Yorkville resident Wendy McGann was busy checking out a huge craft fair Saturday afternoon in her hometown and was happy about what she was seeing.
“I love when they have these events. They are close to home and the vendors are wonderful,” McGann said as she looked inside a box filled with crystals at the second annual Mid-Summer Makers Market at Town Square in Yorkville. “It’s fun to shop and it’s a beautiful day – what’s not to like?”
The initial market offered last July was the only one organized last year, while the market held for two days this past weekend will be followed next month with a second Makers Market on Aug. 10.
Hailey Stark, one of the event organizers, said last summer’s market featured 68 vendors and that the total for the one over the weekend swelled to over 100.
“We do a lot of online marketing and have been passing out flyers in our physical cafe in Oswego,” Stark said. “The Makers Cafe and Market marched in the Yorkville Fourth of July parade and handed out flyers and we’ve been paying for ads online.”
Stark said most of the vendors at the event were local.
“The majority of our vendors are local from northern Illinois so people may be already familiar with the artists,” she said. “This is the biggest event we’ve ever run and next year we’re hoping to add live music performances.”
Saturday’s bright sunshine brought a big crowd to the market.
Vicki Schaller came all the way from Elgin on Saturday and said she drove to Yorkville after just having left another craft fair in Aurora.
“I’m on the craft fair tour today,” she said with a laugh. “I like Tigger and I bought what I guess is a little key chain. I try to go to a craft fair every weekend, much to my husband’s dismay. He’ll just say, ‘She’s going again,’ but it’s really fun.”
Jenna DeBruycker of Yorkville said she was impressed at the growth in this year’s market and that “I like that a lot of the stuff is handmade.”
“There’s also some vendors selling direct sales marketing, and this popped up on Facebook and it’s a perfect event,” she said. “My sister is in from Texas and this is a good outdoor activity to do today. I like the set-up a lot, and there is plenty of shade and we were able to find parking.”
One of the vendors, Tammy Dahl of Plano, was showing off her American Cornhole Games products with boards featuring most of the area’s professional sports teams.
“We hope to sell most of these boards by the end of the day,” Dahl said on Saturday as she looked at her collection. “It takes about an hour to cut and assemble the boards and then painting takes another hour or so to make a set of boards. I get requests for custom boards all the time – wedding designs, family designs. Sports in general are the most popular style.”
Lora Soehlke and her husband Dave of Plainfield said they “had never come here before and we’re just browsing” at the Yorkville market.
“Over the years, I’ve bought things that are creative, different and artistic,” Lora Soehlke said. “If I like it, I buy it.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
