The SoWa Open Markets -- Where Creativity is key!
This Sunday afternoon vendor-fest located in the cities south end offers Bostonian's a taste of true craftsmanship and the opportunity to surround themselves with creativity. The SoWa Markets pull in vendors from all over the map, ranging from New York, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Street walkers can stumble upon just about anything at SoWa -- from specialty foods, crafts, vintage design, painters and so much more. From mid-May to mid-October the markets can be found up and running on Harrison Avenue. After speaking with a few vendors -- it can be summarized that they all look forward to the SoWa season every year.
Stephen Valand and Erica Shea, both once film majors at Boston University, brought their new start up Brooklyn Brew Shop to the markets for the first time. Brooklyn Brew is a makes for-the-home beer brewing kits. Other then selling their product online, Valand and Shea (who happen to be dating) pitch stands at flea markets in the North East area. "People have been responsive -- it's a good crowd and of course, we've always loved Boston," Shea said. Brooklyn Brew Shop just celebrated its first birthday. According to Shea the process is very simple and fun -- she compared it to making a bowl of oat meal but oat meal that gets you drunk. The kits sell for around $40 dollars and a variety of flavors such as Blackberry Red Ale, Simcoe Smoke, Grapefruit Honey Ale and Rose Cheeked Blonde.
Making my way around the market I then came across a women sitting in what looked like a make-shift window on the side of a blue barn. The women, Anya Bredbeck, brought her company Requiem Fine art to the SoWa markets for the past two years. Bredbeck has been creating art her entire life but really started to pursue her passion at the age of 15. Now an artist, art teacher and carpenter, she gets inspirations for her pieces from the world around her. Her newest collection, The Janie Prescott Collection, was created from an old suitcase Bredbeck found on the street in Jamaica Plain. "I saw the suitcase and decided to take it -- when I opened it up with was filled with love letters from the 1940's," Bredbeck explained. The letters belonged to Janie Prescott and her secret lover, a woman named Marta. Because of the times and fear of forsaking their families the two women loved each other from a-far, corresponding only in secret love letters for over sixty years. Bredbeck took the letters and incorporated them into her artwork. The collection is a series of antique spoons that have been shaped, put on a chain and made into necklaces. Bredbeck then cut up different words from the letters and placed them on the backs of the necklaces. "It's like you're carrying with you a fragment of love past but not forgotten," she said. Bredbeck works out of her home in Jamaica Plain.
The SoWa markets gather together the most interesting and friendly people of their trades. I then came across a painter -- she was humbling running around her booth, moving from canvas to canvas, applying paint to random areas. A native of New Hampshire, she said she only uses recycled paints. "I'm in with the dump," she laughed. "When they find a half empty paint can, they call me right up." She explained that using recycled paint was the only way she could afford to continue with her passion. "I also like the green aspect of it," she said, "people always buy paint and then throw it out!" Her painting can take anywhere from five minutes to two hours and only incorporate the brightest, happiest of colors.
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Perkiomenville auction and flea marketby Gunners762324 views
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