With Boop by her side, artisan shows off her handiwork at Rochester Pride Day

Teresa Holland , left, with Boop, her dragon on her right shoulder, and her daughter, Elizabeth Holland at their booth on Hanson Street on Saturday. (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - Rochester's Pride Day attracted a diverse crowd as well as vendors to Hanson Street on Saturday including Black Lives Matter, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, Seacoast Outright, Skele-Tone Records and Rochester Democrats to name just a few.
But one vendor that stood out as being widely appreciated and admired for her unique and creative handiwork was a Rochester woman and her daughter who run Hearthwitch Handicrafts.

A couple looks over items for sale at the Hearthwitch Handicrafts kiosk Saturday on Hanson Street in downton Rochester.

Teresa Holland, a practicing witch, said she started sewing her stunning cloth creations in 2020 when she began making Covid masks.
She quickly elevated her game to stitching together beautifully colored dragons, gnomes, bats and flying monkeys.
"I started off making them for people I know," she said.
On her website hearthwitchhandicrafts.com, she writes, "If you're looking for something specific and don't see quite the thing, please let me know. I love creating items with specific people in mind. It adds to the magic."
She often uses colors she calls "underrepresented" and has several items, including Christmas stockings, using the trans colors of pink, light blue and white.
Standing by for emotional support was her own dragon, "Boop," perched on her right shoulder.
The custom-made dragons are all weighted so that you can move around and they won't leave your side, Holland noted.
She said it's also cozy and restful to have "Boop" on her chest when she goes to bed.
Holland's daughter, Elizabeth, organizes a lot of the sales events and created the logo for their business.
For all the work that goes into these custom made creations, the prices seem pretty reasonable: $30 for the bat, $40 for a gnome and $50 for a dragon.
Elizabeth Holland noted that they also can make decorative hot or cold packs that you can put in the microwave or freezer for muscular aches and pains.
To learn more about hearthwitchhandicrafts click here.