Boulder County Home & Garden Magazine, Summer 2010 – web only

Open-air markets offer a great opportunity to find handcrafted goods for your home, and fresh air and sunshine for your head.

By Debra Melani

A woman flips crêpes, their slightly sweet scent mingling with the spices of homemade tamales simmering a few booths down. A man hawks belts created from used skateboard parts, and a photographer displays prized shots of Colorado’s stunning outdoors.

Top this scene with sunshine, live music, smiling faces and an array of wares for the house, patio and beyond, and the outdoor market season is officially underway in the Front Range. Ask any avid market-goer, and they’re bound to tell you that this summer pastime beats indoor shopping any day.

“I just love it,” says Suzanne Pomeroy, a Lyons resident and one of the first to enjoy last summer’s inaugural season of the Lyons Outdoor Market. “I like unique things,” she says, noting her fondness for the hand-painted gourd birdhouses she saw at the Lyons event. “I get frustrated when I go shopping and find only the same things that I’ve seen before. And I’m a real outdoor enthusiast, so I would rather shop outside.”

The festive atmosphere and distinctive finds, combined with the satisfaction of supporting the community and meeting local artisans, inspired Matt DePofi and Susan McCausland to launch the Lyons market last summer. The pair are addicted to outdoor markets, and have browsed booths from San Diego to the tiny town of Minturn, Colo. They never leave empty-handed, McCausland says, recalling her most recent find: a cheese tray made from a melted wine bottle. “I bought two—one for a gift and one for me,” she says.

During one of their many road trips, the couple decided to launch the Lyons market after discussing an artist they’d met whose work they purchased for their home.

Fair Affairs

The Lyons market joins the popular and well-established Boulder County Farmers’ Market Fine Arts & Crafts Fair. “We’ve quadrupled sales and participation during the past 10 years,” says Karen Diamond, who began managing the event, now in its 19th season, nearly a decade ago. Diamond says the fair’s popularity is buoyed by recession-weary citizens eager to support local businesses.

“The local food movement is huge right now and I think, in many people’s minds, that expands to supporting local businesses,” says Diamond, whose fair runs periodically in conjunction with the Farmers’ Market in Boulder and in Longmont (see “Circle the Date” on this page).

Given the event’s burgeoning popularity, fair organizers are picky about vendors, admitting only those with diverse and high-quality products—or, as Pomeroy puts it, “nothing cheesy.”
“We’ve really been able to raise the bar,” Diamond says of her fairs, which are now juried events. The artisans are also required to be Colorado-based.

But that doesn’t limit selection by any means. Market-goers can find anything from colorful, handmade Adirondack chairs, jewelry and naturally scented candles to body-care products, hand-blown dishes and distinctive art in all mediums.

Diamond’s own garden boasts a number of pieces she’s collected over the years, including a beloved birdbath. Engraved and painted with greens and golds, it’s a bowl shaped like a leaf. “I also have a sculpture of a woman holding a basket that I place a little flowering plant in every year,” she says.

In addition to products, a wide range of price tags and entertainment is available at outdoor markets. Expect everything from live music and face painting to culinary demos and wine tastings. Ciatano Winery in Lyons has a booth at the Lyons market, and Augustina’s Winery of Boulder offers locally crafted vintages at the Boulder market.

No matter what you’re looking for at an outdoor market, you can’t lose, Diamond says. “When you’ve got a day with great weather and music and art and food, it’s just a winning combination.”

Market Finds

Here are some items you might find at outdoor markets:

Yellow Lotus Designs
Boulder’s Chris Huang applies colored pencil and ink on wood to depict mandalas, supernatural nature images and other portrayals of the natural world.

Chris Anderson Photography
Boulder photographer Chris Anderson captures the West’s beauty in this shot called “Aspen Glow,” part of his Colorado collection.

Alpine Wine Design
Using mostly recycled woods from shipping crates and wine barrels, Lakewood artist Brad Evans creates furniture and accessories, including this fruit platter made from Napa Valley wine barrels and barrel-band metal handles.

Wandering Blue Pottery Studio
Tania Corvalan of Nederland crafts pottery with layered, food-safe glazes in abstract patterns to create unique pieces like this pitcher.

Straight Up Chess
Denver’s Steve Schrier created this wall-mounted chessboard. The boards are made of walnut, cherry or maple, and the chess pieces come in a variety of materials and designs.

Circle the Date

Here are dates for outdoor markets  that could yield lovely finds  for your home or garden:

Lyons Outdoor Market

Main Street, Lyons
Saturdays,  10 a.m.-3 p.m. through Oct. 9

Boulder County  Farmers’ Market  Fine Arts & Crafts Fair

Central Park, Boulder
July 17, Aug. 21,  Sept. 18, Oct. 16
Boulder County Fairgrounds, Longmont
July 31, Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Dec. 4-5

For year-round, market-like shopping, Boulder County also has a few flea markets:

Lafayette Collectibles &  Flea Market

Features everything  from new merchandise and crafts to antiques  and collectibles, 303-665-0433.

Front Range Mercantile Indoor Flea Market

A Longmont market with 21,000 square feet of furniture, accessories and more,  303-776-6605.

Tables to Teacups

A 30,000-square-foot, family-owned Longmont flea market, 303-485-7270.