BY MERLE MONAHAN/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
merlemonah@aol.com

WINDSOR—Craft enthusiasts will have a chance to do their Christmas shopping early Saturday, Sept. 18, when local artist Joan DeCoster and her daughter, Julie Bowden, host the Windsor Fall Craft and Antique Show.

To be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Windsor Community Building off Route 460 in Windsor, the craft show will feature something for everyone.

“We expect to have from 10 to 12 vendors, showing everything from handmade jewelry, quilted items, garden decorations and implements, including birdhouses, as well as antiques, Christmas ornaments and baskets, to name a few,” DeCoster said.

Everything is handmade, except for the antiques. She noted that everything is quality merchandise.

Caterer Lisa Parker-Little will provide the lunch, while JoAnn Hickman will have baked goods for sale.

Local antique collector, Jay Bradshaw, will show furniture pieces, and DeCoster will have a collection of her work. DeCoster specializes in redoing and hand-painting old items, like toys, wooden boxes, sprinkling cans, cookware and “almost anything that looks interesting,” she said.

“My husband, Donald, and I are always looking around at flea markets and antique shows for unusual items that can be painted,” DeCoster said.

The talented artist uses acrylics to paint the items with her own style of flowers, birds and animals for instance, making sure she has something appropriate for the holidays, including Christmas ornaments and decorations.

Working from her home in Wakefield, DeCoster has natural talent with her own distinct style. She says sometimes people who’ve seen her work will bring an article to her to be painted, but she sells much of her work at various shows. Before the end of the year, she will attend shows in Abington, Farmville, Richmond, Suffolk and Newport News.

“I’ve always liked to draw and paint,” she said. “But it wasn’t until 1982 that I started going to a few of the smaller shows. As my children, Julie and James, got older, the shows became more frequent, and I began to get more involved in my work.

That’s the reason why she and her husband purchased their current home; they made sure there was a room suitable for a studio.

This is the third year DeCoster has sponsored the Windsor show, noting that it gives craft lovers and Christmas shoppers a chance to beat the holiday rush.