Shop for Local Goods, Made by Windsorites: Starting Sunday
Thursday August 12th, 2010, 10:16am
Hello time traveller!!
This article is 5141 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.
This Sunday, in a downtown parking lot at 131 Elliott Street, a transformation will be starting. Downtown’s old Nesbitt Inn bed & breakfast is becoming a crossroads for arts and culture in the Windsor Community.
Christine Rideout-Arkell, proprietor of Ottawa Street’s Made in Windsor consignment shoppe is starting a new venture to support the local arts and crafts community with the help of fellow entrepreneurs Tom Lucier, Rino Bortolin, Toby Leftly and Shane Potvin, founders of The House.
The House — situated on the fringes of downtown and a quiet Windsor neighbourhood — is a concept for a cultural marketplace that makes use of inspiration from a multitude of social and cultural creations such as Toronto’s Centre for Social Innovation.
Their kick off event? It’s called the Made in Windsor Open-Air Crafters Market: a place where families can arrive for refreshments, storytelling and to view and purchase among thousands of products made by Windsorites.
Outdoors, en plein air. The weekly market will feature the best works of local artisans and yes, it will run on Sundays until 2010’s first snowflakes touch the ground.
A brief survey of the neighbourhood on Wednesday revealed literally 500+ parking spots. Free street parking. A free city lot on Sundays right next-door. Talk about location!
Rideout-Arkell expects the Crafters Market to be a great success, smiling as she forecasted that after a few weekends, many many local artisans will want to participate (similar to how the crafting community built up a waiting list for the Made in Windsor store that grew into the hundred’s, we’re told)!
Come shop for local hand-made goods in a beautiful and historic setting! For those of you who are going to miss the Made in Windsor store on Ottawa St, this weekly open-air market should cheer you up. If you never had a chance to visit the store, you still have a opportunity to buy unique, locally-made items every Sunday. To celebrate our first MIW Open-Air Crafters market this Sunday, August 15, we’ll be giving away a free locally-made prize every hour. We’ll also have a kids’ craft table and refreshments available. Come join us!
Artist? Rideout-Arkell is still in fact looking for vendors for this Sunday and beyond. You can reach her by phoning the Made in Windsor store at 519-973-0776 or by sending an email off to [email protected].
The Made in Windsor Open-Air Crafters Market kicks off their first season this Sunday, August 15th from 10:00am – 4:00pm at 131 Elliott Street (or even easier, the corner of Elliott and Pelissier) just south of Downtown Windsor.
Need a bit more information? Here’s a link to the event page on Facebook.