Saturday, November 7th is this year’s date for the PA Wilds Makers Market, an annual online shopping event that features local artists from the 13-county region. The 24-hour period is the region’s official kick-off for promoting local gifts for the holiday season. Customers can visit Shop.PAWilds.com/Makers-Market to shop directly from the 14 participating artists who are offering special deals, new products and more for the signature event. In addition to the participating artists, shoppers will be able to find products from 40 sellers on the PA Wilds Marketplace all in one place, from the comfort of home. Some promotions being offered by Makers during the event include free shipping on select products, discounts, gift with purchase, bundles, and new product launches. Shoppers can “find their next WILD thing” and feel good knowing their purchase is supporting small businesses and the PA Wilds communities.

Some of this year’s participating vendors offer homemade mugs, pottery, fine art, jewelry, books, soaps, fishing nets, candy, photographs, candles, salad dressings, and more! Each item on the PA Wilds Marketplace is purchased directly from the original maker, with a portion of each order supporting the work of the PA Wilds Center in the region. To participate, sign up now for email reminders on Shop.PAWilds.com/Makers-Market; you don’t want to miss out on this limited-time event. On November 7th, tune in to take advantage of the special deals and promotions.

“Each year I look forward to our PA Wilds Makers Market as a way to showcase and promote an alternative to shopping at big box stores for the holidays. Shopping on the PA Wilds Marketplace supports local artisans, as well as the PA Wilds region as a whole. The items available on our marketplace are unique, creative, artistic gifts that cannot be found everywhere, making them a meaningful and heartfelt present for nearly anyone on your list, ” says Megan Steele, Marketplace Manager at the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, the nonprofit that manages the WCO and related programs for the PA Wilds region.

MEET THE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES

• A Beaded Queen: Adorn yourself every day! These intricate, detailed pieces of jewelry are handmade by Cheryl in the PA Wilds. Each item is a one-of-a-kind original item, delicately placed together with care and a lot of time, to give you or your loved one a beautiful statement piece to wear wherever you go.
• Artwork by Julie Mader: For a creative and unique gift idea this year, grab one (or more) of Julie’s Golden Retriever watercolor kits. Give it as a DIY project, or paint it yourself and give it framed to a Golden Retriever lover in your life. Not only will you be supporting a small business and the work of the Pennsylvania Wilds, but Julie will be giving $5 from each kit purchased to the McKean County SPCA to celebrate National Animal Shelter & Rescue Week.
• Brace Face Candy: Brace Face Candy got its name from the idea that while people have braces on, they are not supposed to eat gummy and chewy candy. So, they take that candy and make it crunchy and crispy so that it can be enjoyed by all! On the PA Wilds Marketplace, you can find a freeze-dried candy sampler for the candy lover in your life.
• Brady Photography: Offering you more than just prints, Steve’s photography is an invitation to experience and share the beauty of the PA Wilds. Whether it’s through a fine art piece adorning your wall or a greeting card sent to a loved one, each image is an echo of the wilderness, meant to inspire and transform your living space into a gallery of natural wonder.
• Conklin Studio Pottery: Hand-sculpted items for garden and home are hand-built from mid-high fire stoneware and porcelain clays. This year you can purchase a beloved Bigfoot figurine for the adventurer in your life, reminding everyone that Bigfoot’s wild and wondrous spirit can always be found in our hearts!
• Ellen Matis: Ellen’s children’s book, Ellie Mae Explores: Hometown, will come with a free coloring page. Hometown is the first book in the Ellie Mae Explores series, a heartwarming celebration of community, belonging, and the places that shape us.
• Ellen Paquette Art: Ellen is a fine art painter specializing in animal portraits, primarily endangered species, and creating whimsical soft sculpture creatures inspired by the natural world, mythology and folklore. This year, you’ll find three new prints from her Collaborative Series collection, showcasing Pennsylvania’s state amphibian, the Hellbender, Bigfoot and Squonk having a tea party, and a variety of Mega Moths lighting up a night sky.
• Fair Weather Trading Company: Experience all of the benefits of tallow from a variety of self-care products from Jessica at Fair Weather Trading. Whether it’s lotion, soaps, bug repellent, sun protection, or even a candle for the home, Fair Weather Trading Co’s collection has something for everyone on your holiday shopping list.
• Jillia Ceramics: These ceramic pieces reflect nature and life around us. Each piece is handmade and hand-glazed. No molds, slip casting, extruders, or slab rollers are used in production, only a pottery wheel and two hands. 
• PA Wilds Conservation Shops: Our conservation shops feature products made in the PA Wilds by local artisans and craftspeople. Conservation Shops help connect PA Wilds travelers with locally made products. They not only create a consistent experience on the ground, but you can easily find them here on the Marketplace, too!
• Pheasant Tail Design Co: Jeff Keiser started Pheasant Tail Design Co with the goal of providing quality, affordable and fun custom fly rods to people of all skill levels. As a new seller on the marketplace, Jeff hopes to provide a lot of what you need to have a great day fly fishing on one of the many quality trout streams in Pennsylvania.
• Stephanie Distler Studios: A self-taught jewelry artist, Stephanie uses nature for inspiration. She designs and creates artisan jewelry with hand tools using silver, copper and brass in wire or sheet form.
• Village Eatinghouse: Village Eatinghouse creates dressings and marinades to equip and inspire us to simply create delicious food. Creators Clay and Melanie want to take the uncertainty out of food preparation and excite creativity in the kitchen!
• Windy Hill Farm Naturals: Sherry has a heart and passion for making the best, all-natural bath and body products from her homestead in the PA Wilds. Her long-lasting soaps and lotions come in a variety of fragrances and colors, perfect for tailoring the gift for exactly the person you are purchasing for this holiday season!

To learn more, browse participating vendors and sales the day of Makers Market, and sign up for reminders about the event, visit: shop.pawilds.com/makers-market.

ABOUT THE PA WILDS MARKETPLACE

The PA Wilds Marketplace features products that have been handcrafted by artisans and craftspeople living and working in the Pennsylvania Wilds, a 13-county region known for its vast public lands, outdoor experiences, maker culture, and stewardship ethic. These quality products celebrate the beauty, bounty and rural traditions of the PA Wilds, and you can too! Through this Marketplace, shoppers help sustain the region’s small businesses and rural communities.

ABOUT THE PA WILDS

The Pennsylvania Wilds is a 13-county region that includes the counties of Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Warren, and northern Centre. The PA Wilds is home to the greatest concentration of public lands in the Commonwealth. The PA Wilds Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to connect people to nature, businesses to opportunities, and communities to resources, creating rooted local wealth in the PA Wilds. Based in the region, the Center is the lead nonprofit for the PA Wilds Conservation Landscape effort, a 15+year collaborative effort by local, state and federal partners to establish the region as a premier outdoor recreation destination as a way to diversify local economies, attract investment, inspire stewardship, improve quality of life and attract and retain the region’s working-age population. PA Wilds Center works closely with PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, PA Department of Community and Economic Development, the region’s county governments, and other investors in the regional strategy. For more information on the PA Wilds Center and the Wilds Cooperative, visit www.PAWildsCenter.org. Explore the PA Wilds and find locally made products at www.PAWilds.com. To support the PA Wilds Center’s mission in the PA Wilds Conservation Landscape, please visit pawilds.com/give.