Shop Talk

Allison Johnson, 33, uses a glass rod to add a dash of color to a bead that she was creating as a holiday gift at her Bliss Beads Studio in DeKalb on Saturday afternoon. Johnson, who received a master’s degree in fine arts in 2002 from Northern Illinois University, enjoys giving her work as gifts. “I love to do this so that energy is imbued with that gift. It has my love in it,” Johnson said. Chronicle photo ERIC SUMBERG

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Eric Sumberg - Daily Chronicle What do those who create gifts give as gifts themselves? Often, the artistic among us choose what is close at hand. DeKalb resident Allison Johnson, 33, works with glass in her Bliss Beads Studio behind Mattress Warehouse on East Lincoln Highway. She was hard at work Saturday in her studio, creating glass beads in the searing heat of a propane-and-oxygen torch for 12 family members and friends. “I think that going to the store and buying stuff is so ... people can buy that themselves,” Johnson said. “I'd rather make someone a piece of jewelry than something they can buy at a store.” Each piece takes about a half-hour to make, and the quality and color of glass rods vary with each bead she makes. Most of her friends get a bead, but her mother gets a necklace and a pair of earrings because “she's really into the jewelry thing.” Despite the beauty of the glass beads she makes, Johnson acknowledges it's not for everyone. Her Uncle Chad is one such person. “I think he enjoys them and appreciates them,” Johnson said, but added she also plans to give him a bottle of red wine this year. At The Yarn Exchange in downtown DeKalb, a group of non-professional craftswomen were knitting Saturday afternoon. For those who love to knit, choosing which gift to give is easy. “Since I learned to knit, it just gives me a reason to knit more,” DeKalb resident Joan Bredendick said as she sat around a table in the back of the store with a klatch of regular customers. Although a lot of work goes into creating most knit pieces, at times a gift of homemade socks can be given to a less-than-appreciative audience. “Unless people knit, they don't appreciate the time that goes into it,” DeKalb resident Lori Hintzsche said. “You can't give it away and have any expectations because you enjoyed it.” Andrea Rusin works at The Yarn Exchange on the weekends and was busy helping customers between attending to her own knitting projects. She will make 25 pieces for family members this year, including socks, hats and sweaters for her smaller nephews. While she loves to create knitted gifts for her loved ones, she acknowledges sometimes the homemade route doesn't always turn out as expected. “We've also all made the heinous gift from hell,” Rusin said as she described a bright yellow acrylic sweater she made for her father decades ago. “I don't think he ever wore it.” For Dan Grych, owner of the DeKalb Gallery in downtown DeKalb, the holiday season is a time when people who have been eyeing work throughout the year come in to purchase a special piece of art. Grych offers a range of art and craft work from local artists and uses local materials in his framing materials. He sold a ceramic colander made by Grayslake artist Neil Estrick on Saturday for 10 times what someone would pay for one in a retail shop. “This is the only colander you'll ever want in your whole life,” he told the customer. “They're very special, and they're not made in China.” As for what Grych himself gives to his friends and family, that changes from year to year. Last year he bought art at his own store and paid handsome commissions to the artists who created the works. “I had no time to do my shopping,” Grych said. “They got my commission, and I got their things.” However, this year he plans to do things differently. He will give away the bread he bakes along with a recyclable Christmas card - one that has no writing on it - in addition to a more run-of-the-mill gift. “I'm doing socks this year,” he said. “Everybody needs socks. It's a practical gift.” Photographer Eric Sumberg can be reached at esumberg@daily-chronicle.com.