Eyes on the surprise
Expect the unexpected at Salishan artisans’ market
The beauty of farmers and crafters markets is that you never know exactly what you are going to end up coming home with.
You might need a gift, but aren’t sure what it should be other than unique. Or perhaps you just broke your favorite ceramic coffee mug and are using that as the perfect excuse to treat yourself to an upgrade. Or you ran out the clock on preparing something for a potluck, so need something like fresh berries bursting with flavor to hide your mistake.
Every Friday and Saturday, weather permitting, the Specialty Farmers Market and Artisan Faire at the Salishan Marketplace is the ideal place for discovery.
New this year are the extremely high-quality products made by Ramune Arlauskas of Rustic Linen, who became hip to working with flax-based materials thanks to a request from her husband.
“He wanted me to make him a cloth bag for his home-made breads and so I did some research and found out about the properties of linen,” she said. “It has all kinds of benefits like keeping bread fresher longer and not making the crust rubbery and soft like keeping it in plastic bags does. It also has natural anti-microbial properties.”
Her other half was so pleased with the bags he requested that she make him a bath towel next.
“At the time it seemed there was no towel on earth good enough for him,” she said. “They were all either not absorbent enough, took too long to dry, were too thin, etc. So, again, I began to do research and found out that linen is about 40 percent more absorbent than cotton. At that point I was pretty hooked on the fabric.”
At Arlauskas’ booth, you can now find dish, hand and bath towels, poncho-style wraps and scarves, luxurious blankets and throws, aprons and of course, the thing that got the whole thing started, bread bags.
Because creating linen fabric from flax is a time-consuming process and very few places manufacture it in the US (Arlauskas sources most of her fabric from the Balkans), the products are more expensive than similar products made from cotton or other fabrics.
“It’s not for everyone, but I have a certain kind of clientele that already love linen and understand that if taken care of it can last a lifetime,” she said. “Most of them think my prices are too low.”
Another vendor pretty new to the scene is Patrick Larsen, owner of That Agate Beach Life, who creates “rustic, pallet-wood decor.”
Looking for projects after retirement, Larsen tried using pallet wood for a restoration he was doing in his garage and found that he really liked working with it.
“I’m always looking for ways to reuse things,” he said. “Pallets are made to move products around then be disposed of, but some of them have a beautiful grain. Now I have more ideas of things to make then I have time to make them.”
Larsen also propagates succulents and sells them in hand-casted concrete molds.
“I’m just having fun and keeping busy,” he said.
A longtime staple at the market is Guerrero’s Produce, which has added pantry items like jams and honey to the long list of fresh fruits and vegetables that bring color to the family-run stand.
The market will endure until the weather no longer makes it an appealing prospect, according to David Wolf, market manager and co-owner of Faewerx.
“We have some pretty tough vendors,” he said. “We try to last until Halloween but sometimes the weather is just too much. But we stay out here every year for as long as we can, at least through September.”
Don’t be confused by the Lincoln City Farmers Market now popping its tents in the same lot on Sundays this year. There are vendors at that one that won’t be at this one, and vice versa.
Your best bet? Visit both!
The Specialty Farmers Market and Artisan Faire is located at the Salishan Marketplace, 7755 N. Hwy. 101, and is open from 11 am to 5 pm on Friday and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday.
For more information, go to artisanfaireatsalishan.com.