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North Branch holiday craft theft
A crafter from North Branch is looking for answers after a theft during a recent craft fair left her out of thousands of dollars and dozens of jewelry pieces.
NORTH BRANCH, Minn. (FOX 9) - What started as a hobby more than a decade ago has blossomed into a full-blown side hustle for Amanda Bryan.
She sells her handmade, handcrafted jewelry on social media and at local craft shows, working with beads, crystals, sterling silver, copper and vintage china plates.
"Craft shows, art shows, art fairs... [they] really get me out talking to people and I love watching people love my jewelry," Bryan told FOX 9.
The end product is beautiful, but what Amanda really loves is the creative process.
"I just kind of get into my own zone, and it's kind of 'Me Time,'" said Bryan.
But hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars of merchandise have recently gone missing.
Last month, she was wrapping up after a full day showing at the North Branch Community Education Arts Fest at North Branch High School.
Packing up her car, a large tote bag full of $3,500 worth of rings, earrings and necklaces vanished.
"It was sitting on the curb and because everything in there is pretty fragile, it has to go in last," said Bryan.
Dozens of items are now gone - so many in fact, Amanda had to take down her Etsy page because she simply doesn't have the capacity to fill orders anymore.
It's not just about the money lost, but the time, energy and passion she poured into each piece.
"I have so much work into this, years of work," said Bryan.
She's now holding out hope for a Christmas miracle, and that someone with information on where her things are will come forward.
Bryan filed a report with North Branch Police and the department tells FOX 9 they weren't able to recover any surveillance video of what happened.
If you have any information about this, contact North Branch Police or Bryan directly at her Facebook page.