For the public it was a chance to gather up some homemade Christmas gifts, for local artists it was a chance to display their work and hopefully make a few sales.
The Timmins Museum once again acted as host for its 20th-annual arts and craft sale, this year being held at the Shania Twain Centre.
Each year, between 15-30 local and regional artists and artisans gather to sell their art and promote their businesses and organizations.
"It assists in helping us with part of the museum's mandate, which is to promote local and regional art and artists," said museum marketing development co-ordinator Chris McManus. "It also acts as a fundraiser, with money going to future programs, workshops and lectures put on by the museum."
McManus said the event is always popular, and usually busy, with a long list of artists looking to participate each year. Some have been involved for years, but she said new faces and different forms of art are always encouraged.
"Because of the large community of artists in the area, we would like to expand it into a spring or summer festival," McManus said. "Everyone is excellent at what they do."
One of those artists is Judy Huggins, who has spent more than 20 years as a basket maker, creating them out of natural materials such as willow, cedar bark and wild grapevines.
What began at the Haliburton School of Fine Arts, Huggins turned into her own style. She said the museum has been most supportive of her and other artists over the years.
"What's nice here is it's a pleasure to work with different artisans, we inspire each other," Huggins said.
For this year's event, she created a glittery Christmas ball decoration. own and she started her own business, For the Love of Glass.
"I just dove right into it," Cotnam said. "It's a lot of work, time consuming and I'm a perfectionist, but it's a lot of fun."
She said having a venue such as the annual museum art show is a benefit to small art and craft businesses such as her own.
"A lot of us are small businesses without a lot of advertising bucks, so this is phenomenal exposure," she said. "You not only sell a certain amount, but some of us can get some students as well."
In addition to Cotnam and Huggins' creations, those shopping at the show could also pick up some handmade jewelry, pottery, paintings, chocolate, candy and winter wear.
"It was a pleasure to create something different and glitzy for the holidays."
Exemplifying the diversity of the museum's annual sale, set up beside Huggins' natural art work was Lise Cotnam's stained glass shining in the natural light.
After taking a course in stained glass more than 30 years ago, Cotnam said it was about a dozen years ago the hobby took on a life of its own.
