Hi there! I’m Blythe Leonard, if you don’t know me and I own my own luxury leather goods brand, Blythe Leonard LLC and I also own BL Maker’s Market LLC. As you may have seen, we have this really awesome concept of a festival coming up in just a few weeks. And you may be asking yourself, what all is going to happen? What all is going to be there that day? Am I able to come or do I need to buy tickets? What is happening!? WELL, have no fear! Here’s all you need to know about our first BL Maker’s Market Makers Festival April 1st, 2023.
My first Maker's Festival, October 2019 drinking a cup of Wired Cafe Coffee, which will be back this year!
Let me start by telling you my WHY. I started my leather goods brand in 2015 right after graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design, (SCAD) with a few thousand other artists. Throughout 2015 to 2019, I missed being around my creative peers and was always trying to tell my community about different artists in the area that I thought were just so talented that they needed a shoutout. By 2019, I had decided to have my own BL Makers Festival at my leather shop location to really support our local artists. We shut the street down, had a flash Zumba mob, food trucks, kids' games, and artists set up to meet and greet the community. It was an amazing experience! We supported 26 local artists that day and introduced each other to the community. We had over 600 people show up and it was just amazing. Then we hit….2020. The dreaded year that changed all of us. I wanted to still support our makers that we got to support the year before, but we knew we couldn’t have anything in public. So, I did the next best thing—a Facebook Live sale. We split the makers up into two nights and raised over $6,000 for those artists in just a little over 2 hours each night. By this point I had already decided that I would open BL Maker’s Market because I felt this overwhelming desire to help promote, market and sell quality goods and products that makers are passionate about creating here in the United States. Fast forward to today.
When I was researching the history of my building that we just renovated, we discovered that the building was built by two Lambeth brothers in town on—guess what day--April 2nd, 1898. This is 125 years ago! So, what better way to support and celebrate the existence of our beautifully renovated building that also happens to be on the National Register of Historical Places than to celebrate with our makers in the store!
Putting a face to a product is VITAL to the success of any brand. Getting out there, getting to know your community and your customers is the best way to understand the needs of your customers as well as what they prefer in their products. Throughout the year we do “meet the potters” day or “meet the jewelers” days, but we are never able to get all of our makers there at one time! Plus, we have so many customers who are fascinated with the process of how something is made that we love a good demonstration. But let’s take this festival one step further! Let’s take classes together and share the creativity with the community!
So…we will have food trucks lining up and down Guilford St. We will have DJ Terri Reid and Kevin Holdson, a local guitar player entertaining us. The main part of the festival will be held at the Thomasville Farmers Market venue where we will have a “meet, greet, and shop” section, make and take stations, demonstrations and classes. You will be able to meet 40+ makers that are in our store in the shopping section and see some demonstrations going on at the same time. We also have a list of classes that you can sign up for as well. Two of our classes are already sold out, so check below to see the remaining classes that are available. The classes are the only thing that you will need to pre-purchase. To purchase, just call our store number and choose your time slot for your class that you wish to take. Our phone number is 336-475-0071. Classes will be between 10:00 am and 2:30 pm and your location for the class is under each class name. We will also have potters throwing on the wheel, wood turners turning on a lathe, oil painters painting and jewelry makers creating. We will also have a free make and take station for adults and children, face painting, baby goats and more.
To dive into the historical aspect of this festival, we have also lined up various Thomasville community members to speak throughout the day at the farmers market about their role in Thomasville Furniture Industries before it shut down. This is a chance to bring your camping chair, sit down and listen and ask questions to those who worked every day in the manufacturing side of Thomasville.
Parking will be available in all Thomasville public parking lots. There are two parking lots by the clock tower, the farmers market parking lot, our Maker’s market parking lot, the parking lot across the street from City Hall and street parking on Salem and Main Street. Guilford Street will be closed beginning at 9:00 am to 3:00 pm from Salem Street to Memorial Park Drive and halfway down Commerce St. You will still be able to enter Commerce Street to shop and park at the Thomasville Emporium parking lot, you will just have to exit on Memorial Park Drive. There will be officers in the area to help assist you if needed.
We cannot wait to see you and experience this wonderfully planned day with you!
Blythe Leonard
Lyza Royal, Face Painting at our BL Maker's Festival 2019. She will be back on April 1st!
Classes Call the store Tuesday-Saturday 10-6 to grab your spot. 336-475-0071
Class availability is as of 3/12/23 6:00 pm
Cassie Overcash: Build Your Own Pottery Animal: Ticket $20.00 a ticket plus tax
Meet at the Farmers Market, Please arrive 5 minutes before your ticket time.
10:00-10:30 (0) SOLD OUT
10:30-11:00 (3)
11:30-12:00(3)
12:30-1:00 (4)
1:00-1:30 (2)
Darlene Birdwell: Build Your Own Pottery Leaf, $25 a ticket plus tax
Meet at the Farmers Market, Please arrive 5 minutes before your ticket time.
10:00-10:30 (2)
10:30-11:00 (4)
11:00-11:30 (4)
11:30-12:00 (4)
2:00-2:30 (4)
Amber Zander: Build Your Own Pottery Trinket Tray, $30 a ticket plus tax
Meet at the Farmers Market, Please arrive 5 minutes before your ticket time.
10:00-10:30 (3)
10:30-11:00 (4)
1:00-1:30 (4)
1:30-2:00 (4)
Kelly Mayo, Camel City Glass: Create Your Own Honeycomb Stained Glass Catcher: $70 a ticket plus tax
Meet at the Farmers Market, Please arrive 5 minutes before your ticket time. SOLD OUT
Janet Wallace: Create Your Own Dichroic Glass Pendant, $45 a ticket plus tax
Meet at the Farmers Market, Please arrive 5 minutes before your ticket time.
10:00-11:00 (4)
11:00-12:00 (4)
1:00-2:00 (4)
2:00-3:00 (4)
Dana Holliday: Create Your Own Encaustic Wax Painting, 18 Years+, $30 a ticket plus tax
Meet at the Farmers Market, Please arrive 5 minutes before your ticket time.
SOLD OUT
Dana Holliday: Plein Air Acrylic Painting of the Façade of BL Maker’s Market, $30 a ticket plus tax
6 tickets total, Meet In front of the building at 12:50 pm.
1:00 (6)
Carin Hiott: Create Your Own Turquoise and Sterling Silver Wire Wrapped Ring, $55 a ticket plus tax
Meet at the Farmers Market, Please arrive 5 minutes before your ticket time.
10:00-11:00 (2)
11:00-12:00 (2)
1:00-2:00 (2) SOLD OUT
2:00-3:00 (2)
Some Photos of BL Maker's Festival, 2019
Kelly and Company, BL Maker's Festival 2019
Be Your Own Fish, BL Maker's Festival 2019. Brent will be set up this year!
Wired Cafe Coffee Truck, BL Maker's Festival 2019. They will be back this April 1st!
Interviewing Brent Byerly, owner of Be Your Own Fish for our Festival promotions, 2019
Justeena face painting at our BL Maker's Festival 2019
Here is a complete list of demonstrations and makers who will be showing!
Potters Wheel Demonstrations: Will be at the top of each hour from 10:00 to 2:00. Patsy Manning (Manning the Wheel Pottery) 10:00 am Megan West (The Lil Maker Pottery) 11:00 am Amber Zander (Amber Zander Pottery) 12:00 am Darlene Birdwell (Birdwell Pottery) 1:00 pm Elizabeth Ferrell (Crafty Pantry) 2:00 pm Artists Demonstrations Dana Holliday Encaustics Demonstration 10:00-11:00 am Pat Harvey Oil Painting Demonstration- throughout the event Color Your World Designs: Polymer Clay Demonstration: 11:00-12:00
Joan Pitts: Weaving on a loom- throughout the event
Woodworking Demonstrations: Andrew McCarn (Carolina Grain Co.) 10:00 am Charles Hepler 11:00 am Stained Glass Demonstrations Kelly Mayo (Camel City Glass) Stained Glass Demonstration 10:00-11:00 am
Make it and Take it Stations Anita Nifong-Rash—Create Your Own Pocket Journals -throughout the event
Kids Make and Take Station- throughout the event
Steve Teglas: The Next 56 Days Food Demos: Top of each hour
Meet, Greet and Shop Authors: Austin Hill, Jim Little, Russell Fox and Otis Farmer Anita Nifong-Rash Amber Zander Pottery Betsy Jane Studio Be Your Own Fish Birdwell Pottery Brenda Varner Brown Dog Hosiery Bud’s Beard Grooming Camel City Glass Caprice Thrift Art Carin Hiott Carolina Grain Co. Carolina Nectar Co. Cassie Overcash Pottery Charles Hepler Coin of Life Photography Cheri Bowman Crafty Pantry Creations of Monica Color Your World Designs Dana Holliday David Yemm Photography
EB Signz Gerald Smith Woodworking Janet Wallace Glass Joytime Ministries
Joan Pitts
Keith McManus Manning the Wheel Pottery Pat Harvey Oil Painting Robert Dilorenzo Salty Dog Creations
Slapp'n Billy BBQ Sauces and Rubs SCAD Shady Acres Farm Steve Teglas: The Next 56 Days Cooking Demo The Lil Maker Pottery Thomasville Historic Commission Wayne Dick Watercolors And more…
Face Painting
Lyza Royal and Thomasville High School Design Club
Food Trucks
Wired Café Coffee BUS
West Coast Wanderer
Sunset Slush of Guilford County
Snickety Snacks
Too Random Food Truck
See you there! April 1st, 2023 10-3 at 12 East Guilford St.!