Katherine Graves ~ Assistant Editor
You can meet local artisans and enjoy music and beer at Meet the Makers Nite on Friday, Sept. 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Conscious Mercantile on Main St. in downtown Lynchburg.
“We’ll have about 20 to 30 of our local makers come out,” said Stephanie Atkinson, owner of Live Trendy or Die and The Conscious Mercantile.
Atkinson said most of the artisans who have merchandise in her stores will be at the event. Merchandise and artisans at the event will include jewelry from Little Paper Crane, furniture from Renovative Home and clothing, accessories and candles from Dinosaur Toes.
The event will feature live music from local artist, Sara Edwards.
There will be beer, soda and water available at the event.
Atkinson stated that they will not have food at the event. She encourages attendees to visit the downtown restaurants, such as Kegney Brothers, Dish and the newly opened restaurant The Water Dog.
People can also buy tickets to the Vintage Lynchburg Holiday Sale 2016 and join the Grassroots Local Market co-op at the event, according to the event’s Facebook page.
Vintage Lynchburg is a bi-annual vendor market that will take place Saturday, Nov. 5 in downtown Lynchburg. Tickets are $3, and a portion will benefit Freedom 4/24, according to the Vintage Lynchburg event’s Facebook page. Freedom 4/24 is a non-profit organization that works to help survivors and victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, according to the organization’s website.
Grassroots Local Market is food-co-op, “a grocery store that is collectively started, owned and governed by its members,” according to the market’s website. The market has not opened yet, and the members are working to reach their membership goal, Atkinson said.
“Grassroots is a food co-op that’s looking to take space in downtown across from the community market. And I think they’re about halfway to their membership goal,” Atkinson said. “The idea is they’re going to end the food desert downtown—because we don’t have a grocery store—and provide a local shopable option.”
Atkinson is from the Philadelphia and New Jersey area. She said that, in 2010, she moved here with her husband when he took a job in Lynchburg. She has 15 years of customer service and specialty retail experience and 10 years of merchandising and visual display experience.
Atkinson stated that she opened Live Trendy or Die about a year ago. Since then, she has opened The Conscious Mercantile, which carries “hip home and gift products,” according to the store’s Facebook page.
Atkinson hopes to make the Meet the Makers Nite a quarterly event that will either be held at The Conscious Mercantile or Live Trendy or Die.
Live Trendy or Die is located at 1101 Church St. They are open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed on Mondays.
The Conscious Mercantile is located at 1024 Main St. They are open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. They are also closed on Mondays.
