A Visit to Makers Market at Clipper Stadium, Lancaster

We’re always looking for new places to sell our books, so on Saturday we took a scouting trip to Clipper Stadium in Lancaster, where a Makers Market was being held.

The product of Creatively Lancaster, Makers Market is held several times a year in the Lancaster area. Saturday’s event brought together about 25 vendors, who make a wide variety of crafty products including jewelry, soap, crocheted animals, candles, and clothing.

The event also brought us to downtown Lancaster. We’ve passed through the place before, but this was the first time we paid attention to the city. The historic center of the city has a large number of buildings from the Victorian era that escaped the curse of urban renewal in the 1960s and have been undergoing renewal today. [Note to self: If doing the Victorian mystery series, revisit historic downtown Lancaster.]

For those of you outside the area, Lancaster, Pa., is a city set in a rural area that also includes a large Amish population. Along state Route 30 east of the city is a major draw for tourists, where they can stay at hotels, visit Amish-related tourist sites, shop in the outlets, and eat at the various members of the chain gang. They can also visit the American Music Theatre, home of national tours and singers whose names draw the response, “Oh, yeah, I remember them.”

But we were interested in the vendors, and we found the Makers Market fascinating, starting with Clipper Stadium. A real downtown stadium, home of the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League. While I’m not a baseball fan these days, seeing the stadium revived memories of visiting Cleveland Municipal as a child to watch the Indians lose to the Yankees and Red Sox.

[Note to self: Add all the usual stuff about enjoying the slow pace of the game, and seeing the players without helmets and protective uniforms that hide their identities. If pressed for time, quote from “Field of Dreams” and “Bull Durham.”]

As for the vendors, here’s who impressed us:

We stopped and talked with Julia Nikolaus, who sells delectable cupcakes. While we admired her mouth-watering offerings, the vendors in use particularly admired her beautiful banner. You can see them on Instagram at @julianikolauscupcakeryco.

In between the vendors, I watched the grounds crew pulls back the tarp and prepare the infield. [Note to self: Add more stuff about how teams would adjust the landscape to favor their players. Can we get this from Wikipedia?]

Over Yummy Pancake, its owner Denise Ferguson brags on her card about her original designs, and I have to say she’s right. I’ve never seen Christmas ornaments that celebrate tacos and bacon, or a happy banana. She can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @yummypancake.

Another craft vendor we met was Megan Lapp at Crafty Intentions. I was particularly drawn to her fantastic fantasy creatures, such as a huge multicolored dragon, and a unicorn that was more than a handful. But Teresa was also drawn to this line of creatures that contained a surprise.

We also appreciated the handsome handmade jewelry created by Lindsay Knappenberger of The Lilac Yak (etsy.com/shop/TheLilacYak). We also discovered Tasha Nankerville of Revolution, who partners with service agencies to train women as jewelry makers, who profit from sales through Revolution.

Another company with a charity component is The Stroopie Co. A stroopie is a cinnamon waffle cookie coated with caramel syrup. It can be eaten as is, or warmed over your favorite hot beverage. The company provides employment to refugees settling in Lancaster. The company also owns the Lancaster Sweet Shoppe, where they also sell ice cream and candies.

By the end of the visit, we were convinced that the Makers Market would be worth visiting next year as vendors.

If you want to see for yourself, Creatively Lancaster lists its events here. We hope to see you there next year!