By Carrie Stanziola

Saturday’s Bizarre Bazaar featured local as well as out of state talent, craft fair veterans and first-timers alike.  Some impressive displays of Massachusetts-based artists were offered by Bellyache Press, Survive Design and egg-a-go-go.

The artists were motivated by different agendas, from Kim O’Brien, of K O’Brien, who likes to make things that are simple but unique and finds inspiration from nature, to Brian Campbell and Ryan Dougherty, the team behind Bellyache Press.  Bellyache Press, as Campbell, who studied printing in school, explains, draws its name from the fact that many complain about their lives and want to create art, but don’t have the follow through to make their artistic visions a reality.  Bellyache Press has been in operation since September, and, as Campbell notes, things have gotten “pretty crazy pretty fast.”

The wares were diverse, from Cody’s Creations dog accessories, to Rocks and Salt’s women’s clothes, as well as Sweet Lydia’s, the fair’s go-to booth for all things marshmallow and sweet.

Some of the most interesting examples of ingenuity included Brooklyn-based Shana Kent’s Survive Design. Kent’s work, which strives to combine fashion with being eco-friendly, juxtaposes industrial and natural images. Kent notes that her cotton is 100% organic, and that she uses only environmental-friendly inks and dyes.  She has been in operation for four years.

Also hailing from Brooklyn were Phil Miner and Sara Hall, the minds behind Rocks and Salt.  As Miner explains, Rocks and Salt, which has been in business for six years, started out as a women’s hat line but has since expanded to include a fall/winter line as well as a spring/summer collection.

Local talent included Jamaica Plain-based Sarah Coyne, the woman behind egg-a-go-go, who also helped organize the bazaar.  Coyne, who started her operation seven years ago when a friend asked if she wanted to participate in a craft fair, went to school for illustration.  Coyne, who has been making pillows and other small house wares since 2004, sees her operation as a vehicle to have her work represented on useful items, such as stationary, toys and baby clothes.

Bizarre Bazaar, billed as “not your grandmother’s craft fair,” more than lived up to the ballyhoo.