Small Business Saturdays

This begins the first of the series focusing on small businesses located in the Niagara Region and the Lancaster County area. The businesses do not necessarily exist in both, however, but they are good places to visit, if you can.

Near and dear to my heart are the artisans that live in both areas. By and far, the area surrounding Lancaster seem to be more supportive of the arts than the Niagara region. There are a great many reasons for this, but it seems that the predominate one is just an element of culture. It is embedded into the culture of Lancaster County area to enjoy quality handmade items; support local artisans, and purchase many of their gifts and housewares from artisans. That being said, there are a few places in Niagara Region where you can find local artisans. I happen to know of one location hidden away in the City of Batavia because I am one of the artisans.

The Artisans at North Street

The Artisans at North Street are a collection of over thirty artisans from the surrounding area who sell their items (click here for their Facebook page)

The store is not the location to visit artisans working, but is a co-op store where local artisans display some of their items. The thirty artisans include quilters, jewelry makers, knitters, soap makers, furniture makers, two authors, a weaver, and two book binders (one makes journals, the other scrapbooks), general décor creators, and seamstresses. Several of the artisans do multiple arts, for example, one of the jewelers is also a quilter.

Not all of the artisans come from the Niagara Region. Due to its location between Buffalo and Rochester, Batavia attracts people from both cities.

Take the time to talk with the cashier who is also one of the artisans. These individuals can introduce you to their items as well as teach you about how the items are made.

Some of the knitters make washcloths and bags to go with the soap. The soap is all made from local individuals from goat milk.

To the right is an up-close shot of a set of earrings for sale. There are around five or six jewelers in the artisans, yet each one has a slightly different style.

One of the artisans creates spoon necklaces that she refashions from spoons collected from yard sales and thrift stores. She takes the spoons and decorates them with beads or other items. Recently, she shifted from necklaces into key chains because of the demand for more items.



Another artisan creates knives, letter openers and cheese spears (to the left). In another part of the store, the same designer uses her skills to create pens with the similar baubles.

I am one of the two authors displayed in the store. My book is Azure Maris, while the other three books belong to our other author, Julie Caton (visit her here)

Her book, White Heart follows the true story of Madeleine de Roybon D'Allone who lived in the Niagara area during the time of Louis XIV.

 If you want to visit:

The Artisans at North Street are located at
301 North Street, Batavia NY.

Hours:
Monday and Thursday, 10 -7;
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10-5;
Saturday 10-3