President’s Message
Another successful Holiday Festival in the books! What a great weekend we had; beautiful weather, a diversified group of craftsmen, fine artists, and talented student artists. A great thanks to Program Chairperson Steve Hunter and his committee who certainly had things running smoothly.
Being President of The Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen for the last 19 years has brought some challenges from time to time, but with the assistance of the members of the Board of Directors, improvements over the years have moved us forward in a very positive way. The connections we have established through the years have given us wonderful friendships and great times. We moved both our Holiday Festival and our Spring Festival to new locations. We made it through the Covid crisis by learning to hold zoom meetings. We stayed in touch with our fellow craftsmen and fine artists through our newsletter, and again technology answered the call.
We brought our chapter into the 21st century in many different ways; however, our continued focus is still on our craftsmen and fine artists, both traditional and contemporary.
All of this could not have happened without a great Board of Directors and an awesome show committee. These fellow craftsmen and artists answered the call to get the job done.
We, at this point in time, need a Spring Festival Chairperson for 2026. It is a smaller festival than our Holiday Festival. It is a more casual event, and the Chairperson is not alone in his/her duties. We, the show committee and more, are there also.
At this point in the year, I can’t wait for our next meeting, a great social event at The Yellow House Hotel. There is no business discussed. The agenda consists of great food, great fun, great entertainment and best of all, great friends. The date is Tuesday, December 2. All the details of our Holiday Party will be in this edition of our newsletter and on our website at rbcrafts.org.
On Saturday, December 6 from 11 AM to 4 PM The Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center will be having “Christmas on the Farm”. This is always a wonderful event for everyone. There are spaces available in a heated tent for craftsmen and fine artists; or just come and visit. Special guest will be the Belsnickel. He will judge if you are naughty or nice. For further information, contact heritage@kutztown.edu
“There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life.“— Sister MaryRose McGeady
Your President,
Barry L. Bennecoff
Programs
Save the Date! Our holiday dinner will be at the Yellow House Hotel on December 2, 2025. It begins at 5PM. We will have 3 delicious entrée options and entertainment for you. Please keep an eye out for a sign-up form that will be very similar to the new sign-ups for our shows.
Sign up is Closed.
Program Chair,
Amy Langman
programs@rbcrafts.org
75th Annual Juried Holiday Fine Art and Craft Festival
Our 75th Show is over. Thanks for all the hard work the show committee did in this last year. We had over 1500 folks through the door and most vendors reported good sales. Many people told me the show looked great and folks were extremely impressed with the caliber of your work. Thanks to you and the other members for a job well done.
Show Chair,
Steve Hunter
festivals@rbcrafts.org
Spring Festival
First, I am stepping down from running the Spring Show. I thank all of the people who helped me over the past few years.
At this time, the Guild has no Show Chair replacement. Over the past few years we have made this an easy show to run. The applications are on line. The set-up is super easy. The show meetings are held with Zoom so anyone can attend.
What we are looking for is one, or a few members to step up and take a turn running this show. Why not you? If you think being a dues-paying member is enough of a give back, you would be wrong. I look at the Guild as a “we”, and right now most of the work of the guild is done by the same 10 or 12 members, most of whom have been doing the same job for 10 to 20 years. Help your Guild out and take you turn.
Retiring Spring Show Chair,
Steve Hunter
festivals@rbcrafts.org
Social Media
The Holiday Fine Art and Craft Festival for 2025 is now history. We all had a great show and wonderful time talking to the folks who came out and enjoyed the festivities. The ongoing live music and café, as well as the indoor facilities, all made this work perfectly.
Part of the process for letting others know about this show is to get the word out to everyone. For the Internet, that means posting pictures and videos from our artisans on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks to your pictures, those posts came alive with how great the works were to enjoy. Liking and sharing the posts with everyone helped to let your friends know how great the art works were.
This behind-the-scenes posting work was done by the tireless efforts of your Social Media team. Please tell Louise Mehaffey and Cleon Garl how much you appreciated their work. Without them, it could not have happened. I know I cannot run the group without them! Also, please thank Kay Bennecoff for her tireless work with BCTV and all the videos she helps to create to support our group and this show in particular.
If you have new or updated pictures of your craft, you can send them to Gary Rosborough
Gary Rosborough,
Social Media Chair
social-media@rbcrafts.org
BCTV
In November, The Decorating Team of Janice Sonnen and Nancy Vardjan will be teaming up with me, Kay Bennecoff, Host of “Your Berks Craftsmen” to present “Decorating for the Holidays.” This is always such a fun time for me to get the girls together. These gals always come up with some great ideas to use during these special holiday times that we cherish with our families and friends.
I want to give a big “thank you” to all of you who came to our booth during the Holiday Fine Arts and Crafts Festival and said you would do a show on BCTV with me in 2026. After all, “Your Berks Craftsmen” is a great vehicle that our craftsmen and artists can use to show and share and educate our viewers about “YOU!”
Find BCTV on air and online:
Comcast Reading Channel 15
Comcast-Southern Berks Channel 965
Service Electric Channel 19
Both channels are streaming online 24-7 at www.bctv.org
BCTV is available on Roku, search for BCTV Berks – HOW TO VIDE
You Tube Channel
Access Your Berks Craftsmen directly.
Your Host of “Your Berks Craftsmen”,
Kay L. Bennecoff
Standards
The next jury session for new members will be on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in room 325 at the Google works. If interested in being juried, you must be a member of the Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen for at least 3 months prior to the jury date. You can apply on-line. You may also reach out to the Standards committee for more information.
Please remember that your work must be original work with no copies of another’s work, commercial kits, assemblages or patterns. Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen standards include excellence in craftsmanship, well resolved design, and a unique voice or style.
Standards Chairperson,
Diane Phalen
standards@rbcrafts.org
Website
The Reading-Berks Guild has updated our online member directory!
This directory uses membership information provided by the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen (PGC) through their monthly report.
By default, only members with a website listed in their PGC profile will appear. If you don’t see your name, try unchecking the “Has Website” box at the top of the page to view the full list.
Want your website or social media link to appear?
You’ll need to update your profile on the PGC website.
1. Log in to PGC
2. Go to Member Resources → View/Update Your Profile
3. Click the gear icon and select Edit Profile from the dropdown. Be sure to add your website (or Etsy shop), Instagram, and/or Facebook page link in the appropriate section.
Once your profile is updated, your information should appear on our Guild website within 30 days, or after we receive the next monthly report from the PGC.
Need help?
If you’re having trouble editing your profile, email: membership@pacrafts.
Include your name, chapter, and the information you’d like updated.
Website Chair,
Lisa Short
webmaster@rbcrafts.org
Membership
Sadly, all the information and business cards that were given to me at the Holiday event went through the wash. These cards/info were from the five people who requested new name badges. You can either send me your information again to John Paul Warren or complete the Badge Order Form on the guild’s web site. Again, I apologize for any inconvenience.
The State Guild website currently shows that there are 161 members of the Reading-Berks Guild chapter.
Please don’t forget that when joining or renewing your membership for the Guild that you select the Reading-Berks Chapter, so that you can get the extra benefits of our specific guild chapter. Joining is easy and is done through the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen
Remember, if we each recruit one new person, our guild will grow.
I hope to see you all at Yellow House in December.
Membership Chair,
John Paul Warren
membership@rbcrafts.org
Pennsylvania State Guild of Craftsmen
The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen offers an array of classes for adults in blacksmithing, glass, jewelry, fiber, wood, and pottery. Our workshops are accessible for everyone, with most being suitable for beginners. We strive to continually connect our Guild members and local artists to the local community through education. Join us for an afternoon or evening and learn a new skill! Visit the PA Guild and check out the up-coming workshops.
PGC – Reading-Berks Guild Representative,
Denise Wilz
Denise@wilzpottery.com
Newsletter
If you would like to put something in the Newsletter, please contact us at newsletter@rbcrafts.org
Newsletter Editor,
Nancy Vardjan