I was embarrassed when I looked back and saw when I did my last post. I hope to do better this year since the Market hired a new assistant manager in March. Gina Levra has been a great addition to the market and will also be visiting farms and artist/craft vendor’s workshops throughout the year.

We have been busy visiting some new vendors over the last few months. A few have already started vending at the Market and others are working on getting required permits in place. If you have visited the Farmers Market lately, you probably noticed we do not have too much produce in yet. The long cold winter and the crazy amount of rain we have had over the last few weeks has put the farmers growing vegetables about three to four weeks behind. No one can get in the fields when they are saturated. This is one of the reasons that the farmers market has a 500-mile radius for our farmers. We do have three vendors who have farms in the Joplin area that are bringing their produce in and we have started to see asparagus, greenhouse tomatoes, radishes, kohlrabi and leaf lettuce. 

Way back in February I did my first farm visit for the year and boy was it an interesting one. Grover Reitz has started an agri-business in Olathe, Kansas raising saltwater shrimp. Limestone Shrimp is the name of Grover’s business and he had three 18’ saltwater pools set up in his pole barn. He is almost finished with his new barn, which will house 20’ pools and drastically increase his production. I got a real treat on this visit, Grover dipped out a few shrimp and took them in the house and cooked them for me to try. Amazing! You cannot get fresher than that in Missouri. Grover plans to sell the shrimp while they are still alive so has been working with the KC Health Department and the Department of Agriculture to make sure he complies with all Jackson County and Missouri regulations. I spoke with Grover last week and he hopes to be at the market in late June.  Limestone Shrimps web site should be up and going soon. www.limestoneshrimp.com

 

Back in March, I traveled to Excelsior Springs to meet Blaine Allan who definitely has a skill for woodworking. His furniture is unique and one of a kind and made with very few nails and screws if any at all. His wife is also super talented and works with leather. She was in the middle of recovering car seats in an old antique truck, amazing. Raw Nature Design plans to be at the market later this month. Their booth will contain handmade wallets, purses, resign art and beautiful furniture. For more information, visit their website at www.rawnaturedesign.com

 

On my way home in mid- March I stopped by Marilyn Villegas’s home in Odessa, Mo. Marylyn plans to sell garlic at the Sunday market if the rain has not washed her plants away. When I visited, things were just starting to sprouts so I hope the plants had a good hold before the rains started. 

We are excited about a couple of new artist that have applied at the Market this year. Both participated in last year’s Merry Market and enjoyed their market experience so much they decided to become vendors at the Sunday farmers market.

Jill Huxtable has a beautiful studio in her home, which takes up more than one level. She works in so many different mediums that she needs the space. When we walked into her living room, I was taken aback when I saw the two very large art pieces. They were so unique and beautiful. Jill is a mixed media artist who works in a variety of mediums from traditional drawing and painting to mixed media using found objects. She has recently started making yarn from old silk saris from India. Jill uses this yarn to make market totes and handbags. You will need to see them to appreciate how beautiful they are. For a better look at JH Design’s art, visit her website at www.jhdesignbyjill.com

Our second new artist is Crystal Ramirez. Crystal is a jewelry artist who creates her designs from sterling silver and precious stones. Some of her designs include wire wrapping, soldering and granulation. Crystal takes the art of creating one of a kind piece to the next level. Crystal will be at the market when she is not doing other shows. Once we have the dates she plans to attend, we will add them to her vendor profile on our website. Etsy.com/shop/cramirezjewelry