Since 2007, The Makers’ Market has become a destination at 252 James Street North, holding monthly Saturday markets and participating in the Art Crawls on the 2nd Friday of the month. Our objective is two fold: to provide an accessible, affordable venue for artists, artisans and growers who may not have a way of promoting and selling their goods; and to encourage residents of Hamilton to help support and sustain our local economy. We have been nominated for three consecutive years for the Hamilton Tourism Awards, Event for Festival of the Year.
Over the years at the suggestion of vendors or the invitation of different communities, we have held markets more frequently and at more locations. Every year the landscape of local markets and special events evolves. For 2011, we have streamlined the number of our events to 4 Saturday outdoor markets. These Saturdays will allow the public an opportunity to connect with someone who engages and inspires them and to purchase goods directly from members of our vibrant community.
In addition to the Market, indoor tours of the historic building of Christ’s Church Cathedral are available as well as live performances by local musicians. This year’s lineup will feature diverse acts that are just getting established or may not otherwise have the chance to play to our type of audience. We will continue to have a large presence on the evening of the Art Crawls May through October and we will also participate in the Supercrawl in September.
DATES:
- Saturday 10 – 3:
May 7, June 18, July 16, September 24
- Friday 7-10 pm:
May 13, June 10, July 8, August 12, September 9, October 14
- Super Crawl: Saturday September 10
Our focus at the outdoor markets will be on handcrafted original goods: jewelery, clothing, home accessories, bath and body products, art, photography, printmaking, stationary, handbags and knit or crocheted accessories and toys. Many of our vendors use uniquely sourced or recycled materials and the stories behind what inspires them are personal and interesting. We also encourage locally harvested or baked food as a complement to the handcrafted merchandise. By having the Makers at the Market, visitors are able to hear first-hand how something was made or imagined, why our artists work in a particular medium, use the materials that they do, etc.
On October 29, we will be having a special Antique market indoors at St Paul’s Westdale. At this venue, you will find vintage inspired products as well as retro and vintage housewares, jewelery, clothing and furniture. Closer to the event, more details will be available.
Over the course of the season, we will have some vendors that have been a consistent presence at the Market and we also look forward to welcoming new talent. As a venue that supports new artisans exploring their market and having the chance to gather feedback from their audience, we have been excited to see some of our stallholders go on to realizing the dream of having bricks and mortar stores or becoming regular stallholders at larger daily markets.
We are currently looking for stories…
- Stallholders or graduates: we would like to share your experience of being part of the community and what it means to you to have the opportunity to discuss your work with interested or like-minded people including your colleagues and customers.
- Attendees: if you came out and had a positive experience at one of our Markets, we would be happy to have some of your comments and testimonials as part of our marketing materials.
