Students from elementary and middle schools in Evanston brought their handmade creations to sell and showcase at the Youth Handmade Holiday Marketplace on Saturday.
Organized by the Art Makers Outpost — an art-focused maker space located at an art studio on 609 South Blvd. — youth vendors became entrepreneurs, selling jewelry, crocheted animals, still life photography, painted canvases and slime. Each booth was stocked with colorful arrays of artwork labeled with handwritten price tags.
Elementary school student Serena Torres, who attends the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School, sold custom pens, keychains and necklaces at her booth. She said she was inspired by her mother’s path to becoming an entrepreneur.
“A lot of negative stuff happens in the world,” Torres said. “So I’m hoping that my creations can bring peace of mind and that people can feel creative to make stuff like mine.”
AMO organizes classes, camps, workshops, concerts and markets to encourage youth learning and community building in Evanston.
As co-founder and creative director of AMO, Valerie Kahan said the marketplace is an outlet for kids to share their “creative and incredible” ideas.
“It’s really important to showcase what kids can do and give them the opportunity to show the community what they can do,” Kahan said. “And also for adults to see kids as capable.”
AMO places a special focus on markets during the holiday season, and hopes to hold more in the late winter and summer, according to Kahan.
Haven Middle School student Annie Bruder said she adjusts her crocheted products to match each season’s biannual market.
“I did a Halloween market in the past, so I made a lot of spiders,” Bruder said. “For this one, I made them Christmas or Thanksgiving themed.”
Attendee Judy Carlsen said she strongly recommends the outpost to prospective shoppers.
“I have grandchildren, so several things I’m looking at are for Christmas presents,” Carlsen said. “There are good price points here and some useful things as well.”
In after school and summer sessions, students are taught the process of creating logos, merchandising, fine tuning their crafts and developing their own businesses.
AMO also hosts winter break camps and field trips for their participants, focusing on expanding entrepreneurship opportunities.
“We teach them to expand what they can make and market materials so that they can start businesses,” Kahan said. “We’re hoping we can expand what opportunities we can provide.”
AMO also organizes the After Dark Concert Series, bringing in a variety of performers and encouraging attendees to donate to their scholarship fund for students in their programs.
There will be two more holiday marketplaces featuring adult artisans on Nov. 30 and Dec. 14 at 690 South Blvd. in Evanston.
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