One of my favorite things to do in Chicago around the holidays is perusing any of the endless makers markets hosted around the city. Yes, these events happen year-round. But, the further away we get from Halloween, and the closer we get towards Thanksgiving, it seems like they multiply exponentially every weekend. I love the opportunity to support fellow makers and artists, as well as draw inspiration from all the people of various disciplines who table their products at events such as these. I like to look at people’s displays, ask them about their work, throw a little networking in while we’re at it, and imagine how I could see myself fitting into this scene in the future. At Columbia, the main student group that attends fairs, conventions, and works on “tabling” is Illustration – but at these makers markets there is no shortage of artists from all backgrounds.

A few weekends ago, on November 16th, I attended the Ravenswood Makers Market at the KOVAL Tasting Room. While it was a bit of a smaller market than ones I have attended in the past, it was packed to the brim with all sorts of artists. It was definitely a dangerous place for me to be, and I spent much more money than I intended to.

What ended up being most special about attending this event was that one of the first tables I stopped at was a maker and photographer who attended Columbia College Chicago! She was selling mostly cocktail kits and simmer pots, both hand-curated and stocked with dehydrated fruit and spice blends. However, I was drawn to the large bin on the side of her table full of photography prints. The artist mentioned that she was had prints on sale, selling all sizes for $10 a print, and immediately I was hooked. I have a lot of empty wall space in my on-campus apartment this year, and have been delaying hanging things up – but $10 for a high quality 16×20? Even my avoidance of commitment wouldn’t let me pass that up.

I began sorting through her entire bin, pulling out prints that I liked and that I thought would go well together in a gallery wall display. I went back through my piles a few times and picked out my ultimate favorites. Needless to say, we had a bit of time to chat, and she seemed impressed with my commitment. 

On her Etsy site, Alex King designates herself as a “creative alchemist”, and says that she is the “proud wearer of many hats—owner, photographer, designer, and crafter extraordinaire.” I love dabbling in many fields, and would love to have a career opportunity that would allow me to show off my jack-of-all-trades side. On her Instagram, Alex also shows some behind the scenes from starting her business, Alex and Krafts, detailing the challenges of managing a 9-5 job as well as trying to launch yourself as an entrepreneur. This is something I do not envy, but may eventually have to come around to in my own career as well. Regardless of what ends up happening for me, meeting other makers such as Alex and drawing inspiration from how they have followed their unique creative path gives me so much motivation and hope for the future.

Alex had a lot of photography from various places she’s traveled, and also some black and white photos from downtown in the Loop – which is how I ended up finding out she went to Columbia. I purchased a few of these for myself and my boyfriend who also is a Columbia alum. She was game to tell me about where many of her photos were taken, and shared her thoughts with me on the importance of personal travel photography – that having one great image from a place you’ve traveled can provide you with a tangible snapshot to remember the whole trip. I found this so meaningful and timely to my current semester.

First of all, I am in a Darkroom Dynamics photography class as an elective, and am loving learning how to shoot, process and print 35mm black and white film. This is a craft that I hope to continue practicing in my last semester of college in the spring, and possibly bring into my creative practice outside of school as well.

I am also currently planning a lot of travel – I applied for and was accepted to Columbia’s Creative Writing J-term in Paris! Of course, because I can’t do anything halfway, I am making a whole trip out of it. I am participating as usual in my family’s tradition of visiting my cousins in Massachusetts between Christmas and New Years, and then flying out of Boston abroad. I’m planning to do a solo night in London when I arrive, before taking the train through the Chunnel (a tunnel under the English Channel between the United Kingdom and France!) to get settled in before our program starts. I couldn’t figure out to how to swing tacking another European destination onto the end of the trip, so I decided instead to fly into New York City after the end of the program. I get to stay with my cousins on Long Island, and will finally get some time to explore New York City on my own, now that I’ve got Chicago down. All of this to say, if anyone has recommendations for how best to travel with undeveloped 35mm film, please let me know!! I’m going to try to shoot as many rolls as I can (and can also afford – film is expensive!) over these travels.

Talking to Alex, following her on Instagram after the event, and planning where I might hang her beautiful prints in my apartment really sparked my creative juices. I think it says a lot about a maker when they can do that for other creatives – especially those who are in the throes of the end of the semester, and who occasionally find themselves seeing little light at the end of the tunnel. I hope this story of running into a friendly Columbia face, seeking inspiration from and supplying inspiration for other artists, and supporting small businesses brings a smile to your face before the holiday season kicks into full gear!

Some other wonderful artisans I spoke to at the Ravenswood Makers Market:

Caitlin Yarbo Paper Art – papercraft and collage – @caitlinmyarbo

Forest Press Co – Margie Griggs – birding and screenprinted apparel – @forest_press_co

Flowering Fields Designs – Jackie Barron – illustration and calligraphy – @floweringfieldsdesigns