Wrap-up: NoDaRioty All Arts Market

We've spent the last day and a bit having a fantastic time at NoDaRioty's All Arts Market.  This was our first time participating - I tried to get a booth last time, but couldn't get registered quickly enough.  This time we were lucky enough to get in and secured a small booth in the basement.

The market is held in the Neighborhood Theatre building in NoDa which is a classic small theater that has been repurposed as a local club for musicians and artists.  The All Arts Market is held here four times a year.

There were basically three levels to the show - the entrance area where most of the people seemed to linger, the theatre area, and the basement.   Wayne went straight from work on Friday to set up and arrived quite a bit before me.  Shortly after I arrived I wandered upstairs to visit with the artists.  Below is a collection of just a few of the people and types of items that were available.

Not Made in China had an awesome poster that I think summed up the general feeling at the event.

They had a couple other fun things at their booth including t-shirts, tote bags, and many, many bottle openers.

My personal favorite is this button.  Too funny!

Beside Not Made in China was an amazing artist - Kat Crosby.  Her paintings were just breathtaking.  The lighting here is horrible and the background distracts from her work, so my picture doesn't begin to do her justice.  Take a look at her website for a better idea.

Next up is Mark Ellis who had hung a collection of birdhouses (somehow) from the ceiling.  They are fantastic little things - they each reminded me of an airstream (you can see one of Not Made in China's shirts in the background!).

Here's a closeup view of one so you get a better idea.  You can tell there is a significant amount of time involved with each of his beautiful pieces.  
Jody Burdette (represented here by her friendly husband) makes stuffed animals out of re-purposed wool sweaters.  They are adorable! She's a fellow etsy seller as well.

As I wandered downstairs I recognized Olive O Home from Etsy's Crown Town Handmade group.  She has cute coasters, napkins, and pillows.

On the way out of the room, I saw the work of Kendra Baird.  Her paintings are just gorgeous and full of emotion.  It turns out she's an etsy seller as well!  My crazy box fetish made me want to take home every little one she had for sale.

Downstairs there were several others artists including EV Metalworks.  There were bracelets, necklaces, earrings, etc to be had.

Elizabeth makes all her designs mark by mark with tiny little tools.  She has more patience than I can ever hope to have!  Click on the picture below to see how amazing the detail is.

We did pick up a thing or two for ourselves, but my favorite find was a painting by Carlleena Person who was at a booth diagonal from us.  I can't tell you exactly why I love this so much, but it just makes me happy.  As you can see its already on my wall and I put it in a prime place in the office so that I can see it while I'm working (like right now!).   :)

And (last but  not least!) here's a picture of our booth.  It was quite a challenge to fit all our wares onto one small table, but Wayne did a fantastic job.

Thanks to the organizers of NoDaRioty.  We definitely considered the market a success.

Also many,  many thanks to all the wonderful people who stopped by our booth to say hello and visit for a bit.  Talking with people is always our favorite part of doing any festival or market.  We hope to see you again in May!