In the craft business since 1998, Andre Gliwski Jr. thinks it's time to settle down.
Rather than setting up a booth at a different community festival each weekend, Gilwski has opened a craft store in Downtown Batavia, at 220 E. Main St. and is hosting an open house this Friday and Saturday.
Working out of a single location isn't just a better lifestyle for a young father (Gilwski and his wife have children ages 1 and 2), it's better for building relationships with customers.
"You have a better following when they know where you're at rather than trying to chase you down," Gilwski said.
Currently his shop, A.J.'s Crafts, stocks only items that he has made, or his mother or wife have made.
Among the kind of things Gilwski enjoys making are jewelry, clothes, blankets, bean bags, hair stretchies, catnip toys, tooth-fairy pillows and scarves.
He said he can make or have made pretty much any custom item a buyer might want.
His mother has been slowed by arthritis, but there's a table in the store filled with her handmade needlework items.
Gilwski's wife also makes jewelry and helps with some of the product finishes on Gilwski's work.
"I like crafts because they're all handmade and not made in other countries," Gilwski said. "It's something I enjoy doing and I enjoy the look on a customer's face when they buy something I've made. It's something different than what you'll see at Walmart or Kmart or some other Big Box store."
