Crafty Wonderland is a Portland community event held at the Oregon Convention Center featuring over 275 vendors selling homemade crafts and numerous other goods. This remarkable market takes place twice a year, held Dec. 13-15 this past year. The spring market takes place on May 2 and 3 this year and is held annually each May. From homemade clothing to ancient dolls to various types of artwork and food, this market offers unique things for everyone, and you can roam around the lined-up tables for hours.
The market was founded in April 2006 and has since become the largest handmade craft show in the Northwest, according to the Crafty Wonderland website. Two local Portland artists and best friends, Torie Nguyen and Cathy Zwicker share how they both originally had their own businesses selling handmade items and would set up at seasonal craft fairs together. The idea for Crafty Wonderland first began as a small monthly craft fair in the basement of the Doug Fir Lounge. “We felt like we had enough experience selling at shows to know what we thought would make a good craft fair so we decided to start one,” explains Nguyen.
Nguyen and Zwicker have also established two local retail shops open year-round — one in downtown Portland and the other on NE Alberta Street. “We exclusively sell work by over 200 Portland area artists as well as various art supplies,” Nguyen says. Shoppers can meet the makers and find homemade items that can’t be bought in other stores. “Sometimes having a face to put with a piece of art or knowing you’ve met the person who made your new favorite earrings makes them that much more special,” Nguyen says.
The Crafty Wonderland markets bring thousands of people each year with an average of 12,000-13,000 attendees, earning the “Best of Portland” title by the Willamette Week. The vendors are rotated at each market, so you will always find something new even if you’ve attended before.
Many vendors, like Lindsay Holmes, have attended for years. Holmes created MapleXO, which is a business that takes recycled skateboards and turns them into colorful pieces of jewelry. She explains how she loves meeting people at the market. “The market allows me to get feedback from my customers and also see people’s reactions to what I create,” Holmes says. She has been selling her items for over a decade and has been a vendor at Crafty Wonderland for the past 18 years. She continues, explaining that she came across the mini craft fair that had begun at Doug Fir Lounge while looking for new jewelry. Inspired by the experience, she decided to start making her own products while helping the environment by using recycled skateboards at the same time. “We’re reducing carbon footprint and helping boards live on forever!”
As any age can sell, artists selling at Crafty Wonderland range from young children to older adults. Linus is a 10-year-old who’s been selling hand-drawn cards at Crafty Wonderland for five years. He first began selling to foster his passion for drawing and to make others happy with his art pieces. His range of festive Christmas cards to birthday cards with dinosaurs holding balloons are all hand-drawn with astounding creativity. He mentions that he is making significant money through his sales, his goal being $200 per day that he sells.
Every vendor has something different and offers items you may have never seen or heard of before. Serge Trotter sells illustrated playing cards, and each deck is a different country he has traveled to, with each card in that deck having a different site from the country drawn on it. He draws each card on the spot and makes decks with a table of contents, which tells you the names of each site that was drawn. Trotter says with a smile, “You can use it as a travel guide and a playing deck!” Trotter has been following in his father’s footsteps with a journal he left behind and has been visiting each spot his father wrote about, inspired to draw it. “I love sharing stories from my travels with people who attend this diverse event!”
This market is a place where people can come together and express themselves while the vendors can make a living from what they love doing. Every interaction is filled with kindness, and you can feel the cozy holiday atmosphere everywhere. It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with others while supporting the local vendors and finding one-of-a-kind gifts for those you love. Nguyen says she hopes that along with Zwicker they can continue to bring artists and shoppers together, keep supporting the local community, and inspire future generations of makers and entrepreneurs.
