Lovers of old homes can meet experts at Old House Fair

Falling in love with an old house is like getting your first puppy -- finding the "perfect" one is great fun, but realizing the care and maintenance that goes along with it can be a rude awakening.

Cathy McCollom, director of operations and marketing for the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, says the purpose of the Old House Fair on Saturday is to offer a wealth of information on restoration projects as well as opportunities for buying historic houses throughout the Pittsburgh area.

The event is designed for people who "are either considering or are involved in a renovation, or those who just love old homes," she says.

"Pittsburgh is blessed with hundreds of old houses in all price ranges needing different levels of work," McCollom says.

The fair will feature exhibits and booths by vendors and purveyors of materials and services related to restoring old houses and small commercial buildings. Artists, craftspeople and other construction experts will be available to offer advice and demonstrations on a range of topics.

Among the experts will be a group of a dozen area traditional tradesmen who recently banded to form the Western Pennsylvania Craftsmen's Guild. John Kelly, a glassworker who specializes in restorations and custom designs, is one of the members; he's a featured speaker at the event ("Where to Find an Expert," 11:30 a.m.).

The owner of Kelly Art Glass Co. in Millvale has more than 25 years of experience as a professional glassworker. His skills include beveling, sandblasting, etching and glass painting.

Kelly says the guild was formed to give small-shop craftsmen an opportunity to promote their individual talents through advertising and a Web site, www.westpenncraftguild.com , and also to help consumers locate hard-to-find services.

"All of us are senior craftsmen who have worked together for years on jobs," Kelly says, adding that when it comes to recommending other experts for a project they are doing, guild members feel that knowing each other's capabilities is "a big benefit to the customer. The left hand knows what the right hand is doing."

Several guild members are involved in the ongoing restoration of Gary and Donna Otto's Victorian-era home in the Allegheny West section of the North Side, he says. Kelly's work included designing and creating a series of hand-painted stained-glass family crests window inserts for a cabinet crafted by fellow guild members Jerry Wilson and Vicki McCracken of Wilson and McCracken custom millwork and furniture shop in Lawrenceville.

Their other contributions to the Otto home include a walnut mantel in the hallway that took 1,500 hours to complete, Wilson says, and a thick walnut newel post featuring pie-shaped pieces of wood radiating toward the center that required 60 hours.

One of the ceilings in the house involved five guild members with different skills, he says. They worked together gilding, woodworking and creating and installing molding.

Wilson says guild members specialize in diversified areas such as arch plastering, brass plating, carpenter work, mural painting, refinishing, gold leaf, faux finishing, hardware restoration, wall coverings and slate roofing. Each will be at the Old House Fair to offer advice to consumers, he says. "You'll have craftsmen representing 12 trades that you can trust to do good work."

Another new exhibitor at the fair will be the ARTificial School, a professional school of decorative arts that offers classes in glazing, marbleizing, gilding and related subjects. Jim Hopton, a decorative artist and elementary art teacher in Greene County, and Jennifer Rempel, a fine artist and Carnegie Mellon University graduate, operate the school and teach classes in Rempel's studio on Smallman Street in the Strip District.

Rempel describes their typical students as "primarily middle-aged, the baby boomer crowd, people who are working on their houses or other people's houses." Classes -- costing from $135 to $150 -- usually are offered in single-Saturday workshops to conform to students' busy schedules.

At the Old House Fair, Rempel says, she and Hopton hope to find out what subjects home remodelers are most interested in studying.

In its eighth year, the Old House Fair attracts more visitors each time; the 2002 event had 1,200 attendees. McCollom says this most likely will be the last year the fair takes place in the historic Victoria Hall in Bloomfield, because the building has been sold and will be turned over to the new owner in June.

"We were anticipating having to move next year," she says. "We really have outgrown the space."

The 2003 program has 54 vendors, the most that can effectively set up. Organizers are looking for another venue, preferably an historic setting, where they can stage next year's fair.

Besides the vendor exhibits and lectures in the chapel and cabaret rooms at Victoria Hall, the Old House Fair will feature guided neighborhood tours by Molly's Trolley from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Throughout the day, Mary Ann Eubanks, education coordinator for the History and Landmarks Foundation, will host "Pittsburgh Landmarks," a slide presentation of buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Walter C. Kidney, Landmarks' architectural historian, and others will be in the library from 1 to 3 p.m. to discuss "What Style Is Your House?" Those wishing to consult with them should bring photographs of their homes, McCollom says.