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Meet Camilla Richter of Sugar Plum Festivals

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Camilla Richter.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My story begins 39 years ago with a few girlfriends who were very artistic and were stay at home moms! All the items we made to sell were handcrafted…. anymore, you don’t see that word very much. We started in my home and from there we have moved to other homes, recreation park clubhouses, to country clubs, to sports clubs and now we are at the Orange County Fair and Event Center in one of their largest buildings and in a large store at the Buena Park Downtown Shopping Center.

Sugar Plum offers something online shopping can’t! We appeal to the five senses…. touching, tasting, smelling, hearing, and of course, sight! We create a unique shopping adventure like no other! In the 39 years we have been doing business, we are very happy to say we have 3 generations of shoppers! And we are one of the view events of our kind that still offers FREE ADMISSION.

We celebrate Sugar Plum around 9 holidays each year with a 3 to 4 day show during the year and a 5 day Christmas show in December. We are pleased to recognize our artist with a P.R.O.U.D. certificate which stands for Proudly Represents Own Unique Design or Delicacy. We welcome in each holiday with Gifts to Warm the Heart and Accessories that Make a Home…..with thousands of handmade crafts, holiday home decorations, garden art and accessories, floral wreaths, garden flags, shabby chic, country farmhouse, industrial design, unique clothing for men and women, jewelry, personalized gifts, baby items, scrapbook accessories, vintage and antiques and collectibles, delicious tamales, specialty breads, cookies, candied apples, fudges, dips, jams and holiday candies.

Sugar Plum is a family business ran by myself, my husband Frederick, our son Isaac and daughter Bridgette. We have become one of the largest crafts shows of its kind in California. If you want to get in the mood of the next holiday…. just visit our website!

Our son Isaac sets the mood just right for whatever holiday is up next! You can find information on becoming a vendor, or check out the upcoming show dates and directions to get there! We have a great video on YouTube of all our shows for the year! We would like to invite you to take a peek!!!

Our next show will be in Buena Park Downtown Mall. Don’t miss the fantastic haunted house all made by hand that will be displayed in the lobby! And at Christmas, come visit Santa or check out the 9 ft. Santa….they both make for a great picture.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The past 39 years has been an adventure of a life time for me! I love what we do and the enjoyment our customers seem to have when our doors open and they walk in….. makes it all so worth the fun we have with Sugar Plum.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Sugar Plum for many of us, crafting has been profitable enough and has allowed us to stay home to raise a family and for others who have had to work full time jobs, come home only to go out to their garage, workshop or studio and cut, sand, paint, sew, glue and weld long into the nighttime jobs, but love being artist and crafters and bakers!

Many of the vendors have used their talents and the proceeds from their sales to put their children through college, or to help aging parents with medical costs and care. It makes me proud and happy to have an outlet for these wonderful artistic vendors to have a place like Sugar Plum to sell their merchandise.

When asked, what do we specialize in, well, I must say customers tell us that Sugar Plum is their “Happy Place” and others say it is just the event they needed to put them in the spirit of the holiday…and for others it an “event” to go to with girlfriends or family to have fun and enjoy the day or evening. Whatever Sugar Plum is to our customers, my family is happy to be a part of this wonderful event. When you love what you do, it is never work.

I would like to share the sign that hangs in the Guest Service area of our shows…

“When buying from an artist, baker or candy maker, you’re buying more than an object or something delicious to eat. You are buying hundreds of hours of failure and experimentation. You are buying days, weeks and months of PURE JOY. You aren’t just buying a thing, you are buying a piece of heart, part of a soul, a moment of someone’s life…. but most importantly, you are buying these artistic people more time to do the things they are passionate about.”

What were you like growing up?
I knew I loved crafting at an early age. My sister and I use to copy the games we had and make them ourselves! I have always made my own cards to give to family and friends.

I enjoyed and played the violin for 7 years, but music wasn’t as much fun to me as crafting. I made candy for many years with my grandmother…sharing all her old family secrets with me on making the perfect candy….so I can appreciate the time, money and work that our food and candy vendors do making their breads, cookies, candied apples, fudges and tamales. After high school I attended Woodbury University where I met my husband. We have just celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary. He along with our 3 children have been my inspiration. Fred is a fantastic artist and inventor. He is amazing! And 39 years ago, when Sugar Plum was created, I never thought it would be the most wonderful craft show of its kind today. I am surrounded by such talented, sincere, kind people. I admire talent and I love people and I loved being able to stay home to raise a family and have Sugar Plum as my creative outlet…. so, Sugar Plum has been the perfect fit for me.

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Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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