Crafty Mart is saying goodbye to life on the road.
After 13 years of staging pop-up markets throughout The 330, it is readying for the grand opening of its first permanent market space. Its new 7,000-square-foot home on the second floor of downtown Akron’s Bounce Innovation Hub is the perfect spot for creativity to gain traction, as the Carbon Black space used to be a B.F. Goodrich tire finishing factory.
It was covered in a leftover sticky carbon black substance, so Crafty Mart created a $12,000 community-funded Kickstarter for renovations, which include a new bar by Birchwood Supply Co., new floors and repainted walls. Akron Art Bomb Brigade is set to paint a mural to complete it. Crafty Mart hosts maker sessions and rotating vendors at markets. The debut of Carbon Black at the 2021 Holiday Market means there is finally a home for the ecosystem of creativity and entrepreneurship Crafty Mart has built.
“We can offer that education and that support system to makers in our community to help build up their businesses,” says Marissa McClellan, the executive director of Crafty Mart, “and also retain them in our city.”
Here are some makers that have been at Crafty Mart:
photo by Natalie Worcester
PowerfulParallel
Meet the Artisan: These asymmetrical earrings are made with stone, vintage glass, Swarovski crystals and mixed metals. “I’m inspired by nature,” says Cleveland jewelry maker Natalie Worcester, who also sells handmade necklaces.
Shopper Favorite: Trifecta ($45-$65), which is a set of three mix-and-match asymmetrical earrings. “One of my big values is the freedom to choose your own journey,” she says. “You can pick which two you wear.”
instagram.com/powerfulparallel
photo by Kim Everhard
Kim Everhard Art
Meet the Artisan: Experience Wadsworth artist Kim Everhard’s hiking and backpacking trips vicariously through watercolor paintings she creates from photos taken in southern Ohio, Kentucky and Colorado. “I’m a very detail-oriented person,” she says. “I want to capture what was there.”
Shopper Favorite: The Colorado Trail ($16-$72), which is complete with mountains and red dirt. “That was one of my favorite parts of the trail,” she says. “It was a pretty open meadow.”
photo by Lindsey Mitchell-Becker
White Fox Black Koi Candle Co.
Meet the Artisans: Creative North Canton couple Lindsey Mitchell-Becker and Matt Becker handmake these candles with soy wax, fragrance oil and dye in containers. “We’re going to find these cool pieces that you can put in your house,” Mitchell-Becker says.
Shopper Favorite: Sweet Orange & Garden Mint ($10-$25), which is made from sweet orange, mint, peppercorn and clove fragrance oils. “It’s really good for the kitchen or the bathroom,” Mitchell-Becker says. “It’s going to make your room smell sweet and refreshing.”
