Shop Small at Local Handmade Markets

There’s only one thing I enjoy more than receiving handmade gifts and that’s GIVING handmade gifts.

Since I love to craft, I usually give gifts that I’ve made myself. I’ve done this for years and have made and given all sorts of gifts ranging from birdhouses, jewelry boxes, to gift baskets. You name it, I’ve done it.

The result is a thoughtful, one of a kind, customized gift that the recipient will (hopefully) appreciate and treasure for years to come.

There is one little problem with personalized handmade gifts however, they’ll be looking forward to them every year! But I guess thats a good problem to have 🙂

There are times I’m too busy to make my gifts, and that’s when I #ShopSmall at websites like Etsy. I love shopping at sites like Etsy because I find incredible handmade items at excellent prices. What’s better than shopping online?

Shopping at a local craft shows!

This past holiday season we did just that when my husband stumbled upon a local craft show that he’d heard about just the night before.

“Celebrate Shelton” in Shelton Connecticut was a holiday handmade craft market event held indoors. It
was beautifully decorated with snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and garland from wall-to-wall. The aroma of handmade soaps, and lotions filled the air.

There were an array of vendors like: Grateful Pawz, The Olive Oil Factory, Look and Sea, and Bring the Hoopla LLC to name a few. The vendor’s table displays were just as eye catching as their handmade items.

At these types of craft shows/street fairs you get to feel and see up close the amazing work and quality of these talented crafters that pictures just cannot convey. We couldn’t believe all of the talent in one room!

How often do you get to meet the person behind handmade items? It was so great to see the shop owners and artists as proud with their handmade products as we are in ours. As we shopped we were fortunate enough to chat with these vendors and hear them talk with such passion about their items.

We had such a great time! We found something for everyone on our list and even came out with a few things for ourselves.

The next time you find yourself shopping for a special occasion or Holiday gift, remember to give your local handmade markets a try.

Who knows maybe WoodyThings will be on the list of vendors this year 😉

Check out some of the items we purchased below:

As you can tell by my shop, I LOVE WOOD! so when I saw this beaded wooden bracelet by: www.beadsbyalyssa.com I had to have it!

We also picked up a few awesome soaps. Oh how I wish you could smell these soaps!

The one on the left is peppermint and made by: www.OliveMySkin.com

The ones on the right are Oatmeal, Milk & Honey by: Lisa’s Soaps Naked and Natural, LLC

I love my Shop Small canvas bag! We found these when we visited Bring the Hoopa’s shop.

We picked up some beautiful handmade book covers and mini book magnets by: Greystone Bookworks

Thank you for taking the time to check out our blog post! If you like what you see or would like to see more, check out the other vendors and see their amazing work. Just remember to come back and check us out too  😉

We’d love to hear about your experiences. Have you ever participated at a craft fair as a vendor or shopped at a fair before? Share with us!