Washington Street Holiday Market Revisited

The gift buying season has officially begun and anyone who spent Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or a beautiful Sunday that kicked off December in downtown Naperville had the Washington Street Holiday Market to jumpstart their holiday spirit.  Held at a temporarily empty building formerly occupied by Restoration Hardware, the 2nd annual Washington Street Holiday Market brought together downtown Naperville merchants, as well as independent artists, clothing and jewelry designers, furniture builders and people who just have a knack for salvaging the cool and creating one-of-a-kind must-haves. 

Last year when we came up with the idea for the holiday market, Mark and I started off small.  We used a space that was soon to be occupied by Alicia's Photography and had 12 vendors.  We called it {theNOOK} and crossed our fingers that if we built it, you all would come.  The feedback and success was so great, that we set our sights on a larger venue and invited in another hosting partner, Little Luxuries.  Luck was on our side and a space that was stunning on its own was sitting vacant, ready to have its beauty built upon.  We had to lose the name {theNOOK} because we were setting up next door to a Barnes and Nobles, so was born the Washington Street Holiday Market.  We opened Friday at 4pm with nearly 40 incredible vendors and a line that snaked around the block.  

The response was overwhelming and we'd like to thank you for allowing us the opportunity to showcase the talents of these incredibly hardworking and inspiring vendors.  We are humbled by your support and proud of the energy and excitement this market and your attendance brought to our downtown.  

Now, let's get to the good stuff!  Shots from inside the market!  

Plans are underway for another market next year, again brought to you by Mark (Room 363),  Sue (Little Luxuries), and Maria (me - whose only real purpose is to try and keep Mark from doing things like putting vendor checks in the washing machine).  We'll keep you posted on holiday market plans.

If we move the event off Washington Street, we'll probably need a new name.  Let us know if you have any creative suggestions - one that could be our forever name that would work anytime of year (Spring market maybe?).

-Maria