In early April Sara and I headed to Blacksburg, VA for Burnt Creative Market. How much did I know about Blacksburg before going? Nada. Sara's friend Colleen lives there, so instead of doing my typical internet research before heading to a new city, I just let Sara guide me.
We arrived and after checking into the hotel, we headed to The River Company for dinner. The restaurant is charming with high ceilings and wooden beams. There's also a brewery in the building which you can see from the second floor.
Colleen was due with her first when we visited. She's since delivered a healthy baby girl named Carolyn - congrats Colleen! Here she is with my sis.
While we were waiting for dinner, I wandered onto the deck and discovered that the restaurant was appropriately named. The view was gorgeous.
After dinner we wandered a bit, had frozen yoghurt, and got to see Colleen's nursery. Sara and I crashed after that - we had to be up early to head to the market.
Burnt Creative was held in downtown Blacksburg on a street that was partially blocked off for the event. At the top of the street was the Blacksburg Farmer's Market.
After Sara and I set up, I wandered up the farmer's market to walk around and I must say, I was quite impressed. The setup was nice with covered walkways (great to avoid rain and sun), and there was a great mix of vendors present.
I loved Stonecrop Farm's setup. Simple and attractive.
I spent a minute or two gazing at the wares of Green Star Farm. They sell produce as well as breads, lotions, soap, and massage oils. For whatever reason, I loved this sign.
In the middle of the market was a tent with folks cooking. It's hard to read on the sign, but the menu is broken down with all the farm inputs listed (ex: bread from farm A, beef from farm B). Very cool.
In the middle of the market is a large open area. There was a kid's craft table and several people had bubbles. I immediately started giggling after seeing the dog below. He would wait oh so patiently while someone was holding the large bubble wand.
And when someone created a large bubble? He would jump. Straight up sometimes. And pop it with his mouth. I can't imagine it tasted good, but it definitely was humorous to watch. :)
As I was heading back down I saw this gentleman sitting with his dog. She was absolutely beautiful, so I had to take a quick picture. He said she was an Australian Shepherd. Believe it or not, she had gorgeous blue/grey eyes.
Heading back to Burnt Creative....Here's the entrance to the market. Lots of traffic seemed to filter down from the Farmer's Market.
Here is Tracy's booth from Patina South. It doesn't matter where I see her, her booth always looks gorgeous.
I also quite admired Mountain Light Jewelry's booth. The layout was adorable - all in vintage suitcases (briefcases?).
DeSoriaDeSign was displaying gorgeous jewelry. My picture is not great, so I high recommend checking out her Etsy shop. I believe I shall need to own a pair of her earrings soon.
Jessica, the owner of Burnt Creative and the producer of the market, had charming desk accessories all wrapped in fabric.
More jewelry I liked (of course). A Little Twisted's display incorporated rustic wood and stone.
Our neighbor on one side, Bimbur Books, had an eclectic mix of books that she binds herself. Little tiny pieces of art. She was also selling hula hoops. Yep - our second time beside a hooper at an event! Her books are truly amazing.
Across from us was Dashing Dog Studio. They were wonderfully nice folks and single handedly protected us from certain death at the hand of our tent. Really. I promise.
Just a few booths down from us was a set of vintage sellers that had a fantastic booth. Salvaged Threads and Salvage Girl shared a booth and did an amazing job! I could have spent an hour in there wandering around and checking out all the little goodies they had. See the owls in the basket? Adorable.
Our neighbor to the other side, Marshfluff, made ingenious little boo boo bunnies from kid's socks. They were filled with plastic balls. You store them in the freezer and in the case of a boo boo, they are available to lend a helping hand (or tail?).
And the required picture of Whispering Willow's booth. We were under a big tree and the product definitely benefited from the extra shade.
Here's a shot of our new gift baskets. We put these together as easy options for mother's day, but we may keep offering them at upcoming events.
Here's a quick shot I took when I ducked out the tent. The market stayed fairly busy like this all day.
It was such fun to meet new folks and get a quick intro to Blacksburg. We're definitely looking forward to our return visit in June. We might even be able to share a photo of Carolyn. :)