Braum’s Affair of the Heart kicks off at OKC Fairgrounds

Friday marks the start of the state's largest arts, crafts, and boutique show, with the Braum’s Affair of the Heart officially kicking off. 

The Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch travelled to the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds to speak with Brook Stewart, one of the vendors at Affair of the Heart, to learn more about what visitors can look forward to. 

Q: Brook, you live in Kansas. How does it feel to be back in Oklahoma? 

A: It always feels good to be back in Oklahoma. This is my first time here at Affair of the Heart, though, so I'm really excited to see what this weekend brings. 

Q: You make amazing things here. Walk us through what you're selling. 

A: I have a lot of earrings, it’s probably my biggest thing. I do a lot of leather, cork on leather earrings, but I've also added in some stainless steel. Necklaces, bracelets, things that I can engrave and personalize. I do a lot of names. Birth flowers are really big. I can also do your pets, I have a whole book here of different animals ... There are all kinds of animals that I can engrave on key chains on necklaces. Basically, whatever you want, I also have a big variety of earrings. There are big earrings, there are little earrings, there are sparkly earrings, all kinds of stuff, good stuff for the 4th of July, for everyday bows. Bows are really big right now, too. Of course, we've got our Thunder stuff, our sports. I've got a little bit of everything. 

Q: You live in Kansas. Are there a lot of Thunder fans up there? 

A: There are the, you know, we don't have an NBA team in Kansas, so Oklahoma City is probably the closest one. So absolutely, we have a lot. 

Q: And you make all of these yourself? 

A: I do, I hand-make everything at home. It's kind of therapeutic for me. It's my creative outlet, and I just really enjoy it. 

Q: How does it feel when you get to see your customers in person? 

A: Enjoying what you hand make, you know, that's probably the best part, really is. When you're walking around or you see somebody walking around wearing your stuff, I don't know, that's pretty awesome. I love it. 

Q: You're going to be here all weekend? 

A: All weekend, I will be here till 6 p.m. today [and] tomorrow, till 5 p.m. on Sunday. 

Q: We have to talk about your daughter. She's running the show, too, yes? 

A: Yes, she knows how to run everything, so if I need a quick break, she can. She can take care of all of that for me, too. So it's kind of fun teaching her the ways, too. Who knows? Maybe she'll take over when I’m done.