Heather O’Connor, Owner of Diving Head First. Photos by Emma Ehrhard.
There’s nothing bizarre about the Bizarre Bazaar if you’re into spooky crafts and unique
collectibles.
That’s what attracted the crowd at Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre Sunday where small
business owners and artists displayed their creativity.
“The more alternative vendors gravitate towards our markets, because they don’t really
fit in at street fairs and stuff like that,” said event organizer Gaelen Harlacher, who with Hugo Fitzgerald runs the arts and events collective by the name of The Perks Department.
The Perks Department, in conjunction with Nautilus Roasting CO. and Three Fingered
Discount, hosts local alternative festivals and events such as the Bizarre Bazaar, which has been kicking off the Halloween season since 2017.
This year, the Bizarre Bazaar showcased 35 vendors featuring everything from lifestyle
brands to spooky crafts, to unique collectables.
Embroidery seemed to be in trend at this year’s bazaar, with the inclusion of businesses
Diving Head First and Fool’s Errand. Diving Head First’s embroidered decor and accessories make for heartfelt gifts. Owner Heather O’Connor’s longstanding love for crafting sparked her business, which features some Halloween designs of stitched ghosts and skeleton hands perfect for the spooky season. `
Basia Kurlenoer, owner of Fool’s Errand, chain stitch embroiders whimsical goods such
as pennants and patches. Kurlenoer offers festival and fairgoers the extraordinary experience of chain-stitching products on-site to really put the “craft” in craft fair.
Businesses like Andrea Rocheson’s Spooky Tanuki Shop certainly fit in with the
environment. Rochenson’s shop offers collectable toys imported from Japan, found anywhere from grocery stores to candy stores. Figurines in the collection like the Tanuki raccoon doll or Kasa-obake ghost are modern representations of thousands of year-old stories from the folklore known as yokai.
Long Island lifestyle brand Points East showed off their handmade products that are
“Long Island based, Long Island sourced, and Long Island inspired,” said team member Brittney Speer.
Founder and creator Will Holmes added that the designs are “based in local history, local legends, local folklore…everything has some significance to special places and special towns,” he said.
The Bizarre Bazaar provides the perfect setting for artists like Designs by Die. Dianna
“Die” Scarpulla handmakes and sells colorful resin housewares and accessories. Die also combines her passions of resin art and photography, crafting pieces such as mini resin polaroids of the Kings Park Psychiatric Center. According to Die, she intertwines the historic landmarks in much of her work, “to bring awareness to them and keep their history alive.”
Chaotic Cosmetics knew how to grab the attention of bazaar-goers with their eye-
catching arrangement. The LGBTQ+ owned business, founded by Ashley Jade, encourages self-expression with additions such as glittery shades and bold color palettes
. On the benefits of bringing businesses to festivals like the Bizarre Bazaar, Jade said “meeting a bunch of cool people and the exposure, for sure…so people can see what’s on the Island.”
The quirky market was a delightful experience for lovers of the spooky and spunky.
Harlarcher added the Perks Department is driven to host events like the Bizarre Bazaar “…for ourselves, but when others connect and enjoy it, that’s a plus.”
In case you missed their appearance at the Huntington Cinema Arts Centre, you can catch their next memorable market, “The Great All Nighter,” on Nov. 25, 7pm-12am at The Pavilion of Lindenhurst.
Emma Ehrhard is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media.