By Ollie Adams
Staff Writer
It’s the season of giving, and a great way to give back to your community is by supporting small and local businesses. Eugene is packed with amazing vendors who are supported by their craft and rely on it as a main source of income. Throughout the year, there are many ways to support these businesses. These include the Saturday Market, the Oregon Country Fair, and the Whiteaker Block Party. Very similar to the Saturday Market is the Holiday Market. The Holiday Market was started in 1970 by Lotte Streisinger, who was a ceramic artist. The Market is open every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 AM – 6 PM, November 18th – December 24th. There are over 200 vendors every year who all have unique and amazing things to offer and enjoy.
While talking with vendors at the Holiday Market, there was one that stuck out in particular. Honeystung is run by Hamm Bushland and Ariel Schulze, and this is their first year selling honey along with other crafts at the market. Ariel explained that supporting local businesses is important because the finances stay in the local economy and circulate throughout the local trade, which helps grow and strengthen our economy. Shopping locally also opens up more job opportunities and positively benefits the surrounding environment.
Another wonderful vendor is Katie Swenson. Katie is a porcelain artist with amazingly unique pieces for sale. Her art has a soft comforting feel and is so incredible to examine. Katie, who has been selling her art since 1978, explained that she loves seeing people come to the market because she knows the people shopping are going there specifically to support locals and find unique treasures. When shopping locally for holiday gifts, those gifts become much more personal as they are handcrafted with love. You also know that you’re directly supporting a real person in your community.
Dean Grosnick of Tree and Stone, who makes beautiful naturally-sourced jewelry, has been vending at the Holiday Market for two and a half years. He expressed that he finds one of the most rewarding parts of supporting small and local businesses is because it gives the vendors an opportunity to live the life they want to live it and to be their own boss. That provides so much creative freedom and so much room to explore the things you want to. All of these vendors also said that they just enjoy engaging with customers and being able to share their crafts with others–which is so amazing. They are so lucky to be a part of such an amazing tight-knit community that loves to see what they do and a community that respects and boosts the local businesses in Eugene.
Shopping local during the holidays is an amazing way of showing support for your community, and it’s something to think about if you primarily shop online or through big companies. Remember that shopping small gives back to the place you call home and makes an impact on your life.
Leave a Reply