Keeping the Arts Alive By Rae Poynter Located in Thunder Bay is the Craft Revival, a seasonal market of local artisans that started in 2014 by founder Maelyn Hurley. | SUBMITTED
Thunder Bay Country Market The Thunder Bay Country Market takes locally made products seriously. As their “Make it, Bake it, Grow it,” motto indicates, virtually everything you can find at the market is made, baked or grown locally by local vendors. Open year-round, the market not only offers locally-grown food but also a variety of creative makers. For photographer Heather Peden, becoming a vendor at the Thunder Bay Country Market has allowed her to establish a community presence even during the pandemic. In past years, Peden sold her prints intermittently at seasonal events, but after being laid off from her day job she decided to apply to become a market vendor. Being at the market has helped her become a consistent presence in the community, and inspired her to get her website started. “I have really enjoyed meeting customers to the market and appreciated their support and interest in all the vendors,” she said. “It has also been great getting to know some of the other vendors and feeling like you’re part of something even as everyone struggles right now.”
This November, the Craft Revival will be returning as a hybrid event, with an online shopping component followed by an in-person shopping day. | SUBMITTED
While this last year has brought incredible changes and struggles to all parts of our communities, among the challenges there have also been new opportunities, including for creatives. Between new stores opening to encouraging artists to pursue their work, these five businesses are helping to keep local artisans and crafters going. 20
OCTOBER 2021
NORTHERN WILDS
Chris Merkely is a member of Weirdworks Studio, a collective of four local artists who have a booth at the Thunder Bay Country Market. Merkely, a comic artist, said that the market has helped Weirdworks Studio find a home for their comic and pop culture-focused art. “To have a place where we have a permanent home is pretty amazing,” Merkely said. “We actually have an answer when someone asks, ‘Where can I find your work?’ other than, ‘My website.’ Being at the market also gives us exposure to people that normally may never know we exist.” Although the pandemic brought challenges to the market, (non-food vendors had to close their booths for a time) for vendors like Peden and Merkely it has also been an opportunity to build a presence in the community without the commitment of a full-time shop. “There are struggles and difficulties but, in the end, we all want the same thing—a place to share what we do best,” Merkely said. “Even when that thing is making nerdy, weird, artsy stuff.”
