Dec. 4—ROCHESTER — Supporting local makers during the holidays doesn’t just mean buying things to hang on a wall or put on a shelf.
Are you looking for soaps and lotions? Scrub going to a big box store. Rochester-based The Great Soap Company, Skyes Salves and other local artisans make sweet smelling offerings. Are you considering clothes, knit hats, scarves or other wearables to give as gifts? Brooke Burch and various other knitters, have you covered.
Local artisans such as Carey Shanahan’s EarthBound Designs in Rochester Eastside Neighborhood and Comradery Pottery in Zumbrota, Minnesota, offer ceramics and dishware that are both displayable and practical.
Supporting local makers during the holidays also means being able to give one-of-a-kind gifts while supporting local artisans and entrepreneurs.
But even makers realize people who support local creators only have so much room.
“I think most people who enjoy art eventually run out of room but they still want to find ways to support artists and incorporate art into their lives,” said Beth Sievers, a Rochester artist.
Before this year,
most of her art, created using pigmented beeswax was put on canvas, recycled wood and other found surfaces.
Thanks to a grant from the Southeast Minnesota Arts Council this year, her art is found on more items ranging from earrings and other jewelry to light switch plate covers.
“I’m trying to make art with more functionality,” she said.
Sievers had her creations on display at a pop-up event at Little Thistle Brewing Co., Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, but also has them available via her new online store and at retail outlets including Clover and Rose, Art Heads Emporium, Gathered goods at Forager Brewing, the Chateau Theater and at Threshold Arts.
The Threshold Arts retail space, 311 S. Broadway Ave., in downtown Rochester was initially set up as a pop-up space for makers to sell their creations during the holiday season in 2020. Three years later, more than 60 Threshold members have art and handmade goods for sale in the store.
Variety is key to the shop’s success, said store manager Brenna Brom.
“You can find a little bit of everything,” she said.
Adding to the roster of creators has helped diversify what people can find at the store, said Naura Anderson, founding director of Threshold Arts.
“We literally get new work in every day,” Anderson said. “We’re not a one-time visit place — you’re going to want to come back.”
Items that promote Rochester tend to be popular with visiting shoppers, Brom added.
“Anything with the corn cob tower does well,” Brom said.
Threshold turned the shop’s rear gallery space into more retail space for the holiday shopping season. Sales have picked up, Brom added.
“Artists put a lot of time and work into what they do,” she said. “This is a big part of their income this time of year.”
Also downtown, the Rochester Art Center’s gift shop has items by more than 45 makers ranging from art, prints, pottery, ceramics, clothing and more. Handmade scarves, Sashiko Totes, potholders, pouches and coasters from Kan Fiber Studio are the latest additions to the store.
The store also carries supplies for budding artists who want to make their own creations, said Kallianne Morrison, advancement coordinator at the Rochester Art Center.
Not everything created by local creators is a one-off made by hand. Garden Party Books has a selection of books penned by Minnesota authors. That includes “Just Stay Away,” Rochester author Tony Wirt’s newest horror novel. The book has been a top seller in the horror genre among Amazon Prime members through Amazon First Reads in the Kindle Store. However, you can get your hands on a physical copy with no waiting at Garden Party Books.
“Goodnight, Loon” by Old Abe’s owner Abe Sauer, a North Star State take on the children’s classic, “Goodnight Moon,” is also available at Garden Party Books.
The store also has a small selection of pottery from Zumbrota-based Comradery Pottery which share’s space with Garden Party Books’ Zumbrota retail store, Zumbrota Literary Society.