Culture & Community | Downtown | Economic Development | LGBTQ | Strange Ways | Arts & Culture
Top: Dylan Sanders of Oddment and Tweak. Bottom: Strange Ways Owner Alex Dakoulas, with some of his own flair. Linda-Cristal Young Photos.
On one table, enamel pins of Darth Vader and Han Solo peeked out from their yellow backing, glittering in the sunshine if they turned a certain way. On another, a black hoodie sported the words Laugh Now/Cry Later, surrounded by a circle of sad circus animals and a pout-faced clown. Nearby, an iron-on patch of a wide-eyed owl looked out across a sea of red brick, awake and alert.
That was the scene at Strange Ways’ latest Flair Fair, held in Pitkin Plaza last Saturday. A now biannual tradition, the fair brings together artists and makers to celebrate quirky flair—pins, patches, stickers, keychains and the like—and the small businesses and the creatives that run them. This spring, it migrated outside to Pitkin Plaza after years at Lyric Hall and Lotta Studio in Westville. The downtown area is just outside Strange Ways’ brick-and-mortar location at 151 Orange St.
“We try to focus on people that have pins and patches, smaller items like keychains or stickers,” said Strange Ways owner Alex Dakoulas. “That’s what flair is. It’s all about expression, self-expression, DIY style. Strange Ways was founded on focusing on artists … having Fair Fair as a market where you can actually meet the people that make it, that you’re buying from and maybe you’ve bought before, I think is really fun for people.”
“It is cool to see people that we do carry, that I have become friends with, want to show up and support,” he added. “But I also like seeing new people that we haven’t featured before and that get a chance to now vend.”
Top: Jeff DeSantis. Bottom: Shannon Mora of Dreamy Punk Shop.
This year, artists came from not only New Haven and Connecticut, but as far as Maine, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York. At a table for BxEButtons and StaciaMade, New Jersey-based designer Jeff DeSantis showed off an enamel pin for “Cat Loaf,” a character that sprang from his imagination onto the page, and then onto the design process.
The pin is quirky: it shows a caricature-like cat face on a high, brownish loaf of Pullman bread. So is “Dr. Plaguin,” a plague-doctor-meets-penguin mashup (in enamel pin form) that Strange Ways carries year round. As he made his first sales of the day, DeSantis praised the fair as a fun opportunity not just to vend, but also to bring creatives together.
His appearance has been four years in the making: he first signed up for a Flair Fair in 2020, but it was canceled during the Covid pandemic. Saturday, in contrast, was looking bright.
“Before I was done putting price signs out, I had a sale,” he said as people trickled into the plaza, taking a look. “So that’s a good sign.”
Top: Cude. Bottom: An attendee with their water bottle fully covered in stickers chatting with maker Amanda Tulacz.
At a table a few yards away, Naugatuck-based artist Raquel Cude finished setting up over a dozen illustrations, a series of large prints punctuated with stickers and sunflower-yellow crop tops. A graduate of Paier College of Art, Cude is intimately familiar with New Haven and West Haven. It was Val Ruby Omen, who works at Strange Ways, who recruited them to the event.
“There’s a whole bunch of new stuff!” Cude said excitedly, motioning to a series of patches made specifically for the fair. “It’s been a fun venture moving from paper to cloth. It’s been a bit of a learning curve, but I think I have it figured out.”
There from Philadelphia, artist Hannah Francis of HanFran Studio showed off a number of original works, including a lace-encased, heart-shaped collage that she held up and proudly displayed against the red brick of the plaza. Close by, Quiet Tide Goods’ Kris Johnsen and Jessica Hovey beamed over a table festooned with original patches, from a friendly fox with a bouquet of sunflowers to an embossed circle that read “All My Friends Are Plants.”
While the two are from out of town—the shop is based in Portland, Maine—they know their New Haven audience: a spray of pins read “Pizza Eating Champ!” in spindly yellow letters on a red background.
Top: Hannah Francis. Bottom: Quiet Tide Goods’ Jessica Hovey and Kris Johnson.
As in years past, the fair also featured New Haven names, including makers who have become beloved fixtures in the city’s art community. Artist Alana Ladson, who runs the eponymous Alana Ladson Art, said she was thrilled to be returning to the fair as a vendor for the second time. The last time she sold at Flair Fair, Strange Ways still hosted the event in Westville. She was a fan of the move downtown.
“We were in a small venue, and it was like, really fun, really homey,” she said. “I wanted to do that again! The weather is really nice today, so I feel great, and I think other people feel great as well. It’s nice to have folks able to circulate around.”
Others came with a mission, amplifying the fair’s overall community feel. Maine-based artist Christy Woods said that her brand, EVOL-EYE co., is inspired by her own mental health journey.
Top: EVOL-EYE co. in action. Bottom: Artist Alana Ladson.
For Woods, the name has a triple meaning: it is “Eye Love” spelled backwards, and also a riff on the Evil Eye as a sign of protection and the “evil eye” her mother joked she once gave consistently as a teenager. A portion of proceeds go to the National Alliance of Mental Illness.
“A lot of my designs are inspired by mental health,” Woods said as her hand flitted over a hat that read “Brighter Days Ahead.” “I started this as kind of art therapy for myself, and it kind of shows me that I’m not alone, it shows others that they’re not alone. I’m really sick of cheesy, ‘Hang In There!’ designs.”
“I’m proud that I’m just here,” Woods added. “I struggle a lot, so this gets me out there.”