Zainab Al-Mehdar
Shawville May 28, 2022
The first of the season, the Shawville Street Market brought in about 35 different artisans from all over the Pontiac and many residents out to Main St. to enjoy local products, dancing, animals and a barbeque.
Main street was closed off to make the event more pedestrian friendly.
William Bastien, one of the organizers of the market, and a business owner himself, restores old furniture and . . .
gives it new life.
“For like the $15 entry fee to have a tent here, anything I sell I immediately make that money back,” said Bastien.
THE EQUITY spoke to some of the artisans about what they were selling.
Perfectly Imperfect, a jewelry business with a wide product line of rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, planters, and cheese forks was first inspired by Samantha Kluke’s love of making unique gifts for family and friends. From there, people started asking her for their own and the business flourished from there.
A market like this, Kluke said, helps get her out of the house and “just be social with people because I’m from Shawville so it’s good to see all my friends.”
Knot Firewood, another business at the market, has a simple business model based on mostly donated wood that Karen Davies cleans up and resells as trays, or charcuterie boards (she stains them with food grain oil).
“It started because it was all wood that I was piling from firewood, but they were too interesting so it’s not firewood,” laughed Davies as she explained how she came up with the name of her business.
All the way from Nova Scotia, a couple and their daughter, Ryan, Danielle and Charity Humble recently moved to Shawville to reconnect with their family roots. After 24 years Danielle felt like it was time to move back and said she couldn’t have been happier with the move.
Their business is called Fork and Kettle and they sell candy and different desserts that cater to the gluten-free community. They have been doing it for three years, but have only been in Shawville for a month and a half.
Bristol Bee is owned and operated by Natasha Beardsley who was also at the street market show-casing some of her summer-infused honey flavours, raspberry lemonade infused honey and orange creamsicle infused honey. She also sells reader’s tins, which is a collection of her products that she said make for great gifts.
Her sister was also doing a soft launch of her line of handcrafted locally sourced body care products. Her brand is called We the Divine. “She’s studying to be a doula and so she’s just looking for products that empower women and that are naturally sourced,” said Beardsley.
Another artisan, Nina Digioacchino grows luffa sponges and pointed out that many do not know that they are a plant and are in fact very challenging to grow in the area as they originate in hotter climates.
“You can use them on your body as an exfoliant, you can use them on your dishes. Once they get all grubby, you can throw them in boiling water to re-disinfect them and then you can keep reusing them,” said Digioacchino.
She also makes soaps and dog treat wraps with luffas. They’re generally grown in the Middle East or places such as Pakistan and Egypt. Her aim is to promote how multipurpose the luffa is. They are also biodegradable, eco-friendly and grown locally. She started the business two years ago, wanting to provide a truly green and eco-friendly product, as her background is in waste management. She grows them on her farm, Kafa Farms in Bristol Mines.
The 4-H club was also present with rabbits, a goat and sheep for kids to enjoy.
“The community asked us if we would come out with some animals. So we rounded up a group and we’ve had a pretty good turnout,” said Reese Rusenstrom, president of the 4-H club.
Shop Shawville and the street market’s head organizer, Jill McBain, plan on holding another street market during the summer, with the hopes of including different activities and more artisans to showcase the region.
