Community Corner
Artisans Travel from all over for Downtown Farmington Founders Festival
Vendors report booming sales at this year's event.
On a smoldering Saturday afternoon, a little girl pranced up to a booth to get her ribbon princess crown.
“How do you know how to curl the ribbon?” the young girl asked in astonishment.
“Lots and lots of practice,” Carrie Manwaring, a craft vendor at this year’s Crafters Marketplace at the Downtown Farmington Founders Festival, said.
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This year’s festival brought eclectic crafts and a variety of people from all over the country.
“That is my favorite part, putting a smile on a kid's face,” Manwaring said.
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Manwaring sells princess halos made out of ribbon. This year is her first year at the festival, and she is sharing her booth with her sister, Christy Bartle, who sells wood yard art.
Another wood artisan, Steve Panich, creates personalized painted wood signs. His 19-year-old business has evolved from furniture to bird houses to the product he sells today.
“You have to keep up with what people want,” Panich said. “Out of the nine years I’ve been coming [to the Founders Festival] my favorite part is meeting all different people.”
Kelly Coronado, a San Antonio, TX native, was a real estate appraiser before finding her true passion: making jewelry. Owner and creator of Chloe Lane vintage inspired jewelry, she has been using odds and ends pieces to create stunning necklaces since 2005.
“I could never find jewelry I liked, so I decided to teach myself to make my own,” Coronado said.
U-Dog-U owner, Bill Merrill, came from Florida to the Downtown Farmington Founders Festival for the first time this year.
“We do about 35 shows a year and this has been a very good one so far. There’s a busy crowd and lots of business coming through,” Merrill said.
July is “Michigan month” for Go Jump In A Lake owner Lee Dayvault. His company makes and sells screen printed, then roughed up, home décor signs. The five-year-old company has been featured in L.L. Bean, Wireless Catalog, and One Kings Lane publications.
“I love Michigan and coming to the Founders Festival,” Dayvault said. “I think Michigan is feeling better about itself. My numbers are up from last year. The people here are so friendly and the volunteers are incredible. It’s a great sense of community.”
