SWAMPSCOTT — Made by 01907, the artisan fair that rallies local creators, vendors, and community members together, will be returning Saturday for its seventh annual event at the First Church in Swampscott Congregational.
The event is slated to begin at 10 a.m.
Hannah Sharpless Graff, one of the main volunteers behind setting up the fair, explained that the event has its origins rooted in the former Reach Arts organization, similar to events like the annual Porch Fest and Garden Art Walk.
“Our first year that we held an in-person event was right before COVID-19, and it was conceived as a way to highlight local makers and connect them… Not just to sell, but also to help people make connections so that people might be able to have more fulfilling artistic experiences in town,” Graff said.
She noted that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Made by 01907 tried twice to run the event virtually, though due to various conflicts, the fair’s volunteers decided to keep it an in-person event.
“It was a lot of work — I don’t recommend it — but I think it actually was a really good thing for people to have during the pandemic. We hand-delivered items to people’s doors after they won prizes,” she recalled. “After COVID, though, it helped us because people started to understand what we were doing.”
In addition to hand-painted, hand-crafted items — which includes everything from sewn goods to glass-blown creations — community members will also be able to mingle amongst more than 20 vendors that lined up to participate in the event, which are listed below:
- Sew Envious
- Grit & Polish Design
- TB’s Dots on Pots
- North Shore Bowls
- Tieger Ceramics
- Wilder Woodworks
- Dragonfly Home Studio
- KD Creations
- Kate in the Kitchen
- Draw with Yulia
As well as:
- BeachSide Treasures
- Priscilla Low
- Hannah Cloud Sharpless
- Signs by Mico
- MiraMar Printmakers
- Eglassylady
- The Krafting Crew
- Altshul Creative Arts
“The event almost runs itself in the sense that we know how it goes, where it’s going to be. A lot of the work beforehand is about getting the word out, soliciting artisans,” she explained. “We’ve actually gotten to a point where we’re receiving more applications than we have spaces for, which is amazing, but it stinks because sometimes you have to turn people you know away.”
Graff highlighted that My Brother’s Table will be one of the vendors at the event and will be collecting donations to help those struggling with food insecurity.
“They’ve had a table here every year since we began the event… And they’ll be there to talk to people about the need for supportive food services in Lynn and the Greater Boston area,” she said.
She also noted that another important element of the fair is the inclusion of Discovery Point, a special education program for students between the ages of 18-22 that teaches important job skills while helping them create unique crafts.
“It’s a really nice event,” Graff said. “It’s nice to have something that’s local and supports our local artisans and small businesses while bringing the community together.”
