Jones Chapel Merry Market snowballing toward Saturday

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Jones Chapel resident Christie Thomas didn’t have to bite off more than she could chew — social media did the job for her. But on Saturday, Thomas and what’s shaping up to be hundreds of her closest crafting friends will get together at the Jones Chapel Community Center for a Christmas arts and crafts celebration — and they’re hoping you’ll come, too.

Thomas is singlehandedly putting together the first-ever Jones Chapel Merry Market, an event idea that began as a social media-connected Christmas crafting party that Thomas originally thought would just involve herself and a small handful of her fellow crafters. 

“I have some crafty friends, and this started out because I wanted to see if a few of us might want to get together and kind of have a small Christmas open house. So I rented the community center,” she explained Tuesday. “But then it just exploded on Facebook. Now the outdoor vendors are gonna have to be out on the ball field.”

Social media indeed has a way of spreading ideas like seed in the wind, and now Thomas is preparing for an all-day get-together that, at last count, had made room for 48 arts and crafts vendors, a food truck, a kids’ crafting station, a visit from Santa, and — hopefully — enough parking space.

“I’m just flabbergasted at the way this has taken off,” said Thomas, a crochet crafter who sells her work under the name Christie’s Heart — The Arts of Home. “I’ve been absolutely astounded at the interest this craft fair has created. Our little community is so excited about it, and now the excitement has spread to the surrounding communities.”

Anyone and everyone is invited to the free-admission Merry Market, which runs from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. this Saturday. Thomas said the thinking behind the event is to highlight the industriousness of DIY crafters and small community businesses, while showcasing the things they make and sell — both in the spirit of the season, as well as year round.

“I crochet mostly home items: dish cloths, decorative towels, small gift items that I make — but there’s gonna be both Christmas and non-Christmas stuff there,” Thomas explained. “Wood signs, personalized jewelry, wreaths for Christmas, yard ornaments for Christmas. One man is going to have knives made out of deer antlers, and jewelry made from antlers. And there’ll be a lot of baked goods. One woman who’s going to be there has won an award for her fudge. There’ll be fried pies.”

First announced in August, once news of the Merry Market had begun to spread via Facebook, the interest came from near and far. “I have a boutique coming from Dora; there’s a vendor from Montgomery coming. We also have someone bringing their stuff over from Georgia. I had no idea that vendors would seek this out, but they just kept on calling,” Thomas confessed. “It’s really amazing.”

While Thomas said she can’t envision repeating the Merry Market next year unless she has some help from the start, she’s also excited about putting the focus on the community she calls home — and on the creative and resourceful people who put their talents to beautiful use.

“Small towns have so much potential, and such great people. I just wanted to showcase it in a small way, and the Lord just kept opening doors,” she said. “I charged vendors $10 for the booth fees so that I would have enough money to cover printing a few flyers, and advertising in the paper — but who would have thought that I would have to use it for garbage cans and a porta-potty, too!

“I have been fielding all the calls and messages, and updating my spreadsheet regularly. But there is absolutely no way I could have — or would have — taken it this far without the support of my husband and family. They have all been very encouraging and I am so thankful for them.”

Check out a trove of unique crafts, foods, and decorations this Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Jones Chapel Merry Market, located just south of U.S. Highway 278, where County Road 940 and County Road 1114 intersect at the caution light at Jones Chapel. For more information, contact Christie Thomas at 256-615-5611 or search “Jones Chapel Merry Market” on Facebook.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.