BY PATRICIA DUFF
Oct. 16, 2013
Halloween! Thanksgiving! Hanukkah! Kwanzaa! Christmas!
Holidays.
Uh oh.
Don’t have much time.
Gotta get some good cheer and some good gifts!
Slow down. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Take a breath.
There’ll be no rushing this holiday season.
Peruse. Enjoy yourself.
Buying gifts for the people that are dear to you is fun. It’s the Holidays! Relax. Take your time. Spread some joy.
It all sounds very delightful. Now, tell me how.
The mall?
I don’t think so.
Bayview Cash Store?
Oh, yes. Much better. Local. And pleasant!
What’s up?
“Handcrafted on Whidbey” that’s what’s up!
It’s a “pop-up,” actually.
Starting Friday, Oct. 18. Handcrafted on Whidbey will sell the wares of island neighbors through the holiday season until Dec. 31.
Local farmers, all kinds of artists, publishers and food producers have gathered together to create a holiday market, along with Tres Gringos, which will offer fresh, local authentic Mexican food, while you shop. Food ready-to-eat or ready to take home! Inside at the former Star Store deli. Hooray!
Handcrafted on Whidbey is a pop-up, temporary shop created by Little Brown Farm’s (chief milkmaid) Vicky Brown and her daughter Christine Maifeld. Vicky and Christine have created an easy-stop, holiday-shopping experience, that will start with the hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Shoppers will find a variety of goods there, including a locally-harvested flakey Sea Salt, cheese, chocolates, jams and jellies, jewelry, cookbooks, calendars, sculptures, hats, paintings, gourds, ─ you know, the good stuff whipped up by local artists and these folks: Willowood Farm, Island Apiaries, 3Generations Jam, Sweet Mona’s Chocolate Boutique, Lavender Wind Farm, Little Brown Farm, and other producers of “delicious.”
Handcrafted on Whidbey will also offer gift-wrapping and shipping services to make it easy to share Whidbey Island’s most authentic flavors and all these colorful goods with both friends and family. Customer service!
The “grand opening” will be Saturday, Nov. 2, when the pop-up will expand its hours and days of operation. (Check WLM’s Handy Lists for updates.)
Also, look for a special “unveiling” of the market’s local, holiday-season delights on Friday, Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving, when the producers, artists, and everybody pumps up the festive spirit to make an excellent, spreading-joy kind of local shopping experience!
Look for these and other vendors/artists popping up at Handcrafted on Whidbey for the holidays (click on the links of the WLM members to see more):
Sweet Mona’s Chocolate Boutique
Also selling at Handcrafted on Whidbey will be Jody Bone, Pam Mitchell, Nancy Mayers, Clovy Tsuchiya, Jordan Jones, Marian Myszkowski, Linda Schwarz, Sharon Warwick, Jessie Lyle and Joan Littrel.
Patricia Duff is a freelance journalist and the editor of this magazine. Reach her at editor@whidbeylifemagazine.org.