Bloomington, IN: Bloomington Handmade Market

There were at least FOUR craft shows this weekend in Bloomington. (This is how you know you live in an artsy/art/culture-focused town!) I made it to only one, the Bloomington Handmade Market. I actually went to this a few years back when I was at DePauw (the drive is only an hour), and just found out that I went to the very first one! So, that's cool. I can attest to the fact that it has gotten at least twice as large since 2009.

I didn't buy anything, but there were a LOT of very cool things. It kind of felt like Etsy come to life. There were also a ton of people (I was there around 11:30am; it had started at 10am and was going till 6pm), and I usually kind of swiftly travel through places with lots of people... but I did see a lot of chalkboard things, lots of soap (people here really like to make soap), scarves, kids' clothes, tea light holders made from wine bottles, cheese plates, handmade furniture, and loads of jewelry. I actually went to this hoping there would be Indiana-specific things (either the school or the state), but was kind of disappointed in the offerings. One booth had an Indiana state clock (very cool) and Indiana state earrings, and one booth had some prints and tote bags with "INLOVE" written on them.

Everything seems to be well made and high quality...and of course, handmade! This is an annual market that happens at the beginning of November. This year it was at the Bloomington Convention Center (the first time I went it was somewhere else, very small, that I can't remember the name of). If you are in the mood to see a lot of quality handmade items, I would definitely check it out. The website also has a page with a list of vendors if you want to check out what I saw Saturday.