Whidbey residents are invited to attend an emerging series of small craft markets throughout the summer and fall.

Lori Kane of Silly Dog Studios and Ritual Mischief will be hosting Whidbey Community Makers Markets the third weekend of each month from July through November. The cozy events will feature up to eight local artists and crafters each month.

This month’s market will take place July 16 and 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 4683 Tompkin Road in Langley. Available wares at this upcoming market will include handmade jewelry, needle-felted creatures, paintings, photography, shampoo bars and soaps infused with local plants and hand-dyed, natural fiber clothing.

The markets will also have a “free gifts” table where folks who might not be able to afford to shop at the market can still pick up some local craftswork, and, weather permitting, lawn games to play.

Those who are able may choose to donate to a different charitable cause at each market. July’s market will raise money for Readiness to Learn.

Kane said she and her husband, Daniel Gregory, first started hosting pop-up markets in 2019 at their herbalism and photography studio, Silly Dog Studios. While they intended to host several markets a year, the pandemic threw off their plan. They still managed to hold a few events during 2020 and 2021, and with many people having received vaccines by this point, Kane and Gregory decided to host monthly markets for a time this year.

This year’s market series, which began in June, is something of an experiment, allowing the pair to figure out which months work best for patrons and artists. The markets will be annual events, though which months will remain regulars after 2022 is yet to be determined.

For Kane, the Whidbey Community Makers Markets are about bringing creators together to lift one another. While she and Gregory have been fortunate to own land and a home, she recognizes that some of Whidbey’s many artists are just scraping by.

“I think we’re just doing what makers, artists, and very small businesses everywhere have always done to survive and thrive,” she said. “We come together. Build community together. Market our wares together.”

Vendors set up their wares for the first Whidbey Community Makers Market of the year, which took place in June. Markets will happen the third weekend of each month through November of this year. (Photo provided)