For two Sundays each month, Davis hosts a craft and vintage fair filled with local vendors, home made arts and crafts and hand-picked vintage clothing
If you’re worried about getting a case of the Sunday scaries this fall, take solace in the fact that on the first and third Sunday of each month, you can head over to the Craft and Vintage Fair. It is easy to spend plenty of time (and money) on jewelry, cute art prints, affordable vintage clothes, candles and so much more. This bi-monthly event takes place right in Central Park, essentially replacing the food and produce tents from Saturday’s farmers market with those of local artists and vendors, while providing an equally social and relaxing atmosphere.
With the addition of vintage clothing and accessories to the craft fair, there really is an incredibly wide range of items to browse. According to Debra Ariola, a volunteer at the fair and vendor of vintage jewelry, since adding vintage sellers there has been a very different feel to the fair.
“Inclusivity is big […] It used to be super selective about who got to sell, but now we just want people to succeed,” Ariola said.
Walking down the long aisle of tents and tables, it is clear to see the inclusivity, with brand new vendors selling alongside seasoned professionals. Jazlyn Vy, a fourth year
sustainable agriculture and food systems major at UC Davis, has been selling her homemade candles and crystals at the fair for just two months. Vy, who had previously been a customer of the craft fair, decided to fill out the online application and since then has been thoroughly enjoying the chance to sell her work in person in addition to online.
“It’s definitely super social even just with the other vendors. We all chat and get to buy each other’s stuff,” Vy said.
The craft fair is a great place to meet up with friends and shop, or just to head out on your own and look for the perfect piece of decor for your wall, a truly unique piece of clothing or even to go chat with the friendly vendors and customers.
Rhiana Rutherford, a third year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, has been making an effort to visit the craft fair more ever since she learned of it her first year in Davis. The craft fair can easily become a fun ritual on Sundays, or even just a good excuse to get up and out of your room.
“The first thing I bought at the craft fair were some cute fruit earrings, actually starting a chain of me buying fruit themed earrings for a while,” Rutherford said.
Because the vendors are all local and most often the faces of their own small businesses, there really is no guilt in treating yourself to a treasure found at the craft fair. According to Ariola, the true showrunner, the fair currently has more Davis vendors than ever before.
Showcasing how local this fair really is are vendors Anahi (@anaromasco) and Adele (@junellajewels), who were born and raised here in Davis and now sell homemade candles and jewelry, respectively. While they have just recently started vending at the fair, they fit right in with the rest of the crowd, displaying their beautifully made crafts under a shared white tent.
“I have a focus on calming vibes,” Anahi said of her candles—each one concentrating on aiding a certain aspect of the user’s mental well-being.
More details or information on the Davis Craft and Vintage Fair can be found on their Facebook page (@SquareTomatoesDavis), and if you make it to the next one, be sure to take the time to check out all the different amazing vendors and local art.
Written by: Angie Cummings — arts@theaggie.org
