Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library hosts first vendor show, highlights local art, food

Jamie Keys likes to hang out in downtown Greensburg with friend and fellow art therapy student Olivia Andazola.

The two second-year Seton Hill graduate students walked less than 10 minutes from their Greensburg apartment to participate in The Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library’s first vendor show.

Keys brought original prints and trading cards to sell at the vendor show on Pennsylvania Avenue, which hosted 22 vendors Saturday. Andazola sold flowers made out of yarn, crocheted hats and a few ceramic pieces.

“We like being downtown, doing stuff,” Keys said. “I love all the events that Greensburg has to offer the community.”

Friend Grace Comini of West Newton — who studied fine arts at Westmoreland County Community College — contributed to the stand with original paintings.

Jillian Santoro, a first-year art therapy graduate student at Seton Hill, sold crocheted hearts, which she began making when she first moved to Greensburg in January.

The hearts matched perfectly the theme of the library’s vendor show, the “Love is in the Air Craft and Maker Fair.” It was the first event of its kind at the library, Director Jamie Falo said.

“We have a lot of makers in our community,” Falo said. “They’re all so nice and they’re so talented.”

At the same time, the library hosted a children’s makerspace program.

All proceeds from the show’s 50-50 and basket raffle will help the library purchase supplies for its makerspace, which has received funding from the United Way for the past two years.

Library groups also contributed items, like the scrunchies and zipper pouches made by a teen sewing class. Sales of those items will go to library programming, Falo said.

“We have the (Greensburg) Night Market monthly, and we just thought it would be nice to get people out of the weather and into the library to see what resources we have,” Falo said.

Vendor Derek Fritzel, accompanied by his 6-year-old son, Jack, also raised money for a good cause.

Fritzel, co-owner of Latrobe-based Beurre Chaude, sold the business’ specialty compound butters to raise money for family friend, Scarlet Henry.

Henry, 5, has experienced unexplained medical issues since the fall, said Fritzel of Ligonier. According to a GoFundMe started for the family, Henry underwent a brain surgery at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in December.

Although selling at the vendor show supports Beurre Chaude, “it’s everything” to support the Henry family, Fritzel said.

“This helps our family, but at the end of the day, it could help another,” he said.

For Briana Koeser and her mother, Colleen Martz, the vendor show came at just the right time.

Koeser and Martz started a bakery out of their homes in Hempfield in 2018 and became an official business — My Mom’s Cookie Co. — in 2020.

“This is a really good time of year for us to do vendor things, because it’s after all of the really busy holidays, before the rush of Easter and graduation stuff,” Koeser said. “When we saw it posted, we just thought it would be a really good opportunity. And we love supporting the library and the local community as well.”

Koeser said their business model is simple: “If it has to do with a cookie, we make it.”

The biggest sellers of the day were Koeser and Martz’s dunker cups, which includes sugar cookies and a buttercream icing for dipping. Decorated sugar cookies, including one shaped like the popular Stanley cup tumbler, were also a big hit.

“We’re super happy so far with the turnout and what we’ve sold so far,” Koeser said. “It’s been successful already.”