We had a plan: have a quick business meeting, swap supplies, run by Northern Tropics to tour the greenhouse (and buy some plants, obviously), swing by Cornerstone to drop off a gift for our newest featured artist, head over to the Makers Market, and then round out the night by visiting Kat's Crystals and Curiosities, viewing the sights and sounds of Light Up DWNTWN along the way. Did we stick to that plan? Kind of...
Business meeting and supply swap, check. Off to Northern Tropics! We quickly ran through the greenhouse, picked some goodies, and went to check out and enter this year's giveaway...A FREAKING MONSTERA BORGISINIA ALBO! We could have spent all day in there, taking in that lovely plant smell and feeling a little closer to spring, but sadly, we were on a time crunch.
Next stop, Art by Mikell at Cornerstone Center for the Arts. We were so looking forward to seeing her setup and dropping off a little "thank you" gift. When we arrived, she was talking to a customer, so we decided to walk around and check out all the other artists. BIG MISTAKE! There were so many great vendors with so many awesome products, we had to take some home. And so began the unraveling of our plans.
First we ran into Valkraft. We've followed Valkraft on Facebook for a while, but have never run into her at an event. She has so many beautiful bracelets, fidget toys, and other items. It didn't take long to realize we needed a few things...for gifts...to ourselves. Ahem. We stayed and chatted for a few, realized we were going to spend all our money at the first booth we visited and peaced out for the next booth before we were broke. Thanks Val!
Next, we rounded the corner to find a very unique booth with pinata eggs. These are cute little decorative eggs filled with surprises. I picked one in my favorite color and we chatted with the owner, Ashley Lambert, for a few minutes. I still don't know how she opens and fills these eggs, then seals them up with a perfectly seamless finish. The only logical answer is ***magic***. Either way, they are so delightfully whimsical and a perfect little surprise for any special occasion.
Jenn wandered away and was delighted to find a slew of colorful paintings in the back corner by Angel Gillette. While she talking to this amazing artist, Mom and I found a booth full of one of my favorite jewelry items: eyeballs! We thought we'd bought enough bracelets at Valkraft, but we were wrong, and decided we needed a few more items at Bee's Bracelets! Thankfully Mimi loaded me up with some extra pocket money (Love you Mimi)! As we were shopping at Bee's, Jenn made her way around the room and learned a bit about wind chimes and wreaths before meeting back up with us at the booth of Stefan Mckell where we gushed over the colors and textures of his beautiful tactile works of art.
We finally made our way back to Mikell's booth to drop off her gift and admire all of her work. We found beautiful artwork at every price point. Even her original pieces were very affordable! We cannot say enough good things about this artist, which is why she is currently our featured artist! If you missed this First Thursday at Cornerstone, you can still view her works at The Fickle Peach until the end of the month.
It was at this time that we realized we really needed to head towards the heart of downtown in order to do everything else on our agenda so we raced towards the door where we immediately stopped in our tracks. Somehow when we arrived we had missed Bards on the Run, poets for hire. Years ago we had seen their setup at an event at Madjax. We found them just before closing time at that event and wanted so badly to get a poem. Sadly, we did not have any cash that night, and left empty handed in the cold rain. I had forgotten about that night until the moment I saw them and my heart skipped a beat knowing this was my moment to get the poem I wanted (NEEDED) from these delightful men with glorious beards! For just $5, a little information, and about 10 minutes, we got one of the greatest treasures of the night: a beautiful poem about me, StuPaco Frenchie! The poem truly could not be more perfect, it has all my favorite things, eyeballs, cats, nature, and ME!
Since we had a few more moments to spare, we dove right back in! My eyes lit up at the vast array of earrings at the booth of Jill Palumbo's Art. Sadly, my ears are not yet pierced so I settled on a ring in my favorite color and was very pleased with myself. The artist was so sweet and tried to find a pair of clip ons, but we will definitely be visiting Jill's shop next year when I get my ears pierced.
We walked around a bit more, taking in all of the art when I looked at the back wall and locked eyes with a giant amanita muscaria mushroom. Suddenly all was quiet and a cool damp forest unfolded around me. A moss covered stone path rolled out under my feet as I walked toward her. Okay, not really, but it felt that way. We chatted for a bit with Earl Kenny and learned about how she made her wildly surreal 3D art. I kind of wanted to buy everything, but Mom settled on a set of 4 mushroom stakes at a surreally low price. Score!
We tried to visit a few more artists, but I was getting pooped out and needed to take a rest in the lobby where a kind and generous employee shared some sweets and conversation.
Time was winding down, so after receiving our poem, we ran out the door and down to Canan Commons for a quick visit with Santa and a train ride. Afterward, we decided to run down to Casa Del Sol for a bite to eat. Shopping makes us hungry. After ordering, we made a terrible realization. It was only 15 minutes from closing time for the Makers Market and Kat's Crystals and Curiosities. There was no way we could make it in time, so we enjoyed our meal, satisfied with the fact that even though we were terrible at time management when there's art involved, we still had a great night and bought a lot of wonderful items from local artists.
We were hopeful when we walked past the venue where the Holiday Makers Market was being held! Lots of action! Was there still time?!?!?! Sadly no, vendors were packing up for the night. We will not make the same mistakes next time! Makers' mark my word, we're coming for you next market!
As we approached the crossroads of Walnut and Adam's, we could see the bright glow of an open sign! We practically ran down to Kat's Crystals and Curiosities, and poked our heads inside to see if they were truly still open. The owners were so sweet and welcoming as they told us the good news! Yay for more small business shopping! There were so many goodies inside: crystals (of course!), jewelry, plants, art...basically all of our favorite things. We even got to see some of Safari Reign's beautiful wire wrapped pendants in person! We grabbed a few gifts (for ourselves aaaand others this time!), and said goodbye. But the fun wasn't quite over yet. I spotted the sweetest little gumball machine filled with tiny treasures! What a perfectly magical end to a great night!
I have so much fun at every First Thursday event I get to go to, but this one was extra special! Until next time, StuPaco signing off.
Great post!
Love your adventures, StuPaco Frenchie!