Wednesday, December 30, 2015
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Marissa Devantier of Vintie Design Company and The Shop on Liberty Street showcased her custom map coasters at a mini market of local artists and businesses hosted by Stone Fruit Coffee on Dec. 12.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Melissa D’Apolito, vintage wares curator of Lola Bean’s Boutique, displayed her vintage clothes, purses, accessories, home goods and more at a local artists and businesses mini market hosted by Stone Fruit Coffee on Dec. 12.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Jamie Jamison of Ala Jamie, of Canfield, a local artist who creates unique custom photography pieces, participated in a mini market of local artists and businesses hosted by Stone Fruit Coffee on Dec. 12.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Melissa Smith of 1820 House Candle Company brought a small batch of her natural wax candles to a local artists and businesses mini market hosted by Stone Fruit Coffee on Dec. 12.
By ABBY SLANKER
In support of shopping local and small business, Stone Fruit Coffee in Canfield hosted a mini market of local artists and businesses on Dec. 12. Melissa D’Apolito of Lola Bean’s Boutique, Melissa Smith of 1820 House Candle Company, Marissa Devantier of Vintie Design Company and The Shop on Liberty Street and Jamie Jamison of Ala Jamie displayed their wares during the mini market.
D’Apolito, Smith, Devantier, Jamison, Jen Langenheim of Stone Fruit Coffee and Jessica Sprowl Senedak are all members of Rust Belt Made, a group which cultivates, promotes and creates a holistic space to bring Rust Belt Makers and artisans together.
Devantier’s had a variety of her custom map coasters on display for customers to peruse.
“My coasters can connect people to where they are from, where they met their partner, where they went to college or where they got married. I love to hear people’s stories, and each set of coasters tells a story,” Devantier said.
Vintie Design Company let to her shop, The Shop on Liberty Street, in Hubbard.
“The Shop of Liberty Street has 40 local artisans offering a variety of items from artwork to home goods. The mini markets that I participate in with local artists led to this shop. Everyone here today is featured in the shop. We make connections with other local artists through these mini markets and then support each other in many ways,” Devantier said.
For more information on The Shop on Liberty Street, visit www.theshoponlibertystreet.com.
Jamison, of Canfield, is a local artist who creates unique custom photography pieces. She works with Converse Steel to use their products to create metal photo art tiles. Jamison uses still life images of local places and can also use old photographs to create the tiles. The tiles are magnetic and are able to be switched to different backgrounds Jamison has also made.
“The tiles are very personal pieces. Someone can bring me an old photo and an old handwritten letter and I can incorporate those things into one photo art tile. Then that tile can be put on a background of choice. I feel like people can collaborate with me on the final piece and take part in the finished piece. This provides them a stronger connection to the piece. The art and the background speaks to them,” Jamison said.
For more information on Ala Jamie, visit www.alajamie.com or call 330-565-6078.
Melissa Smith of 1820 House Candle Company makes her small batch natural wax candles in her studio in East Liverpool.
“I use domestic pure vegetable wax in my products. I locally source as much packaging, including printing, box printing and glasswares, as I can,” Smith said.
Smith’s candles and aromatherapy products are available in several shops in Youngstown, including Stone Fruit, Flaming Ice Cube, Studio Oxygen, Dave’s Detour and The Shop on Liberty Street and are sold all over the country.
For more information on 1820 House Candle Company, visit 1820house.com or call 330-426-9955.
D’Apolito, of Lola Bean’s Boutique, is a vintage wares curator offering vintage clothes, purses, accessories, home goods and more. D’Apolito handpicks her wares.
“I go to many different places and hand pick the items I want. I know what I am looking for, so many times the items jump out at me. I try to find clothes which are on trend with today’s fashion and I actually have lots of success in that area. There are many new items that look vintage which are not, so I go for the authentic pieces. This is my passion and I feel my passion for vintage makes a difference in the pieces I choose and can offer,” D’Apolito said.
D’Apolito said many people feel a connection to vintage items and tell her their stories.
“I enjoy hearing the stories of people who actually wore or used these items when they were younger. I can tell by the way they look at certain items that they are reminded of when they wore something similar in the past or used or owned a similar item in the past. There is a history there and I am providing a continuation of history,” D’Apolito said.
D’Apolito will also take requests for vintage items and will search for that item for a customer. She said she also relies on social media quite a bit for her business.
“I have a small collection on Etsy and I am also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I have monthly flash sales on Facebook during which I post photos of items for under $20. This way, I not only get interest locally, but from across the country,” D’Apolito said.
For more information on Lola Bean’s Boutique, visit www.etsy.com/shop/lolabeansboutique or call 330-540-7401.
Langenheim, who co-owns Stone Fruit Coffee with her husband, Josh, was more than happy to host the mini market and support her fellow local business owners. The coffee shop will continue to host mini markets throughout the next year.
“It is a pleasure to work with the local businesses of Rust Belt Made. We support each other whenever and wherever we can. There is a great sense of community here in Canfield. Shopping local makes such a difference and it offers unique gifts and items which you will not find anywhere else,” Langenheim said.
Jamison echoed the sentiment that it is important for local artists and business owners to support each other.
“We all help each other. We all want to see everyone succeed. We support and promote each other and our local businesses. We use social media to get the word out about our businesses and that has proved to be successful. Each one of us brings something different to the group and we all have different knowledge of certain things which we share with each other. We also could not succeed without the community’s support and we appreciate everyone coming out to our mini markets,” Jamison said.