Returns to Fort Wayne November 22 – 23 at Electric Works
The state’s preeminent art and food holiday experience is the place to find gifts of good taste and gifts that taste good in northeast Indiana. The Indiana Artisan Holiday Marketplace will launch the holiday season, offering Hoosier- handcrafted art and delicacies from November 22-23 in the GE Club at Electric Works in Fort Wayne.
From hand-smithed jewelry to handmade caramels, fine watercolors to striking wood art, functional pottery to tasty sauces, the Indiana Artisan Holiday Marketplace will feature gifts and decor by about 40 artists, fine crafters, and small- batch food and beverage makers whose work has been designated among the best made in Indiana.
The two-day art and food experience will feature creatives from all over Indiana. They will set up engaging booths and meet shoppers from 4-8 p.m. Friday, November 22 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, November 23 in the GE Club, 1020 Swinney Ave., Fort Wayne. They will be on hand to talk about how their work is crafted, and some will demonstrate their creative process. All food artisans will offer samples. There will be gifts and décor for all budgets and ages. Admission is $8 per person; 14 and younger are free. “The Indiana Artisan Holiday Marketplace will provide an opportunity to buy one-of-a-kind artwork and artisan foods directly from the Hoosiers who make it,” said Indiana Artisan Executive Director Rosalyn Demaree. “It will be an experience without comparison and housed in a special place.”
GE Employees themselves built the GE Club in 1927, creating a social gathering spot, basketball gym and bowling alley. The Marketplace will be centered in the main floor gymnasium, which has been restored to a beautiful luster.
“It’s uncommon for a venue to be as special as the show, but that’s true here,” said Demaree. “We are thrilled to be able to use a building steeped as deeply in Indiana history as are many of the traditional arts that Indiana Artisan members create today,” including stringed instruments, chocolates, textiles, journals, and honey.
Work that carries the Indiana Artisan seal has gone through a rigorous evaluation process. It is the state’s moniker for identifying and recognizing the best of Hoosier craftsmanship. About 230 artisans in 57 counties currently have art, food or beverage that has met the high standards. Each is an entrepreneur; many hail from some of the state’s smallest communities. It isn’t often that they come together in one location.
While a select few Indiana Artisans will participate in the Holiday Marketplace, the highly respected brand includes painters, potters, woodworkers, bakers, snack makers, weavers, glass artists, photographers, wineries, distilleries, paper and mixed media artists, leatherworkers, and more. A list of artisans participating in the Holiday Marketplace will be posted on the organization’s website, www.IndianaArtisan.org.
