Past Beautiful Booths:

*not a current Market member

May 2013: Jenna Olietti & Fiona McAuliffe

Many Market businesses are born this way... You enjoy making something for your kids or your family or your friends. Other friends see it and want it and offer to buy it. Friends of friends see it and... soon you’re selling it at Saturday Market!

The bright new kiddie boutique on the Park Blocks started just this way, with an extra side of friendship thrown in. Fiona McAuliffe has sold her two-dimensional art at Market for many years, but as a mom with busy young kids, she wanted a creative outlet that she could do in a more on-the-go-able fashion. She started making felt toys for her kids, other friends’ kids wanted them and they just started to take off. Jenna Olietti’s daughter is a big fan of the Little House on the Prairie books, so Jenna started making her prairie style bonnets and dresses. Other girls wanted them, and they started to take off as well. Fiona and Jenna have been friends since their eldest kids were babies, so last fall Fiona invited Jenna to share the booth and a boutique was born.

Just look at these toys and clothes - of course other parents wanted them for their kids! Fiona’s toys are made of 100% wool felt, stuffed with local (when she can get it) wool and sewn with cotton thread. The details are so delightful, the parents have babies in baby carriers, the chickens have little felt eggs tucked up inside of them, and there are fun new creatures every week. It’s fun to stop by and see what she’s invented. Jenna’s dresses are so adorable with the ruffles and the sewn in aprons. A nod to old-time stylings, but with an updated simplicity that makes them kid friendly. Her fabric combinations are fun and stylish.

You don’t have to have kids to appreciate the artistry of these talented women. Stop by the booth, #310 on the East Park Block along Oak St., and enjoy!