Jack Wallace works on a pair of women's sandals in his home workspace, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.
Jack Wallace's old-school leather attache won first place at the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days last year.
Carrie Bergherm with some of her handcrafts and Juneau at her Milton-Freewater home, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.
Carrie Bergherm's travel/neck pillows, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.
Adam Wilkinson shows the intricate layers of a wooden clock, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.
Adam Wilkinson shows the intricate layers of a wooden clock, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.
Jack Wallace works on a pair of women's sandals in his home workspace, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.
Hand-stitched leather purses, engraved wall art, comfy neck pillows, you name it — it can be found in Walla Walla Valley Handcrafted, a Facebook group dedicated to local handiwork.
In November 2019, Celeste Kemmerer saw a need for a local social media group focused on advertising, buying and selling handmade items.
“There are other groups like this, but for some reason, I just didn’t fit,” Kemmerer says. “And some of them, they like to have post approval and they’re very particular about what people post. So I wanted to kind of stretch the parameters a little bit where people could post their links and not get in trouble for it.”
Kemmerer, a crafter herself, wanted to help build small, private businesses and give people a platform to showcase their work, so she took matters into her own hands.
Since its start in 2019, Walla Walla Valley Handcrafted has grown to over 900 members including buyers, sellers and people who just appreciate art.
Vendors can post photos of their work, descriptions, prices and links to their business websites. The rules are simple: No negative comments on people’s artwork, and keep it family friendly.
“We’re here to support each other ... don’t be unkind,” Kemmerer says.
The group boasts a large number of creators making a wide variety of custom items. In it, shoppers can find wood etching, resin art, paintings, beadwork and more.
“There’s somebody representing absolutely every art or craft in there,” says Kemmerer.
It’s also a platform to connect customers with vendors, and for shoppers to join so they can support local artists.
Many of the artisans can be found at local events such as the Weekend at the Blues festival and various farmers markets in the area.
Members of the group regularly post photos and descriptions of homemade items, including fresh produce and flowers. Some creators represent well-established businesses in the area, while others just like to work with their hands and see some extra income as a welcome bonus.
The group is private and requires administrator approval to join, but only because the intention is to keep it local to Walla Walla and surrounding areas.
“If you leave it public, anybody from anywhere can join,” says Kemmerer, “and then anybody from anywhere can post in there and post all sorts of stuff.”
Kemmerer states that sometimes the spammers manage to get in, but it’s easier to manage this way.
Carrie Bergherm with some of her handcrafts and Juneau at her Milton-Freewater home, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.
A rooster crows “hello” as Walla Walla Valley Handcrafted member Carrie Bergherm introduces her run of 28 chickens, which produce plenty of eggs for her family as well as some to sell.
Two years after buying a plot of land south of the Washington-Oregon border, Bergherm’s farm dreams are starting to take shape. She and her family have been adding to this 5-acre homestead incrementally, with the goal of having not only home-grown vegetables and fruits, but also a lavender field and food forest.
“For the farm this year, we’re growing some pumpkins,” she says, gesturing toward a rather large pumpkin patch, “and then some pickling cucumbers and dill to sell — just getting our feet wet in the ‘growing food for others’ department.”
Bergherm makes items with lavender such as soaps and skincare products, so growing her own lavender and extracting the oil is on the to-do list, too. She’d like for the farm to eventually provide most of the family’s food as well as some to sell.
But farming isn’t Bergherm’s only venture; she likes to sew and crochet, making afghans that remind her of childhood, nursery sets for newborns complete with blankets, swaddles and stuffed animals, and two different sizes of neck pillow for lounging and traveling.
Carrie Bergherm's travel/neck pillows, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.
The nursery sets include blankets made of soft, plush fabric and flannel. The neck pillows can be used in multiple ways and include loops on each end so they can be attached to the headrest in a car or hung up and kept out of the way.
Bergherm is a fan of keeping commerce local when possible.
“The idea of helping local people is more of my desire ... to keep the money here and support people who are just wanting to make a little bit of extra either to support their hobby or support their family, or even to start their own business,” she explains.
Bergherm can be found at some markets in the area, including the farmer’s market in Waitsburg.
Adam Wilkinson shows the intricate layers of a wooden clock, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.
Everyone needs a hobby, especially first responders, says Adam Wilkinson, a local firefighter who does laser cutting and engraving in his spare time.
Wilkinson wanted a 3D printer and bought one that also does laser cutting and carving. But 3D printing is difficult to juggle with family time though, he says, because you have to troubleshoot while the machine prints.
So, he got into making laser art with wood, cutting individual layers and stacking them together to create dimension. He buys designs from individual artists online and creates clocks, coasters and wall art.
But that’s just the beginning — he has plans to upgrade. “I’m actually trying to buy a bigger laser because I like it that much.”
While the art he currently produces is limited to 1 square foot, the new laser machine has a work area of 35 inches by 55 inches with pass-through in both directions, allowing for much larger projects.
Wilkinson doesn’t advertise his work outside of posting images of completed projects on the Walla Walla Valley Handcrafted Facebook page and his own page, Wilkie Does It. Nevertheless, orders continue to trickle in.
“I’m enjoying it, and people are enjoying it,” he says. “The whole machine was for my hobby; it wasn’t for any business. I was going to do a couple things here and there for friends and whatnot, but this has turned into a nice, fun gig.”
Adam Wilkinson shows the intricate layers of a wooden clock, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.
It’s important to do something for yourself, even if you love your career, according to Wilkinson.
The International Association of Fire Fighters, or IAFF, runs a mental health facility on the East Coast designed to help association members who suffer from career-related trauma, anxiety and depression.
“One of our guys went back east ... and one of the things he came back with, and was sharing, was that a lot of us, the job is our identity,” he explains, “and so when that ends, whether it’s voluntarily or you’re forced out because of health or whatever other reason, retirees are basically losing their identity ... you need something else, and so I thought, ‘well I can be the laser guy.’”
Jack Wallace's old-school leather attache won first place at the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days last year.
Jack Wallace reluctantly tried his hand at leather crafting while living in Montana a decade ago, working for a man who did leather crafting and wanted to pass on the skills of the trade.
Wallace didn’t consider himself artistic at all, but once he finally agreed to give it a try, he was hooked.
“My brain clicked with the swivel knife,” he says. “It gave me some confidence and gave me a hobby. I was just so focused on work at the time. It gave me a nice little creative outlet.”
Since then, he’s been doing leather work off and on, time and weather permitting, since he does a lot of it in the garage. He likes to refer to YouTube artists and leather crafting magazines for inspiration and instruction.
“YouTube is amazing,” he says. “I follow several other crafters from all over the world.”
Wallace makes purses, bags, wallets, holsters and some smaller projects.
“The few times I’ve done craft shows and stuff, the first time, I noticed that a lot of people wanted to support my craft but can’t afford spending a hundred, a hundred fifty bucks on an item at a time, so I started making a bunch of little small things like bookmarks and little cuffs and stuff like that — my bookmarks I was selling for $5.”
Some of the designs on Wallace’s leather items are drawn free-hand, like the Celtic knots. “Once you get the hang of it, it’s just geometric,” he explains.
Other designs are often found online and traced onto moistened leather with a round point. You’re supposed to get the wet leather cold, says Wallace. He’s not sure why it helps, but it does.
Most of Wallace’s projects are custom orders, since he works full time and doesn’t have a lot of extra leisure time for his hobby, but he still enjoys it.
Hand stitching is what takes up the majority of the time invested into a project. When he first started, he made gifts for all his friends and family, he said. “The last person I ever make anything for is me.”
Brittany Anderson can be reached at 509-526-8324 or banderson@wwub.com.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin is hiring.