A shopper peruses the artwork and jewelry for sale at the Foothills Arts Center Art Market.
ELKIN — It was a much smaller rendition of the annual Foothills Arts Center Art Market that took place on Saturday at the Farmers Market Shelter in Elkin but vendors reported that, “the folks that came out, came to shop.”
“Based on sales reports from the vendors, this year’s market generated around $7,000 in sales during the one-day event,” said Foothills Arts Center Director Dan Butner. “We’d like to thank everyone that came out to support our local artists by shopping the Foothills Holiday Market.
Last year’s Art Market was the first to be held at the new FAC Chatham Campus, a location that brought back many memories for area locals. The Foothills Arts Center is continuing to raise funds for its new location.
A selection of items available for purchase at the Holiday Market had 100% of the proceeds going toward the preservation/development of the FAC Chatham Campus.
The holiday art market featured pottery, textiles, jewelry, bath and body, original artwork and prints, handcrafted holiday ornaments, and more by local artists.
Jane Robb was among this year’s repeat vendors, offering her unique upcycled clothing items. Robb was a colorful standout at the event, modeling one of her upcycled duster cardigans repurposed from afghans.
“I collect old unwanted afghans, and trust me there are a lot of them in the world right now, and I rework them into the jackets,” Robb explained. “I love these. I love the whole process of putting them together.”
Robb sews portions of the afghans together into the jacket shape and her Mother and a neighbor then add finishing touches with added crochet or knit work to complete the piece.
“It’s been really fun to do. When we work them into the jackets they get a new life,” Robb said.
Judy Deck, of Jonesville, was among the shoppers enjoying the art market on Saturday.
“I loved the variety of disciplines represented by these talented folks. I came home with jewelry, ceramics, ornaments, wood crafted cheese board, knitted goods, and more. We have such artists living among us,” said Deck.
In addition to being an outdoor event, Foothills Arts Center had several pandemic safety measures in place including asking all customers to wear masks, use hand sanitizer and one way entrance and exits to the shelter where the booths were located.
“I appreciated the mask enforcement at the entrance and one-way directional flow. The volunteers were so friendly and accommodating, it didn’t seem like restrictions at all, but more like teamwork on behalf of all of us,” added Deck.
Kitsey Burns Harrison may be reached at 336-258-4035 or on Twitter and Instagram @RippleReporterK.