Fans of handmade and locally produced goods can support like-minded artisans today during the Handmade Homemade Market in the River North Arts District.
To be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Green Spaces, a cooperative work space for eco-minded entrepreneurs, the market offers backyard gardeners and craftspeople a venue to sell small- batch wares.
Visitors will find homemade bread and pastries, fresh veggies from metro-area gardens, handmade soaps, local goat’s milk and cheese, and knitted accessories made from hand- spun wool. There will even be such on-site services as haircuts and bike tuneups.
“It evolved after we saw the San Francisco underground farmers market,” says event co-founder Matt Gettleman. “This is a way to reach really small-scale producers — people who just work from home on something they love.”
This will be the fourth installment of Denver’s Handmade Homemade Market, also known as “HaHo.” Gettleman, 25, along with his girlfriend, Kylie Manson, 24, began the series in April in Boulder. When they moved to Denver, the market moved with them, and has grown from a tight-knit group to more than 20 vendors and 150 attendees at last month’s installment.
As a members-only market, organizers are able to bypass certain restrictions that apply to most urban farmers markets, such as requiring that baked goods be produced in a commercial kitchen rather than a home kitchen. But since membership is free, anyone who attends is automatically included in the group.
Trading and bartering is encouraged. So clever shoppers may be able to work deals that don’t involve traditional currency at all, which is another goal for the group.
“There are lots of different alternative currencies,” Gettleman says. “There’s the community table, there’s bartering and trading, even just showing appreciation can be a way to give value to things without using the U.S. dollar.”
To further encourage the use of alternative currency, shoppers are asked to bring “something of value” as an entrance fee. That something might include baked goods, used books or even offers to trade services. “I don’t have any real expectations other than whatever people think is valuable,” Gettleman says.
For those who prefer traditional currency, a suggested donation of $5 will suffice.
Gettleman and Manson encourage new ideas for the market and view the project as an ongoing experiment for creative living.
“So many people don’t think of themselves as producers; they only see themselves as consumers,” says Gettleman. “So this empowers people to add something to the marketplace and the community.”
Denver Handmade Homemade Market is today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Green Spaces, 1368 26th St. (between Larimer and Walnut streets). For more information or to participate as a vendor, visit or e-mail Denverhhm@gmail.com.
