‘Tis the weekend. The holiday shopping countdown is on. The Vineyard celebrates its version of Black Friday with a host of holiday markets, trunk shows, and crafts fairs. Along with the traditional Thanksgiving-weekend Artisans Festival (Nov. 27 and 28 from 10 to 4 at the Ag Hall in West Tisbury), there are a few pop-up shops featuring handmade gifts and artwork.
Featherstone Center for the Arts is hosting its 12th annual Holiday Gift Show, and this year there are a record 75 artists and artisans participating. You’re bound to find something for everyone on your shopping list, as the selection includes ceramics, glass, jewelry, clothing, small paintings, photos and prints, cards, and much more. Unique offerings include three-dimensional paper crafts and colorful dog collars. The shop is open everyday from 10 to 4 through Dec. 20.
For the past few years, an empty shop on Spring Street has been transformed every winter into the Vineyard Holiday Gift Shop. Stop by and enjoy a cup of cider while you check out the work of dozens of talented Vineyarders. Along with jewelry, pillows, ceramics, and ornaments, you’ll find beeswax candles, dried flower wreaths, and Martha’s Vineyard Sea Salt. For a really different kind of gift, check out the colorful birdhouses crafted from gourds by Rusty Gordon of Ghost Island Farm.
Linda Alley, who started the Holiday Gift Shop several years ago, has launched a new pop-up shop, Island Made Holidays@Alleys, behind Alley’s General Store in West Tisbury. Some of the items, like Stephanie Rossi’s little animal and mermaid figures made from Island wool, and pillows, throws, and heating pads by Rachel Baumrin, can also be found in Vineyard Haven, but the little West Tisbury shop also carries some unique gifts, such as pillows by Daisy Kimberly, cat-themed books, calendars, cards, and wall hangings by Lynn Christoffers, and Ms. Alley’s New Lane Sundries line of jams and jellies. The shop is open every day from 10 to 6 through Christmas Eve.
The Thrift Shop in Vineyard Haven is featuring a special holiday shopping section for the first time this year. Store employees have been setting aside some special items for the selection, which includes antiques, vintage and designer clothes, and one-of-a-kind items like a couple of vintage hand-stitched quilts.
The seasonal Oak Bluffs Open Market will make an appearance indoors on Nov. 27 and Dec. 5 as part of the newly launched Holidays in Oak Bluffs initiative. Along with many of the vendors selling antiques, art, and handmade jewelry, the market found inside the Ocean View Restaurant will be offering free Christmas-card photo portraits, a visit from Santa, pet portraits, and music.
Christmas fairs and bazaars can be found on Saturday at the P.A. Club and the VFW. The VFW will feature a bake sale, a country store, and raffles.
This weekend, a couple of trunk shows will be held at local stores. Citrine in Vineyard Haven will feature jewelry by Hawkhouse and bags from Noepe Designs all weekend long. Jeweler Nettie Kent will kick off a series of trunk shows at Driftwood Jewelry on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs on Saturday, Nov. 28.
Artist Joan LeLacheur will be hosting an open studio and sale of her wampum jewelry and mosaic tiles on Friday, Nov. 27, from 10 to 5 at 42 Old South Road in Aquinnah.
Starting this weekend, an African crafts sale will be going on every Friday and Saturday on upper Main Street, next to the Edgartown Cinema. All proceeds support various humanitarian projects in Africa.
And last, make sure to stop by the Louisa Gould Gallery in Vineyard Haven this week for the annual Small Wonders Holiday Show. The exhibit and sale features smaller works by many of the gallery’s most popular artists and artisans. The open house on Friday from 10-4 will feature refreshments and visits by many of the artists. The show will run through Dec. 27.
Happy shopping, everyone!