City Paper's Best of Charleston

Prepare yourself for the shameless and blatant self promotion that is to follow.  It's time for Charleston City Paper's Best Of Charleston 2012 and of course, I would love for you to vote for the Artist Market - and some of your favorite vendors. 

So, please vote Lowcountry Artist Market as the Best Gift Shop in Charleston.  Now I know that's not exactly what the market is, but it's also not a festival or an outdoor event.  Or a boutique.  But it's got a hint of each.  And after thinking about what my favorite Gift Shop in Charleston would be, I realized I buy a good amount of gifts either on Etsy or at the Market.  So, if you decide to vote, please vote Lowcountry Artist Market!

Other categories that deserve your attention:

Local Clothing Designer

Vintage Clothing Store

Local Jewelry Designer

And of course, since they graciously let us take over their space for the Market, the Music Farm gets our vote for Best Rock Music Club.  Also, Lauryn Hill, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Big Gigantic, Methodman, Fitz & the Tantrums, Dr. Dog, Ryan Bingham, Josh Ritter, Switchfoot, Minus the Bear, TV on the Radio and countless others played there this year.  2011 was none too shabby at the Farm.

Feel free to post your favorite vendors in the comments.  I'm sure they'd appreciate the support (and the vote)!

Christmas: The Off Season

Ahh, the off season, where one Artist Market has ended but I don't yet have a date for the next one.  I think I'll spend this time blogging about some of the amazing vendors, as well as random craftiness.  And for the time being, a lot of that may be Christmas-y.  

Today - wreaths.  Most of you know I consider myself a facilitator of the arts, rather than a creator.  However, there is hope for me.  Pinterest gives me a virtually unlimited supply of cool things even I could pull off.  Here are a few how-to's I'm thinking of giving a go:

Our Unexpected Journey

 

Lookie What I Did

 Living Artfully

Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

 These don't come with how-to's, but are too pretty not to post.  Maybe you guys can figure it out on your own!

And I love this blog.  Check out Under the Table and Dreaming's 70 Unique and Unusual Christmas Holiday Wreaths. 

Woman's Day

Nova 68

 Let the holiday decorating begin!

Shopping - this weekend!

As a general shopping slacker, I have quite a bit of Christmas shopping left to do.  I made some progress at the Lowcountry Artist Market in November, but I didn't take care of everyone.  If you're with me on this, here are a few other spots to pick up unique Christmas gifts - this weekend!

Christkindlmarkt

A German-flavored Christmas market. Friday night come out for caroling, a brass band, warm drinks, German sweets, and holiday shopping. All proceeds fund the programs of the Community Center. 

- Charleston City Paper

Friday, December 2nd, 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Saturday, December 3rd, 10 am - 3 pm

Sunday, December 4th, 9:45 am - 2 pm

The Community Center of St. Matthews

403 King St. 

The Family Circle Stadium will again be transformed into an exciting outdoor holiday festival on Saturday, December 3. The Tennis Center will come alive with bargains galore and a vast assortment of unique gifts for the whole family. Charleston's finest vendors...including your favorite retailers to our best-kept secrets will be offering gift selections in every category. 

- Holiday Festival

Saturday, December 3rd

11 am - 4 pm

Family Circle Tennis Center Stadium, Daniel Island, SC

$5 to $50 Gift Market

The $5 to $50 Gift Market is the perfect opportunity to bring affordable art to our community during the holiday season. 

Saturday, December 3rd

11 am - 3 pm

1077 East Monague Avenue

Park Circle, North Charleston

You cannot beat Charleston City Paper when it comes to keeping up to date on great Charleston events.  For a serious list of free holiday events this weekend, here it is.

The Fresh Stitch, Chuck Keppler, Don & Lina

I hope you're not getting tired of pics from the Market.  I may have gone overboard.  I'll try to space them out with some pics of random craftiness that I run across.  One more set and I'll give you a break!

We'll start with The Fresh Stitch:

Here's Chuck Keppler Designs:

And the food!  Thank you to King of Pops and The Magic Cheese Truck for keeping everyone well fed.

Last in this set - Don & Lina Stationary.  This was their 1st time participating in the Market and we were really glad to have them.  Note cards for every occasion and really great Christmas cards:

These vendors are all on Etsy.com, so you can continue shopping online.  And check out the Facebook pages for King of Pops and the Magic Cheese Truck to catch them around town!

Janetics Ink & Bird Flower Creations

Next round of recap photos!  Janetics Ink and Bird Flower Creations below.  

Both of these ladies have Etsy.com pages, so if you missed them at the Market, you can still pick up some great finds online. 

Photos from November Market

Once again, thank you to all the vendors who participated in the November market at the Music Farm!  And thank you to those who advertised and promoted the event.  And a HUGE thank you to those who came and shopped!  Here are a few pics.  I took quite a few, so I may space them out over the next few days. 


Check out Add Libb Designs and Nicholas Lane Jewelry below.

You can visit these ladies in studio at:

AUDELLA STUDIOS
47 A Spring St 
Charleston, SC 29403

Or shop online!

Thank You!

We are still working up all the numbers from the last event, but we just wanted to go ahead and say thank you Charleston - over 1000 people came to the Market!  

Thank you to the vendors.  We heard several comments on the quality of goods sold, so your hard work did not go unnoticed!

Thank you to Charleston Media - Charleston City Paper, Charleston Scene, Charleston Magazine, Charlie, and The Bridge 105.5.  Specifically thank you those of you I saw at the Market -  Mike, Laura, and Nancy from the Bridge; Ayoka Lucas from Charleston Magazine. 

We'll post more stats soon.  Thank you for buying local, Charleston!

Only One Day Left ...

Until the Lowcountry Artist Market!  

You'll see awesome things like this:

Set up something like this:

Check out the list of vendors and the rundown on what to expect at the Market.

 Hope to see you all on Saturday!