What does holiday shopping look like in the midst of global supply chain disruptions? Early indicators in northern Michigan point to a growing interest in holiday craft shows, mini-markets that spotlight local artists and artisans. Each year, these markets – hosted by schools, churches, museums, arts organizations, nonprofits, and a variety of other entities – fill up regional event calendars in November and December. This year, those events are in the spotlight.

Last weekend, the Dennos Museum hosted its annual Holiday Artist Market – typically one of the first big craft shows of the holiday season. Like other shows, the Dennos show brings together a mix of artists – including painters, ceramists, jewelers, metalworkers, glassware artisans, candlemakers, printmakers, and more – to show off (and sell) their wares. According to Nicole Zeiler, who manages both the Dennos Museum gift shop and the Holiday Artist Market, this year looks like it might have been the biggest in the event’s history.

“While I am just beginning to sort through the sales and data from the weekend, I can say we had nearly 2,000 people visit,” Zeiler tells The Ticker. “[That’s] a huge turnout for the market, and we had record artist and store sales.”

What’s driving the extra interest? The supply chain is one factor, with availability of everything from toys to books to electronics to ugly Christmas sweaters suffering thanks to bottlenecks in production and logistics. Another, Zeiler thinks, is that the pandemic has simply transformed what some consumers value.

“Not only do customers care more now about where their items are made and who made them, but they also care about supporting artists close to home and spending their dollars within the community,” Zeiler explains. “I believe this past year and a half has prompted many people to seek out gifts that are a bit more expressive, personal, and special – and that's what artists offer.”

That supportive atmosphere bodes well for the many holiday shows still to come (locals can catch a few today (Saturday) – such as a European-style Christmas market at EB2 Vintage in TC from 12-6pm (complete with roaring fires, hot spiced wine, roasted chestnuts, and locally-made chocolate treats), and a “Christmas Bazaar” at Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church from 9am-4pm).

Many of the area’s upcoming craft shows are longstanding holiday traditions. The Traverse City West Senior High Art & Craft Show will mark its 12th year on Saturday, November 20.

Other organizations are joining the trend for the first time ever. Take Arts for All Northern Michigan, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that seeks to offer inclusive arts and cultural experiences to people of all abilities in the five-county region. That organization will host a brand-new holiday fundraiser dubbed the Have a Heart Art Mart.

Scheduled for December 3-5 at the at Arts for All gallery on Woodmere, the Have a Heart Art Mart will feature more than 25 local artisans, all of whom have agreed to donate at least 50 percent of their profits to the organization. The Real Estate One Charitable Foundation will also match 50 percent of total event proceeds.

According to Sue Cronover, Arts for All’s executive director, the organization was drawn to the craft show model because it provided an opportunity “to bring more awareness to local artists and all the great work that they do, and to help them through what was a rough year.” As the organization started recruiting artists for the event, though, Cronover says she noticed a welcome trend: Artists, who were largely cut off from gallery showings, markets, pop-up shops, and other events in 2020, were busy once more.

“We were talking to the artists and they were saying, ‘Gosh, I want to be [a part of the Have a Heart Art Mart] but I'm already booked for this show or that show,’” Cronover says. “There's just so many places or organizations in so many towns that have something like this. It is very popular this fall, and that's really great for our artist community.”

According to Alissa Seelmann-Rutkofske, program assistant for Crooked Tree Arts Center (CTAC), there has been a definite uptick in interest for local arts-based programming this year. From gallery sales to class registrations, the organization and its affiliated artists have thrived in 2021.

“We have seen that sales and attendance have been a lot larger than we anticipated,” Seelmann-Rutkofske says. “I think, partially because of the pandemic, people are really looking forward to getting out and doing things, and celebrating things that you maybe would have taken for granted pre-pandemic. A lot of our community has seen that this pandemic affected the artist community quite a bit, and they’re eager to help.”

That shift in engagement, Seelmann-Rutkofske says, inspired CTAC to mix things up with the 2021 incarnation of its holiday craft show, called the Merry Marketplace. This year’s event will include a brand-new format, spreading programming across three weekends – December 2-4, 9-11, and 16-18 – and structuring everything around artist demonstrations and workshops. There will be a retail component, too: Each weekend will feature a different set of artists, and those artists will have their work for sale. But Seelmann-Rutkofske sees the new format mostly as an opportunity to encourage more active engagement between the local community and the arts.

“I think our customers are really looking for experiences,” Seelmann-Rutkofske explains. “Post-pandemic, where everybody was stuck inside and didn't get to experience many things, we all understand the value of being active and learning new things. So, for these marketplaces, we’re really making that a bigger focus.”