Vendors and shoppers alike gathered at The Machine Shop on Sunday for the Minneapolis Craft Market’s Old St. Anthony Holiday Bazaar looking for potential gifts. 

The Bazaar is one of several markets set up by Minneapolis Craft Market throughout the gift-giving season. Holidays on Nicollet is another that runs Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Dec. 22. A handful of other craft markets can be found on their website. 

Both floors of the St. Anthony venue were full of vendors, with a DJ in the corner. From textiles to pottery, there were plenty of extraordinary gift options for shoppers.

Taylor Thompson and Ting Wang said they are hitting all the craft markets in the area in search of gifts. They said they actively try to shop locally to support Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, especially when looking for stand-out presents. 

“It’s more unique when you’re getting stuff from small artists,” Thompson said. 

Keara Sullivan was also wandering the market looking for gifts on Sunday. When she shops, she looks for items related to someone’s personality. 

“I don’t really know what I’m shopping for until I see something and I’m like ‘Oh, my sister would like that,’” Sullivan said.

If Sullivan is looking for a specific present, she said she usually orders it online. Otherwise, if she is looking for something more creative, she shops small. 

I even bought a few gifts for my family members. When making my way through the market, I saw small paper polaroids with different color palettes in the package. They were do-it-yourself watercolor images from Lavendart Design with directions on painting images like a potted plant or an orange tree. 

Mind the Crown, founded by Adrianna Willis, sells items promoting self-care. Willis said her business is meant for women to buy gifts for themselves, such as cocktail mixers, robes and coloring books.

“Women don’t buy gifts for themselves,” Willis said. “With self-care, I’m trying to save a woman’s life.”

Willis founded her business in 2020 for people of color after the murder of George Floyd. She rebranded two years later to focus on all women. Although Willis markets to empowering women, men purchase her items for themselves as well. 

Multi-colored pottery from Basement Pottery Co. was organized neatly on wooden shelves, creating a visually pleasing display on Sunday. 

Basement Pottery Co. is a family business run from the Leininger family’s basement and began as a pandemic project in 2020. Maggie Leininger, who was running the booth, said her dad and her older sister are the artists, while she helps with glazing. 

Leininger’s dad was a potter since high school. She and her sister grew up with their dad teaching them how to make pottery. 

“We unearthed the studio and found that we had way too many mugs,” Leininger said. “I was like, ‘Hey, we should sell and share our work.’”

The Leiningers donate their proceeds to local Minnesota nonprofits. Every year they donate to Second Harvest Heartland, a nonprofit established to end hunger in Minnesota. 

Melissa Lenius and Nathan Paul said they stopped by the market for fun, not really looking for anything in particular. 

Realistically, Lenius and Paul said they mostly shop online for gifts while trying their best to support local businesses. Lenius buys most of her gifts from Etsy, an online marketplace for buying and selling handmade and vintage items. 

Jewelry business Nashipai displayed their beaded jewelry and ornaments on a colorful stand. Founded by Jenny Behrens, Nashipai partners with women artisans in India and Kenya who hand-make all the pieces. 

Behrens lived with a group of women artisans in Kenya for three weeks in 2019, and before she left, they asked if she could partner with them to start a business. Behrens helps run other pop-ups and fashion shows for the brand as well. 

Nashipai’s sparkly reindeer and beaded Christmas tree ornaments are very popular this time of year, and their statement jewelry makes for nice gifts, Behrens said. 

“I understand sometimes you have to buy bigger things from Amazon, but if everyone could buy at least two or three gifts locally made or handmade, it would better support the economy,” Behrens said.