Of Notoriety: South Shore Arts’ ‘Evergreen Artisan Market’ a month-long nod to ‘Small Biz Saturday’

I met Karen Maravilla long ago because of her association with the Downtown Hammond Council and as a fellow advocate for the arts.

While Karen was a guest on my WJOB 1230 AM radio show earlier this week for the Tuesday broadcast, I learned from her the origins of the annual commerce observation of “Shop Small Business Saturday,” which is always the Saturday following Thanksgiving and, of course, the day after Black Friday.

The day is designed to give a cash register boost in sales for locally owned family businesses that add their revenue math in the same ledgers and spreadsheets as large chain retailers.

What I didn’t realize is that it was American Express that launched the idea and promoted the first launch of “Small Business Saturday” back in 2010. This is also the same credit card company that once boasted and branded our local Hollywood Hoosier actor, the late, great Karl Malden, of Gary born and raised, as the company’s commercial spokesman who touted the slogan: “Don’t leave home without it!”

“The reason the idea came to help push the importance of small businesses back in 2010 is because at the time, we were still recovering from the recession of 2008,” Karen explained.

Karen’s on-air visit was also to spread the word about a new holiday shopping adventure launched this year by South Shore Arts.

Billed as “The Evergreen Artisan Market,” the cavernous 5,000-square-foot Bachman Gallery at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster, has taken a hiatus during the holiday for showcasing an artist loan exhibit in favor of spreading a wide spotlight on holiday artists with a range of wares, creative lines and original art pieces for sale in a transformed festive wonderland through Christmas Eve on Dec. 24. The market opened Nov. 21.

Twinkling string lights and the scent of cinnamon and pine greet visitors as they step into a celebration of winter and holiday memories and merchandise courtesy of local artisans, craftspeople, and confectioners parading handmade treasures in more than 20 decorated booths. Selections of items range from handmade, intricate custom ornaments and handwoven scarves to ceramics, breads and confections.

As the venue host, South Shore Arts is offering a variety of free, interactive art-making activities led by local artists and craftspeople with weekly demonstrations, such as ceramic wheel throwing, painting, and block printing for a behind-the-scenes look at how various artworks and crafts are created.

“It’s more than just a holiday market; the Evergreen Artisan Market is reminiscent of a living town square where the spirit of art making is as important as our annual celebrations and traditions,” said South Shore Arts Gallery Manager Brandon Johnson, who is serving as one of the guides of the Evergreen Artisan Market.

South Shore Arts began the callout for artist booth vendors back in September, asking for just a $125 commitment stipend to participate for the entire five weeks. The non-profit South Shore Arts organization receives a 15% commission from all sales.

The featured artist vendors for this first year are Carol Estes, Shari Pundich, Barry Viou, Kathleen Dejong, Chidera Onyeizeh, Leilani Sanchez, Francie Bean, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Grace Dedmon, Holly Dausch, Judi Boehner, Apryl Niksch, Jessie and the Grumpy Gnome, Krisi Yapp, Kate Lasser, Tom Sourlis, Tony Bianco and others.

The Evergreen Artisan Market is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and Thursdays noon to 7 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays noon to 4 p.m.

For this weekend’s “Small Business Saturday” on Nov. 29, there will be a special “sip and shop” from 2-4 p.m.

The South Shore Arts Gift Shop, run by Shop Manager Mara Clark, is a favorite shopping boutique for unique custom finds throughout the year. Located at the adjoining entrance of the Bachman Gallery, the gift shop will also be open during the same shopping hours as the Evergreen Artisan Market.

Since the gift shop sells my various cookbooks, Mara asked me to present a special free author holiday reading and short recipe demonstration for holiday entertaining next week during the Evergreen Artisan Market at 1 p.m. Dec. 4 in the Bachman Gallery. It’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit, along with some free recipe sampling and prize drawings.

For more information, visit www.southshoreartsonline.org or call 219-836-1839, ext. 108.

Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and weekly radio host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at philpotempa@gmail.com.