Twelve-year-old June Murdock started creating diamond art four years ago. A friend gifted her a kit that includes small, resin “diamonds” to create a mosaic-like image in a sort of paint-by-numbers fashion with gems.
“I just fell in love,” she said.
And on Saturday, Dec. 6, Murdock will take her fondness for the craft to the third annual Kids Makers Market at Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Northampton. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Murdock and other kid artists will showcase their creations, including crafts, candles, jewelry, soaps, note cards, food, lip balms, face masks, stuffed animals and more.
For Murdock, preparation for the market started in the spring. She and her parents planned the diamond painting kits she’d need to buy, reasoning that small paintings would likely sell better than large ones, and how long it’d take for Murdock to finish all of them in time for the market. Her parents loaned her the money to purchase the kits, which she’ll repay after making some sales at the market. Murdock will get to keep remaining profits.
“It’s a really great community event that encourages kids to be entrepreneurs and artists,” she said.
Fifteen-year-old Song Nguyen Ly will be returning to the Kids Makers Market for her third time, selling stuffed whales that are about two feet long. She first joined because she thought it’d be a good opportunity to sell her work, and she likes coming back because she likes being part of a community of kids, seeing other kids’ work and meeting new people.
“To see other kids selling things is exciting for kids, and to be able to make things that people want to buy is also really fun,” she said.
Sixteen-year-old Z Vamosy will be returning to the market for their second year, selling amigurumi (small crochet figures), paper cranes, stuffed animals and keychains.
“The opportunity for kids to shine and be able to sell their stuff is really important,” Vamosy said.
Vamosy’s mom, Maxine Oland, also sells goods at craft fairs. She’s excited for Vamosy to take part in the Kids Makers Market again because it’s “a great showcase of youthful talent” and a great opportunity for them to get positive feedback on their work.
When asked what they would say to a kid who might be on the fence about taking part in the Kids Makers Market, Vamosy said, “They should totally go for it. It’s really a good introduction to markets, because I’ve done some before, I know other ones can be really challenging, it can be really overwhelming, but this one, there’s so much support from staff and other people who are also doing the crafts. It’s a really incredible environment. It’s really cool.”
Besides the kid vendors, mobile caterer Wake the Dead Donuts will be onsite with coffee and donuts, the Florence art school Art Always will have a crafts station and the Florence music school Little Roots will have a “peaceful percussion area.”
The Kids Makers Market was established by Rose Bookbinder in 2022 because she wanted to encourage her daughters, 12-year-old Viva Bookbinder Weider and 9-year–old Bay Bookbinder Weider, and their friends to use their creativity and shift away from spending so much time on their devices. The first Kids Makers Market was at Little Roots and featured fewer than 10 kids, but last year’s event featured almost 50.
In a time in which arts organizations and creators have had to cope with significant funding cuts, Bookbinder said it’s important to promote “whatever ways, as a community, we can come together and support the arts and make it both about how crucial art is to culture and work together as a community to lift that up, especially at a young age.”
Admission to the Kids Makers Market is free. The market is currently closed to additional vendors, but email hello@bombyx.live to be added to the waitlist.