Business & Tech
First Bethlehem Craft Market a Lesson in Shopping Locally
The owners of the Judson House Coffee Shop and Southern Gifts hosted the premiere event this past weekend, and plans already under way for second craft market later this year.
Lindsey Brown and Jason Blair — owners of in the heart of downtown Bethlehem — didn’t set out to teach shoppers a lesson in shopping locally. Their goal in hosting the first Bethlehem Craft Market was to simply gather local talent and show them off to the community.
Hosted Saturday, July 7, the craft market represented more than 30 vendors with a great variety of hand-made products. Artists sold locally made jewelry, accessories, Native American items, BBQ sauce, home decor, baby clothes, pottery and more.
“The shoppers were impressed with the variety and quality of the items sold,” Brown said. “Everyone I asked said they found numerous things they loved, and many had a handful of handmade crafts that they just had to buy. Kids loved to play in our free bouncy house, and everyone enjoyed the refreshing cold drinks from our coffee shop.”
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When asked about future events, Brown said they are already planning a second craft market for later this year and plan to use the experience of the first market to make the future events even better. Visitors to the second craft market can expect to find a more enhanced schedule of music and events, as well as a wider variety of food options. Brown said she will also continue to seek out the best in local talent. If you are interested in being considered as a vendor for a future craft market, contact The Judson House by e-mailing thejudsonhouse@gmail.com or call 678-425-9011.
“Shopping locally is so important to grow our economy,” Brown said, “and having a market set up where shoppers could buy directly from the artists and talk to them about their products was great.”
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To learn more about The Judson House, check out in the Barrow Patch Directory, “like” the shop on Facebook or drop by the shop at 812 Christmas Ave. in downtown Bethlehem.
Also follow events happening in Barrow County through the Barrow Patch events calendar. Organizing your own event? Post it in the calendar for free.
If you attended the Bethlehem Craft Market last Saturday, what did you like best about the event? What do you think they could do to make it even better? Tell us in comments.
Check back every Tuesday for a new City Spotlight on one of two great Barrow County towns — Bethlehem and Carl.