Laguna Artisans Rush Replacements for Sawdust Festival

In a cramped, one-car garage, Paul Proppe takes stock of the half-finished fanny packs scattered beneath a sewing machine. Nearby, piles of cowhide strips on metal bookshelves give off a sweet, slightly musty odor.

“I’m trying to make as many items as quickly as I can that will sell,” Proppe said, gesturing toward the leather purses in various stages of completion. “You still have to put food on the table.”

Like other artists and craftsmen whose merchandise went up in smoke during the Laguna Beach fire, Proppe is racing time. The 44-year-old leather craftsman whose three-bedroom home and workshop were gutted in the fire is laboring furiously to make 100 new items to sell in time for the Sawdust Festival winter show, which begins Thursday.

The winter show, in its third year, is not as much of a money-maker as the summer extravaganza that accounts for 50% of Proppe’s yearly earnings. But for some artists, the winter exhibits--which last three weekends--still provide 10% of annual income.

According to Sawdust organizers, at least 150 people are still signed up to exhibit, but several have been forced to drop out because of fire losses.

“I’m not sure how many we’re going to get,” lamented Mike Heintz, chairman of the festival’s disaster relief committee, which has raised $4,000 to buy tools and other supplies for artisan fire victims. “It’s hard to know how many of the people got burned out.”

Some Sawdust regulars lived on Canyon Acres Drive--one of the hardest-hit areas. One ceramics artist there lost $30,000 worth of hand-sculpted pots, and a jewelry maker lost months’ worth of inventory, Heintz said. Sawdust officials were attempting to help them and others find temporary workshops.

On a recent afternoon, between fielding telephone calls from the architect he has hired to rebuild his home, Proppe discussed how he is trying to keep his business afloat despite almost overwhelming obstacles.

“There’s just so many things to take care of. I know one (artist) who said she just can’t even function,” he said. “I’m one of the more motivated ones because it helps me get through this.”

Although his Mystic Hills home and personal belongings were covered by a $650,000 homeowners insurance policy, the business itself was not insured. As a result, he said, he will not be reimbursed for lost tools and supplies worth about $30,000.

It is only thanks to heads-up thinking that Proppe is not starting over from ground zero.

For as the flames raced toward his home, he grabbed things from his workshop that might initially seem like strange choices, but which in the end enabled him to quickly re-establish his business.

After packing the pictures and videos of his children, he headed for his studio. First, he snatched the two custom-made, leather-sewing machines off their stands. Next, he grabbed the steel patterns and hides that he uses to make purses.

Then, he, his wife and two children fled in a Suburban packed from stem to stern.

After settling into a local hotel, Proppe first hunted for a place to live. But he discovered that some unscrupulous landlords had hiked rents to ridiculous levels.

“We had gone to one place that was $1,800 in the morning,” he said. “Then by the afternoon, it was $2,800 and they wanted six months’ cash up front.”

Not long after, he said, he and his wife, Bonnie, looked at a tiny cottage, which the owners were renting for $3,000 a month. “After that, my wife broke down and we gave up looking for a while,” he said.

Eventually, he located a house for rent through a friend.

Then, while many fire victims were still combing through the wreckage of their homes, Proppe began searching for a new workshop. Again through friends, he landed a $790-a-month apartment with one bedroom and a garage.

He spent the next few days buying $10,000 in new supplies: special order zippers, cowhides and brass tacks.

That done, he holed up in the garage-studio Thursday, and to the soothing sounds of classical music began to stitch for the first time since the fire.

“I had to get back to work for my own sanity,” he said. “Not to mention the fact that I’m really going to need the money.”

The Sawdust Festival is located at 935 Laguna Canyon Road. The winter shows run Nov. 18-21, Nov. 26-28 and Dec. 2-5, 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily. Admission is $3.