Juneau Arts and Humanities Council’s annual Stocking Stuffer Showcase on Saturday the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Neyshmy Sandoval and her mother Malena and baby Luna sell Puerto Rican homemade desserts with Boriken Classic Flavor at Juneau Arts and Humanities Council’s annual Stocking Stuffer Showcase on Saturday the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Stacey Thomas has lived in Juneau for over 30 years. She started learning how to sew when she was in 4-H at the age of 10 but didn’t start to take it seriously until moving back to Alaska as an adult. Now, Thomas said, it’s become a hobby that’s somewhat taken over her life. She makes everything from purses to stockings, hats, giftbags and perhaps her most popular item, microwavable cozies.

“This is a hobby, I know it seems kind of extreme, but this is a hobby,” Thomas said. “I like practical things so these are microwave bowl cozies, so it’s basically a hot pad that you can put in the microwave. If you’re tired of burning your hands on hot bowls, microwavable cozies are for you.”

[Spruce up your holiday by harvesting your own tree]

Charlene Miller with Ice Angels of Alaska said she literally started her arts and crafts table three days prior to the event starting. Miller said she had the table reserved but hadn’t yet figured out what she was going to fill it with, that’s when she came up with the idea of pickled goods, and along with her friend Carolyn Trebian of Light Raven’s Art selling her crystal bracelets and earrings, the two pulled it off just in time.

“We’ve got the bomb pickled goods. We’ve got cowgirl candy out here which is your sweet and jalapeno, fantastic for your mac and cheese, throw it in your quesadilla or omelet. We also have our jalapeno pepper, a little milder version or something a little hotter if you’re looking for something on the spicy side. We also have pickled beets along with kimchi, which is your pickled cabbage, etc.,” Miller said.

Charlene Miller with Ice Angels of Alaska sells her pickled goods alongside Carolyn Trebian’s Light Raven’s Art at their booth on Saturday for this year’s Stocking Stuffer Showcase at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center

Charlene Miller with Ice Angels of Alaska sells her pickled goods alongside Carolyn Trebian’s Light Raven’s Art at their booth on Saturday for this year’s Stocking Stuffer Showcase at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center

Traci Ferguson Hayes is the marketing and media coordinator for the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, and according to Hayes in the five years that the Stocking Stuffer Showcase has been in existence, this year was their biggest one to date in terms of vendors and turnout. Hayes said that she, along with JAHC program manager Laura Miko worked hard to ensure this year’s event would be special since this was the first year that pandemic mitigations were lifted.

“It’s nice to have a bigger event this year, this the first time it’s back fully open with no restrictions and we have about 38 vendors, which is definitely an increase from years past,” Hayes said. “It’s nice to see everyone out and about and I know that there are a couple of other markets happening in Juneau right now, so it’s nice to see that people are actually coming in and they want to find those quality affordable gifts made locally.”

• Contact reporter Jonson Kuhn at jonson.kuhn@juneauempire.com.

More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for t​​he Week of Sept. 23

Here’s what to expect this week.

Devil’s Club provides shelter for angel wings along the Dzantik’i Heeni Loop Trail on Sept. 16. (Photo by Deana Barajas)
Wild Shots

To showcase our readers’ work to the widest possible audience, Wild Shots… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Friday, Sept. 22, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Maria Norman, 80, guides her wheelchair/walker toward the front patio space of the senior living building at the St. Vincent de Paul of Juneau complex on Teal Street on Saturday. About 30 Juneau residents visited the complex during the morning as part of a Friends of the Poor Run/Walk to raise money for the facility and its programs. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A step at a time toward housing stability

Annual fundraising run/walk for St. Vincent de Paul Juneau highlights improvements, ongoing needs.

A marijuana activist holds a flag during a march on Independence Day on July 4, 2021, in Washington, DC. Members of the group Fourth of July Hemp Coalition gathered outside the White House for its annual protest on marijuana prohibition which the group said it dated back to more than 50 years ago during Nixon Administration. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alaska relaxes rules for marijuana ads, allows free samples

Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom has signed new regulations that allow the… Continue reading

A rainbow appears over downtown as residents check out rows of electric vehicles at Juneau’s EV E-bike Roundup Saturday afternoon. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Capital city celebrates 10th annual Juneau EV and E-bike Roundup

Juneau’s electric vehicle growth among fastest in the country, organizers say.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, gives a live speech via video from Washington, D.C., to attendees at the annual Southeast Conference meeting in Sitka on Thursday. (Screenshot from video by Southeast Conference)
Murkowski, Sullivan warn of domestic, foreign threats to Southeast Alaska’s economy

Issues from Russian seafood imports to ferry funding cited by senators during Southeast Conference.

Most Read