An Array of Goodies at Cherry Avenue Holiday Shopping Night

When PTA member Jennifer Wilson mentioned the concept of a holiday shopping night, the Cherry Avenue PTA they told her to run with it, and she did. Nearly 40 vendors, many of them Cherry Avenue moms, set up tables throughout the cafeteria and gym.

Participation and shopping was open to everyone and the school advertised in various venues. The monies raised went to fundraising including scholarships. There were middle school children on hand to help out with babysitting, along with door prizes, raffles and complimentary snacks.

One mom, Jill Lazarus is, as she puts it, “a completely mobile photographer." Working part-time, she comes to you. Specializing in portraiture, she does infants, babies, kids and families. Her flat fee includes a sitting along with a disc containing hundreds of images.

Cynthia Arzt, another Cherry mom, is proprietor of One Man’s Trash, offering an array of gifts made entirely out of repurposed items. When asked how she got started she said “It all started on 1/1/11 – I wanted to do artwork again. I’m an environmentalist and I wanted to lower my carbon footprint while being creative.” Her mom makes PLARN (plastic yarn creations), items made from crocheted grocery bags. “It changes the way you look at things," she said.

Also on hand was Margaret Henning who works at the Sayville Library. After being diagnosed with breast cancer two and a half years ago, she picked up her watercolor paints and brushes that had been in storage for 15 years and started taking lessons with Mr. Hammer from the High School. Painting helped her a lot, which is why she calls her business “Art for Comfort."

“Every single day I go home and paint. This is my second time doing a show,” she said. She is cancer free and got married this past March after being widowed many years ago. Some of her original artwork is currently hanging in the Sayville Library.

There were young entrepreneurs, too, among them Barrett Lessing, an eight-year-old who attends third grade in Bayport. Barrett started painting shells and creating decorative bowls and ornaments when she was only three. Her inspiration: “When I flipped the shells over, I saw the beauty inside,” Barrett said.

“Everything is found on all different Long Island Beaches,” added her mom, Meredith. “It is like a dedication to the coast – the whole family does it.” Regarding her seaglass necklaces, Meredith said, “Barrett picks them and wraps them and I finish them off.”

Sharing a table with Barrett were sisters Carly, 10 and Christie, six, with their Bottlecap Treasures. Their creations are made by melting crayons into bottlecaps, inspired by an experiment they did one summer on their deck. Since then, their items were sold at their grandmother’s store in Moriches and have since been ordered by the Whitney Museum for the 2011 Holiday season.