Downtown | MakeHaven | Arts & Culture
Elizabeth Nearing Photos.
Four lanterns hung above a small table, glowing softly against a green tablecloth and matching green curtains. Beneath them, two flower wreaths basked in the light. A fifth lantern rose up from a coil of wire. In the center, a video showed maker Cameron Ross-MacCormack bringing them to life, step by methodical step.
Welcome to MakeHaven’s Spring Makers Market, held last weekend in the former home of Pine & Iron Axe Throwing at 770 Chapel St. A two day pop-up showcasing 16 artists and makers, the event doubled as a sort of proof of concept, building on a similar holiday market last December. Dozens came through the event.
“Each [maker] is absolutely incredible at what they do and we love being able to showcase local artists and local artisans,” said Ellen Carson, MakeHaven’s small business support coordinator. “It’s a really good opportunity for people who are looking to start businesses. It's a very low barrier of entry to start entrepreneurship.”
Kate Cebik, whose daughter Eliza Cebik majkes and sells slime.
Like a previous maker market, the weekend’s event displayed the sheer amount of work that unfolds at MakeHaven, from polymer clay and paper sculptures to fused-glass art and wooden home goods.
Artists included Darcy Canales of Swagarian Artistry, Linda Parsloe of Artistry in Fused Glass, Akeera Peterkin of Black Joy Creations, Nancy Nearing of Nearing Polymer, Emma Vannorsdall of Hyker, Sandra Christie of Mosaic Werx, Ericka Saracho of Bright Raven Studio, Akari Roudebush of CreampuffPal, Mer Clark of Beacon Craft Studio, Jiajianghui (Joyce) Li of Joyce's Painting, Jenny Trujillo of Handmade with Love by Jen, Tiffany Hsu of theyarnshaper, Jordan Gage of Chronically Queer Co, Eliza Cebik of Eliza's Slime Factory, and Cameron Ross-MacCormack.
Some makers, like Ross-MacCormack, were still in the early stages of artist-entrepreneurship.
“I’ve never sold anything—I’ve been making things for years and years.” Ross-MacCormack said. A decade ago, the artist first started working with laser cut poplar to create lanterns while working as a teacher in Fairfield. Now, he’s inspired by his students to share his art with more people.
“Every student I’ve ever had, I hold their work up, I show everybody, ‘Look what this kid did, look what that person did, it’s so great!’” he said. “Now I have to be that person for myself.”
Others, like Ericka Saracho and Gabriela Margarita De Jesús of Bright Raven Studio, are established artisans that have sold at several fairs and festivals in the past few years. At the market, their ceramics wowed close to wares by longtime MakeHaven member Nancy Nearing, who creates polymer jewelry and sculpture in addition to teaching and facilitating at MakeHaven.
Others still, meanwhile, were totally new to the space. Joyce Li, a visiting doctoral student at the Yale School of Public Health, joined just three days prior to the event. “A lot of artists and crafters come here and share their interesting stuff. It really impressed me a lot,” said Li, who has studied painting for 15 years.
The market was designed with makers in mind. Buzzing through the space last weekend, Carson pointed to a centralized check out system as one example. Guests were invited to grab a little red basket as they walked in and then shop the market at their leisure. When they were finished, they merely needed to go to one single place to pay.
“It gives [makers] a little bit of an easier way to break into selling on their own,” Carson said. She added that it allowed artists to come and go as needed—meaning they could be elsewhere, or work another market simultaneously.