A London Fashion Week Obsession and a Married Couple Of Nearly 50 Years — Meet the Makers of the Texas Fine Craft Show

The second ever Texas Fine Craft Show, presented by The Woodlands Arts Council, is just around the corner. More than 60 fine craftspeople from all over the country will showcase their art indoors at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott hotel this Friday, September 26 through Sunday, September 28. Many of the artisans featured do limited shows around the country, and the Texas Fine Craft Show puts world class makers right in the heart of The Woodlands.

Let’s take a closer look at a few of the notable makers to know:

Mona and Alex Szabados, Jewelers

Born and raised in Norway, Mona Szabados came to the United States in 1976 with her husband and collaborator Alex. The couple now lives in California where they create jewelry as a team of nearly 50 years.

Mona Szabados grew up in a family of painters.

“My mother was painting,” she says. “My uncle, my grandfather was painting in Norway. They were not professionals, but that was their big hobby. So as a young girl I was painting portraits of my friends and always painting and drawing all my school books.”

Mona went to a five day workshop in Barcelona, led enamellist Francesc Vilasís-Capalleja, who turned out to have a lasting impact on her work.

Now Mona and Alex Szabados create jewelry together almost as strong as their love.

“We have been almost married for 50 years,” Mona says. “We work together. We have been seeing each other almost 24 hours a day for 50 years.”

Their work is a true collaboration.

“I start with a piece of copper that Alex will cut out for me,” Mona notes. “Then I start doing applications of enamel on one side, on the surface, firing each piece. And then there’s the back. They’re all double sided.”

This Saturday, September 27 at 2 pm,  Mona Szabados will be at her booth, No. 511, to speak about the techniques she uses when she develops her pieces.

SuKaz Jackets, Wearable Art

After a lifetime of moves in Africa, Europe and Asia, The Woodlands is now home to Susan Hollingsworth and her fashionable SuKaz Jackets. Hollingsworth is fresh from London Fashion Week, where she just showcased her line of bespoke art jackets for Spring/Summer 2026.

She and an army of fibre artists create wearable art that relies on a global group of artists and craftsmen (and some very local quilters too.) SuKaz Jackets is making its second appearance at the Texas Fine Craft show, having participated in last year’s inaugural show too.

Each jacket is unique. During her years living abroad, Hollingsworth was introduced to the worlds of traditional fibre art and the techniques used to turn textile and fibers into art.

Her jackets are made in many styles — capes, bombers, dusters, kimono — but each has a distinctive art panel. Some panels are obvious. Like on the back of the jacket. Some are more hidden, sometimes in a box pleat on a sleeve.  These art panels showcase needle art techniques including embroidery, fabric origami, needle felting, ribbon work and appliqué. An individual panel can take up to 50 hours to make from start to finish.

Even the buttons are handcrafted. SuKaz jackets are one-of-a-kind works of wearable art.

The works she showcased at London Fashion Week are a slight departure for Hollingsworth.

“I did prints for a long time or patterns, and I wanted to get away from that,” she tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “So I thought, ‘What is a plain fabric?’ ”

That plain fabric is anything but plain for SuKaz. Hollingsworth used solid canvas fabrics to create wearable art that, while distinct, can be worn often.

The Texas Fine Craft Show is taking place at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott. Event hours run from 5 pm to 9 pm on Friday, September 26, 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, September 27  and noon to 5 pm on Sunday, September 28. For more information and tickets, go here.