Pink Palace hosts 36th annual arts and crafts festival

The 36th annual Pink Palace arts and crafts festival starts this weekend and features crafts ranging from custom made Harry Potter wands to tie-dyed underwear.

Ronda Cloud, the Pink Palace's marketing director, said the festival started out as a fundraiser in the 1950s to expand the Pink Palace.

"The Friends of the Pink Palace organization was started in the fifties by the junior league to raise money for a new wing of the museum, the first festival was such a success that we've done it every year since," Cloud said. "The festival is run by volunteers whom almost all of which are women."

Cloud said that what started out as a fundraiser has now made Southern Living magazine's top ten arts and crafts fairs in the country.

"Every year we're expanding to make the festival better and better," Cloud said. "This year we have a country kitchen as well as over 200 craft booths."

Cloud said all of this year's fine art was chosen by the Friends of the Pink Palace Organization and includes art from all over the country, especially the Mid-South.

Among the chosen craft makers at this year's festival is Memphis native Joe Thordarson.

Thordarson started making custom Harry Potter wands after he was asked to design costumes for a Harry Potter book release party.

"After I completed the costumes, I thought it would be a good idea to start selling the wands," Thordarson said. "The first time I set up a booth to sell the wands I sold 120 in an hour and a half. I've been making them ever since."

All of Thordarson's wands, which really look like mini spears, are made of wood and range from 40 to 45 dollars in price. Thodarson's wands are all named after character wands from the Harry Potter book series and include names like "Mongo," "Ministerial," and "The Red Phoenix."

Thordarson said the wands make a great gift and because they are one of a kind his business has been doing well.

"It's not like I have a lot of competition in the wand business," Thordarson said. "But all my wands are unique and come with a certificate of ownership."

Artist Jeany Joyce from Butler, Ariz., is no stranger to working arts and crafts festivals around the United States.

"My husband and I usually do around twenty shows a year, which equals out to about two a month," Joyce said.

What was once a childhood hobby turned into a full time business when Joyce and her husband Tom got married.

"I was really into tie-dying when I was a kid," Joyce said. "When I got married, we needed the extra money so I decided this is something I could do. Everyone can tie-dye but not everyone can do it well."

Straying away from the typical tie-dyed T-shirt, Joyce's tie-dying company offers everything from jean jackets to long underwear, including a tie dyed thong.

"The tie dyed underwear is fun and it also makes a great gift for someone who wouldn't buy it themselves," Joyce said.

The Pink Palace Arts and Crafts festival runs today 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All net proceeds benefit the Pink Palace Museum of Memphis.