Berkley Art Bash brings in artists for 24th year

BERKLEY — Berkley will be packed this month with artists in its downtown with the return of the Berkley Art Bash.

Now in its 24th year, the Berkley Art Bash will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 13, on 12 Mile Road. More than 180 artists will participate in the city’s annual event that highlights many artisans and vendors from the area.

Art Bash Director April McCrumb, who also owns the Catching Fireflies shop on 12 Mile, said she’s always looking for different artists for the event.

“Each year we get like a pretty big influx of new people, too, as well as returning other artists,” she said. “We have, like, over 70 new artists this year.”

Beth Jensen is a returning artist with her business, Altered Notions, where she makes jewelry primarily using recycled tea tins and cookie tins.

Jensen started Altered Notions in 2019, and it was important to her to have products that are more environmentally friendly without looking overly recycled.

Bringing her business to shows like Art Bash is important, because it’s where she gets most of her business.

“It’s important to do these, and I love coming back to the show year after year,” she said. “We’ve kind of met people and they kind of look for your work. They start collecting pieces. I have one woman who has 63 pairs of my earrings. … It’s kind of having these little relationships with customers that keep coming back that you get to see face-to-face. Because I work out of my home, that I’m by myself all the day in the basement doing the work, that being able to get out to the shows and meet the people and talk to them about what we’re doing and why the environmental aspect of it was important to me, it’s kind of just a fun aspect of it instead of solely selling online.”

Jensen, a Ferndale resident, is a fan of the Berkley Art Bash and feels the event does a good job of organizing everything with a diverse set of artists.

“Berkley’s a cute little community and everyone’s so friendly,” she said. “I like connecting with some of the people that come through a couple years in a row. People go, ‘Do you remember me from last year? I got this,’ and yeah, I just like that it’s kind of this whole area of the little shows between like Ferndale and Clawson and Berkley and Hazel Park. There is just a nice community feel to all of the shows.”

Presented by the Berkley Area Chamber of Commerce, the Art Bash also will have a children’s tent with free activities that will be located on 12 Mile between Robina and Griffith avenues.

Organizing the Art Bash has been a passion for McCrumb for the last 24 years, and it’s something she looks at as a community service.

“It’s one of the best days for so many businesses out of the whole year in downtown Berkley,” she said. “It makes me feel good, too, our other sisters and brothers in retail are finding success, and it just builds up the town in general. So, some people might only go to Berkley that one day out of the year, but it’s just a great way to showcase how lovely our downtown is and all the great places that people can patronize.”

For more information on the event, visit berkleyartbash.com.