MORGANTOWN — The Handcrafted Cooperative held its first holiday market on Saturday at the pavilion on Spruce Street.
Founder Megan Ursic said she wanted to create a place where the community could come and support small businesses and buy handmade items.She said many of the 45 vendors sold unique products that can’t be found anywhere else. The cooperative has grown bigger in each of its four appearances in Morgantown, Ursic said.
The crowd Saturday was the biggest one yet and a drone was being used to capture it for marketing purposes, she said. Ursic said she likes to keep it local and a WVU student was hired to take photos and video of the event.
Some in the crowd, such as Hannah Booth, 24, were crossing names off their Christmas shopping list.
Booth said she’s was able to find gifts for a few friends and family members.
Others, such as Ashley Gillespie were buying primarily for themselves. Gillespie said she bought a hand-knit toboggan, a piece of snowflake art, an ornament of West Virginia, a hand towel she purchased from Ursic and homemade cotton candy for her kids.
She described the market as a “super fun morning” and said she planned to have lunch with a friend when she finished shopping.
It only took about an hour for The Flower Girl Co., which sells evergreen wreaths made from locally sourced and foraged branches, to almost sell out owner Brittany Anderson said.
Anderson said Saturday was her first time setting up shop at the cooperative and she couldn’t believe the size of the crowd.
“The support from the community has been awesome,” she said.
The Handcrafted Cooperative will have four shows in 2019, Ursic said. People can find out the details by visiting thehandcraftedcooperative.com or organization’s Facebook page.
