It started the way most good things do: with a doorway conversation and a half-baked idea that felt too good to ignore.
I have a little boutique tucked inside the French Quarter, a funky little building nestled inside a food cart pod in Multnomah Village. Most people find it by accident. My neighbor there Katie Cahill, runs Foundling Arts Revival, an art and antique shop right next door. We've been neighbors in the best sense of the word. The kind where you borrow each other's tape, prop open your doors on warm afternoons, and end up talking for an hour when you only meant to say hi.
Last spring, she leaned into my doorway and asked: "Do you want to create a makers market together?" A seasonal market, right here inside the French Quarter, celebrating the artists doing beautiful work all over Portland. A reason to slow down, wander, and discover something handmade.
And one year later, the Spring Equinox Market has become something neither of us could have sketched out on paper. It's grown not because we marketed it perfectly, but because people who care about handmade things tend to find each other.
I'm so excited to share that this spring's market is expanding to a second location, just up the street. Jessica Norman of Jess Because Art Co. recently opened her own new boutique connected to Local Collective, and she wanted to help bring even more makers into the fold. Her half of the market will be hosted there. Same spirit, more space, more artists. And because both locations are fully indoors, this is the rare Portland spring event where the weather genuinely doesn't matter.
Between our two locations on March 21st, you'll find handcrafted goods from some of Portland's most talented creators. The kind of people who pour something of themselves into everything they make. Come for the art. Stay for the flavors. Leave with something that means something.
Right before the market I went back to my Hawaii time and made 12 limited edition pieces, each one carrying an ocean photo from places that have stayed with me. I wasn't sure I'd make them, but they felt right for this moment.
The wave necklace is my personal favorite. The photo inside is shot from the water looking back at the Mokes, off the coast of Oahu. That blue is something else. A few styles from the collection will be available online after the market while they last. Once they're gone, that's it.
Portland has always had a gift for gathering. I hope to see you Saturday. Whether you've been following Foterra since the Hawaii days or you're finding us for the first time, there's a place for you here.
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