In their own ways, they’re both about offering struggling groups a leg up.
Now, the Bainbridge Island Special Needs Foundation and the Madison Street Bazaar are lending each other a helping hand.
The bazaar, Bainbridge’s version of a flea market, has moved to the front lawn of BISNF’s Stephens House for this summer’s Saturday sales – an eclectic mix of art, collectibles, jewelry, clothing and crafts.
“We’re not really a garage sale, and we don’t take away from retail stores – we’re in that middle ground,” said vendor Erin Wyatt.
It was the lack of that “middle ground” – an inclusive venue in which artists, craftspeople and collectors from around the area could sell their work – that prompted Sally Sawyer to organize the first bazaar last year.
While the farmers’ market provides a few craftspeople with a weekly outlet, its charter limits the number that can participate – and requires them to be Bainbridge residents, said jewelry designer Mary Edwards, who sells her line of “Joi de Vie” jewelry at the bazaar.
“The farmers’ market is pretty exclusive – as it should be,” said Edwards, who lives in Suquamish. “Sally wanted to give local artists another venue.”
“We don’t see (the bazaar and the farmers’ market) in competition,” Wyatt added. “They really complement each other.”
Taking its name from its location along Madison Avenue, last year’s bazaar featured a core of five or six vendors, with appearances by a couple dozen outfits by summer’s end.
These included local shops selling surplus inventory, as well as one-time vendors – something that organizers welcome.
“I think of the flea markets of New York, where people pile in to see different stuff each week,” said Wyatt’s daughter Meegan, a lawyer who “supports her habit” of making jewelry through sales at the bazaar.
It doesn’t take much to participate – $15 rents room for a 6-foot table, and $25 will secure space to set up a 10-by-10 tent for the day.
“We really want vendors to come,” she said, “for the whole summer or just once.”
New digs
When the shop owners at 213 Madison needed the parking area this year, Sawyer and crew had to find another home.
Across the way from Winslow Green, the new spot offers the bazaar more than a central location.
“We love promoting the Special Needs Foundation,” Edwards said. “It’s great to be drawing attention to a group that is often overlooked in the community.”
Shoppers browsing the bazaar can stop in Stephens House to learn more about the Special Needs Foundation’s work with the island’s disabled youth.
The newly renovated space, which opened its doors last September, is a cheerful showcase of brightly colored note cards and hand-decorated boxes created by the young adults and artist Shelley Long.
Rounding out the offerings are coffee and bite-size treats, mini-doughnuts freshly made by the youth and staff at Stephens House.
“It’s been great to have the street bazaar here,” said Stephens House coordinator Chris Powers, who supervises the doughnut-making.
Seventy percent of the rental fees goes to the foundation, with vendors volunteering larger sums on particularly good weeks.
“We love the venue,” she said. “It feels like we’ve created something great.”
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The Madison Street Bazaar is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at 191 Winslow Way West. New long-term or one-time vendors are welcome. Information: Mary, (360) 779-4700.
Fresh mini-doughnuts are available at Stephens House weekday mornings; call 780-1211 to order.
