New Festive Nesting Handmade Gifts Creates A

Space for Crafters to Sell Their Art

Some people were created to create. Like Elbert Hubbard said, art is not a thing, it is a way. For Ashlee Clark-McCaffrey and her husband Donald, art has been a way of life for many years.

“I grew up in Santa Barbara but my husband and I got married in Orcutt in 2013,” Clark-McCaffrey explains. “We loved the area, the people, and the vibe here so we moved to Orcutt the following year!”

After earning her Associate of Arts degree in Art Studio and History (as well as a few others that help with the business side of things), participating in craft fairs for nearly ten years, and hosting the Holiday Annual Craft Fair here in Orcutt for four years, she decided to take her love of arts and crafts one step further by supporting others with a passion for creating.

“We have met so many wonderful people that are so creative and passionate about what they make that we thought it would be great to have a year round store where they could have their items,” she says. “We love the idea of supporting all the local artisans and artists.”

Embarking on a family adventure, the couple opened Festive Nesting Handmade Gifts in Orcutt to do just that. “We have about twenty-five different artisans right now, so there is a unique variety of pieces,” she told OP just days after the Grand Opening on February 2nd and that number has already grown to nearly 40.

“The support we have gotten so far from our artisans and the local community has been so warm and welcoming,” Clark-McCaffrey says. “We want to encourage people to feel at home in our store. We want to have a shop where people can come find that perfect gift.”

For the craftspeople displaying their wares, the process is a simple one: pay a small fee, set up your display, and let the folks at Festive Nesting handle the rest. For shoppers on the hunt for one-of-a-kind handmade gifts, they know that their money is going directly toward supporting a local artist.

On display you will find everything from fine art to photography, glassware to pottery, jewelry to bath products. Quilts, bags, cards, wooden toys, fairy wings, and even chainmail – you name it! The variety is a testament to the diverse artists found right here on the Central Coast.

“We hope to keep this store going for many, many years,” says Clark-McCaffrey. “We hope that we can continue along with the community to support our local artists.”

Festive Nesting is located at 4854 S. Bradley Rd. #107. To find out more, visit www.festivenesting.com or call (805) 249-4084.

Rebecca Ross reporting