Buying handmade is a great way to make sure your holiday shopping has a positive impact. By directly supporting a handmade artists, you’re doing more than just helping them live their dream. You know that the product in your hand was produced under humane conditions and that the maker is receiving a fair wage for her work. On top of that, handmade gifts are unique and have so much more heart than something you’d pick up at the big box store.
If you’re in the Atlanta area and are looking to buy handmade on Black Friday instead of hitting the mall for mass-produced wares, the Woodruff Arts Center has you covered. They’ve teamed up with the Alliance Theater and the Indie Craft Experience to put together Atlanta’s first ever handmade pop up shop.
The shop will be open starting tomorrow through the end of December, but to show their appreciation for Atlanta’s handmade community, they’re having a special launch party tomorrow from 4-9pm. The first 100 shoppers will receive custom swag bags full of samples and goodies from indie crafters.
I’m a big fan of the Indie Craft Experience. Founders Christy Petterson and Shannon Mulkey have worked hard since their first show in 2005 to put Atlanta on the crafty map. This pop up shop is going to feature a lot of the same vendors that they have at their holiday market, which was just last weekend here in Atlanta. You can see some of the lovely, handmade finds I scored at that show in the photo at the top of this post. I can’t wait to hit the pop up shop to support even more independent artists while fulfilling my Christmas shopping list!
Not in Atlanta? Don’t fret! You can still buy handmade this holiday season. I have a handy resource guide for handmade holiday shopping over at Green Upgrader to help get you going.
[Full disclosure: I’m selling some of my handmade goods in this pop up shop. ]