You might be moving into Thanksgiving mode, but if you know any artisans/makers, you know their mode is already a full-on scramble for holiday-season sales. Our local jewelry designers and ceramic artists and woodworkers have their heads all the way down, and probably won’t come up for air until Christmas Day.
We’re thankful for the frenzied work, because our team’s trees are always stocked with local, handmade items that underline the awesomeness of Nashville’s creative community. We love supporting local makers, and we’re proud to give the people we love gifts that are unique and special and made by neighbors.
So now’s about the time of year we start making our plan of shopping-attack, and marking local maker’s markets on the calendar.
This year actually seems a little lighter than past years — some we really liked, like the WEHO Holiday Market in Wedgewood-Houston, haven’t announced a date; others, like the long-running Christmas on 18th Avenue in Historic Belmont-Hillsboro, are taking 2016 off.
Thankfully, we still have great options for shopping small and shopping local, and some are coming up soon. Here are a few you might want to add to your calendar.
Upcoming holiday Maker Markets in Nashville
Made South
If you live in Williamson County and love shopping for Southern-made, handmade gifts, you don’t want to miss Made South. They’ll have more than 130 vendors sharing everything from housewares to clothing to food, in the beautiful, industrial-meets-homey vintage setting of the Factory at Franklin. If you want, you can really make a celebration of it too — the Friday VIP party includes more intimate shopping, small bites from local chefs, drinks and tastings from local breweries/distilleries and more. Saturday’s full-market also includes a bunch of extra fun, including live music and chef demonstrations. Buy your tickets through Eventbrite, and plan to do some serious shopping.
When: Nov. 18-19, 2016
Where: Jamison Hall and Liberty Hall at The Factory at Franklin, 230 Franklin Road, Franklin TN
Admission: $15 – $59
More info: MadeSouth.com
Porter Flea
Probably the best-known Nashville maker market, Porter Flea returns for its 2016 Holiday Market installment Dec. 9 – 10. It’s moved around through the years, but the market started in East Nashville, and it’s back there now, at Skyway Studios on the East Side. What hasn’t changed over six years of Fleas: The juried market’s shown an unwavering eye for excellent artisans. In past years, we’ve picked up stylish dishware from Bean and Bailey Ceramics, cool reclaimed home goods from from Modern Arks and super cute kids’ stuff from Oh Just Dandy, and those artisans will all be back, along with a mix of similarly talented peers. For our money, the best approach is buying a ticket to the Friday Preview Market — you get first crack at the vendors’ goods, it’s less crowded than the free Saturday market, and you get a bunch of bonuses too (including drinks and other extras).
When: Dec. 9-10, 2016
Where: Skyway Studios, 3201 Dickerson Pike, Nashville
Admission: $25 Friday Preview Market; free Saturday
More info: www.porterflea.com
Music City Winterfest
A combination festival/market, Music City Winterfest is a chance to take the family out for a day of holiday fun, while getting some shopping done too. The schedule is packed with stuff to do for Nashvillians of all ages, from live music and horse-drawn carriage rides to face-painting, bounce houses and storytime. And the market has lots to shop for, with local makers and entrepreneurs with art and jewelry and beauty goods and pet items and lots, lots more. You won’t need to leave to get refueled, either — on site, there’ll be food trucks and a beer garden (with seasonal beers and cocktails). Rumor is Santa Claus is set to make an appearance too.
When: Dec. 10, 2016
Where: Centennial Park, 2500 West End Ave., Nashville
Admission: free
More info: www.musiccitywinterfest.com
Hope one/several of those help out with your holiday shopping plans. If you share any of your “this one’s for me” finds on social media, please tag us on Instagram or Facebook — we’d love to see!