Photography provided
The Red Geranium Artisan Market will have its fourth annual event on August 17 at First Presbyterian Church in Noblesville, 1207 Conner Street.
Jennie Auble, a member of the church’s mission team, is looking forward to the event, which raises a lot of money for various worthwhile projects.
“I have been a member of the church for about 30 years,” Auble says. “There are six of us on the team, and Sue Jourdan is our mission elder, who oversees the committee.”
Auble noted that the market is mission-based in two ways.
“First, because we use the money from vendor space rental ($45 per space), to support our church mission budget for local, national and international projects such as Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Club or Last Bell Ukraine,” Auble says. “Second, the church is also mission-based because we allow international organizations or local groups that serve others a free booth space.”
Auble added that this is a unique feature of the market.
“It sets it apart from other craft shows because shoppers will be able to help support local organizations and artisans from other countries, such as ‘Africa Bags,’ a vendor that sells hand-crafted items made by the local women from Malawi, Africa, and ‘Padilka,’ that will be selling beautiful hand-painted Ukrainian eggs and other artwork.”
An extraordinary trip
The church’s mission team recently went on an extraordinary trip.
“Sue Jourdan and I were in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, for 11 days as part of a small team of Americans teaching English camp through Last Bell Ministries,” Auble says. “This is the second year for the camp, and it is designed to provide basic English lessons to help older orphans who might want to attend a university. The young adult orphans are roughly ages 16-25, and have aged-out of the orphanage system, and have nowhere to live or any family support. Many attend government trade school in the morning and come to the Last Bell Day Center for camp in the afternoon. Last Bell also has a shelter for young mom’s with children, so they came to our classes in the morning.”
Forty Vendors
Auble is hoping for another big crowd at the Artisan Market this year, so funding can continue on all of the mission projects.
“We are very excited to have around 40 vendors this year,” Auble says. “We keep growing each year. The event will be held on Saturday, August 17, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.”
Admission is free to the public, with artisan booths located outside in an open-air setting behind the church, as well as indoors, in their air-conditioned gathering space.
“The market will feature 40 different artisan vendor booths, grilled food, MammaMia Gelato, a giant bake sale and live music entertainment,” Auble says. “Each vendor booth will feature hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind items, including art, antiques, furniture, mosaics, boutique and children’s clothing. There will also be photography, jewelry, wood and glass craft, pottery, fiber art, garden art, re-purposed and up-cycled unique creations, vintage and more.”The church’s deacons will provide free, short guided tours of the sanctuary for people who would like to get a peek at their historical 1893 building, and the church’s pipe organ. They will also ring the church bell.
Auble noted that The Red Geranium Artisan Market was the brain-child of Jourdan.
“She is also an avid designer/antiquer, and collector of cool stuff. Our team decided we wanted to enhance our church mission funding by creating a fun outreach day in our community that would promote local artists, while generating income for our local, state and international mission projects. Our first market was held in 2016, with around 20 excited and eager vendors.”
Auble, a retired art teacher, used to work at Westfield Middle School. She currently works at Ball State University, supervising student teachers, and serves as an adjunct instructor for Indiana Wesleyan University.
She loves her work with the market and the church missions.
“The groups we help are very appreciative of the Red Geranium Artisan Market because it helps promote their cause, and supports their own missions,” Auble says. “The sale of artisans’ work in poorer countries helps them survive and earn a living.”
Auble added that the market’s vendors are very excited to return each year.
“This year we will have 28 returning vendors,” she says. “They tell me they love the atmosphere of the market because it is a smaller show, compared to some they participate in, allowing plenty of time for personal attention with their customers, socializing, and enjoying the live music.”
Customer support of the market has also been string.
“Each year we have customers return who love the unique nature of our vendors,” Auble says. “We limit the number of booths for each type of craft to keep things fresh and provide a wide variety of arts and crafts for our shoppers. We promote our event through social media, and free publicity and advertising, and through word of mouth, to make sure the bulk of the money raised goes directly to our mission projects. Watch for our banner on the corner of the Hamilton County Courthouse!”
For more information, please visit the market’s website at redgeraniummarket.wordpress.com, Facebook page facebook.com/RedGeraniumMarket, church website fpc-noblesville.org, or contact Jennie Auble at aublej@comcast.net.
This year’s market is August 17 at First Presbyterian Church in Noblesville, located at 1207 Conner Street.
