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Magna • Julie Vigil's white tshirt and blue jeans stand in stark contrast against the brassy jewelry and vintage picture frames that line her booth at Magna's Main Street Arts Festival.
Vigil, from Magna, is an administrative assistant by trade: a self-proclaimed paper-pusher. She describes herself as modern and simplistic.
But the portrait cameo brooches, refurbished picture frames and watch gear necklaces that she makes in her spare time — and sells at festivals like the one in Magna on Saturday — are decidedly opposite.
Known as steampunk, her wares mix industrial and renaissance themes, she said.
"I love steampunk, but I'm not really steampunk," she laughed.
She got hooked on the style about six years ago and said she's been crafting ever since.
Vigil's booth was one of many lining historic Magna Main Street on Saturday for the seventh annual Arts Festival.
Patrons browsed through jewelry, paintings and even soaps displayed by local vendors. Some chomped on snow cones as the hot summer sun beat down on the pavement, while others stopped at the Fat Kid Mac n Cheese food truck for a bite to eat.
Brittney Whitehead, sporting a Magna Library tshirt, walked briskly down the historic street, stopping in front of a booth selling brightly colored chinese folding fans.
Her mom loves fans, she said, pulling the just purchased pink and white one of her purse.
This was Whitehead's second time at the festival and she said she wanted to come back and look around.
"There's a good selection" of vendors this year, she added.
One vendor Whitehead passed was Bobbie Allred, who said she started making soaps and bath bombs about three years ago. She's sold her handmade goods, sporting smells like gingerbread, Christmas punch and fruit loops, at the Arts Festival for two years.
She bases the scents she makes on what's most popular at street fairs, but said her absolutely favorite is pumpkin.
Though Allred cuts hair for a living, she loves making soaps in her spare time.
"It's a stress reliever," she said. "I can do my own thing and no one is there looking over my shoulder."
Vigil feels the same way about her steampunk wares. She scours second hand stores, craft shops and the internet for inspiration for her next pieces.
Though she considers it a "low-key hobby" — she sells at street fairs just five days a year — she really gets into it.
"When the music's on, I've had a couple glasses of wine and I'm in my craft cave, the ideas just start coming," she said. "I'm not crafty. I never painted or drew, this is really my first time doing anything like this."
Marianne Ausseresses drove in from Salt Lake City with her friend Helen Green, from Murray, to peruse the booths Saturday morning.
They don't come to street fairs often, but Green said they like to see what's available when they know about them.
Ausseresses jumped in, adding that it helps the two retired friends "kill time."
The two departed in the morning, but not before Green bought a rock.
Chuckling, she pulled it out of her purse: a vendor had painted an owl on its face.
"I like owls, I think they're kind of neat," Green said.
Twitter @alexdstuckey