Local artisans lined Wickenden Street on Saturday, Sept. 30 — selling everything from Jamaican Patties to eclectic candles. The Wickenden Street Makers Market, hosted twice per year, brings together small businesses and vendors, allowing them to make strong sales and connect with new customers.
“For the makers, the sales that they’ve brought in at all of our past events have been really strong, and a lot of them tell us that it’s their best market of the year,” said Ali Burns-Nachwalter, owner of lifestyle boutique NAVA.
A big point of concern for NAVA and the other organizers of this year’s market was the weather. With rain predicted for Saturday, Burns-Nachwalter expressed her worries about a lower turnout.
Recently, Providence has seen many rainy weekends, causing many artisans who rely on local markets to miss out on participation and finding new audiences. “For the makers — anyone that is relying on this for their full-time job — they are really struggling,” she said.
Thankfully, the rain held off for most of Saturday’s event — the skies were overcast for the majority of the day and the few bouts of rain didn’t seem to dampen the vendors’ spirits.
“It’s just a great event. I love Providence,” said Nishan Han, who owns the CBD product company Rhode Island Reef.
Han has attended the event every spring and fall for three years, and he isn’t the only vendor who keeps on coming back.
Krystan Santagata, owner of Krystan Saint Cat, has been selling her work at the market for more than seven years. “This is one of the busiest markets and everyone who runs it is really cool,” she said. “Usually people will find you here and then become a fan.”
Conroy Outar, co-owner and chef of Ja Patty RI has attended the event for a few years and said he keeps coming back because of “the vibes (and) the people.”
The market also offers low fees for artists who want to have display booths, which enables more business owners to participate and make strong profits, said Erica Klein, a Rhode Island School of Design graduate who owns and “makes everything” for Hot Fluff, a jewelry business.
Since the event has proved successful and profitable for local makers, Burns-Nachwalter and the other event planners often receive “about three or four times” more applications than they have room for.
“We always try to have new vendors. We try to not have too many in a category,” she said. “We also make sure that we reserve a certain amount of spaces for queer and BIPOC artists.”
Through the organizers’ careful vetting, the market winds up being an eclectic mix of artists, food vendors and other small businesses.
Burns-Nachwalter remembers the days when the event was entirely a grassroots effort — just members of the Wickenden Area Merchants’ Association setting up tables on street sidewalks.
When members of the merchants’ association realized that interest in the market was growing, they made the decision to close off Wickenden Street for all future events.
“That was a game-changer because then people could have tents and we could have food trucks,” Burns-Nachwalter said.
Coming out of COVID-19, the event was stronger than ever before. “People wanted to support their local makers and community,” Burns-Nachwalter added.
Liz Welch’s inclusive ceramics studio and business, Anyhow Studio, has attended the event for several years, hoping to advertise their studio memberships and ceramics classes.
“We empower beginners and early career artists to make ceramics in a very low-key and supportive environment,” Welch said. “It’s great if people buy our work, but really we are also talking to people about classes and membership, and how they can participate.”
Outreach is a key reason for Han’s attendance as well. “Having the shop in downtown Newport, we’re constrained to the geographic area of the island. Being able to come here, to the state’s capital, is a big deal — just to stretch our horizons and expand our client base,” he said.
For all the makers, the market brings together a warm and supportive community, both for potential new clients and fellow artists. For people who put their all into their work, seeing people’s in-person reactions at the market can be especially rewarding.
“I just love making people laugh,” Klein said. “Even if they don’t talk to me, when I see them like twenty feet away just light up and smile, it’s so contagious.”
The next Wickenden Street Makers Market will be hosted in Spring 2024. The event date and vendor application will be released by the merchants’ association this winter.
Ciara Meyer is a senior staff writer from Saratoga Springs, New York. She plans on concentrating in Statistics and English Nonfiction. In her free time, she loves scrapbooking and building lego flowers.
