News

Summer is here! Relax your mind and body with yoga at the market this morning courtesy of Sky House Yoga. We’ll also have some acoustic blues music by Social Ramble, a performance by the Capital Accord Chorus, a super-sized train show and a Goodwill Donation Drive!

Joining Us This Week:

Pazmino Pottery:

Goodwill of Greater Washington:

Baltimore Bumble Crafts:

Larry Stevens Art:

Great Ape!:

Community Programing:

10:00 a.m. – 2:00 pm: Goodwill Donation Drive

10:30 am: Live Music by Capital Accord Chorus

10:30 – 11:30 am: Kids Yoga at the market with Sky House Yoga

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Teens/Adults Yoga at the market with Sky House Yoga

1:00 – 3:00 pm: Social Ramble

Riverdale Model Train Club will have a super-sized edition!

We are so excited for our Etsy Craft Party at Kefa Cafe!

Have you met Etsy? Etsy is the largest online handmade and vintage marketplace, but it is much more than a marketplace – it is a community, much like Fenton Street Market, and you can find shops for a lot of our vendors on Etsy. We even have a Fenton Street Market Etsy Team where you can find all our vendor Etsy shops in one place.

Every year, Etsy has a global craft party. All over the world, groups of Etsy sellers and craft enthusiasts come together to make and craft. This year’s craft party theme is “Craft for Community.” We really wanted to host an Etsy party this year, and we couldn’t think of a better activity than to craft in the name of Bonifant Street where many of our local small Silver Spring businesses (just like us) call home.

For the party, we will “craft bomb” Bonifant Street in between Fenton Street and Georgia Avenue to highlight these small businesses. A team of FSM vendors will also work to create three crafty window displays along Bonifant Street for the occasion.
What is “craft bombing,” you may ask? It is a craft explosion in a public place to lift up the community and in our case, stimulate more economic growth for our neighborhood small businesses. It is similar to “yarn bombing” – find examples here and here. But we will craft bomb together, as a party and it’ll be lots of fun! Be sure to RSVP today!

We are proud to announce that we will once again be partnering with Silver Spring Green to bring you a green-themed market!

The second annual Silver Spring GreenFest will take place on Saturday, October 5 from 10:00am – 4:00pm. In addition to green businesses at the market, there will be a full program of eco-minded speakers, demonstrations and community-related events inside the Civic Building.

We are looking for environmentally and community-minded businesses and organizations to participate as vendors at the market. This will be a great opportunity to reach the over 4,000 customers that visit FSM each Saturday.

Prospective vendors should first consult our FAQs to learn about booth fees and market procedures. Then, submit your application by July 15th via email: megan@fentonstreetmarket.com  Preference will be given to local companies and small businesses that actively contribute to sustaining our local community.

All applications should include the following information:

1. Name
2. Business name
3. Email
4. Phone
5. Address
6. Website (if you don’t have one, please attach 2-3 product pictures)
7. Vendor Statement

• Brief description of goods/services to be offered, and how you would engage shoppers
• Explanation of how the products or services you sell promote a green and sustainable lifestyle and/or work environment
• Description of how you carry out your business in a green and sustainable way

Meet Mariam of Bahari Deco Crafts. Mariam has been vending with us for a while now and we are a big fan of her work. She applies her textiles in many forms. This Saturday [June 15], she will have cup sleeves, device cases, bags, summer clothing for children and adults, colorful animals and hand painted handmade paper and cards.

1. Who are you, where are you from and what do you sell? How are you known at the market?

I am a seamstress. I come from East Cost Tanzania. Normally I should just say I am from Tanzania, but put that way, in relation to my business. What I sell is fashion accessories made from traditional African made fabrics – Kanga cloth is my specialty, followed by Kitenge and Kikoi ( as we call hand woven cloth).

Also, I share stories and create awareness of the Swahili culture. I think people need information from the native as opposed to information wrote by visitors on  what they captured during their few days visits in the Swahili coast. I appreciate their effort, and wish to compliments and correct when possible.

At some markets I am known as the Kanga Lady and some just the Swahili Seamstress.

2. How did you get started in your business and what is your future vision?

Fenton Street was my first market to vend. Prior to that, I used to sell on consignment to a vendor who used to vend at D.C. Eastern Market. She moved away to the other state. My first products in Fenton Market were Kanga cloth, Kanga bags and some mixed handicrafts from Tanzania. Megan was among my first buyers (Kanga bag) and Laura Costas ( Kanga clothes). She is regular FSM visitor) and my regular customer and devoted motivator. That is worth mentioning for FSM Customers – most of them become vendors’ friends.

On my early days on FSM, I met Emily Morris, who worked lived and work in Tanzania for 7 years representing a non-profit organization based in WA DC, -EDC. She was very excited to see Kanga again. We ended up talking for a while, and she introduced me to Empowered Women International, then the journey with EWI begun in Spring 2012, onwards.

3. Why do you do what you do? What is so special about your business?

I chose to do this because I love art and I love Swahili culture and all that it offers. I am missing a lot of what is available there in this part of the world. Even at the Smithsonian Museum, the Swahili Coast is only place in Africa which, is  either not represented or with very little representation to notice. Unfortunately, I don’t see representation in other African art, crafts and culture.

As a Swahili native, and skilled artisan I decided to do this to make a contribution, in my own small way. I have been my mother’s helper, and as an adult, I opted to resign from a white color job to work in the handicrafts field. My presence in America is an opportunity and a platform for my advancement and inclusion of the Swahili coast’s skills in the wider market.

4. What do you love most about Fenton Street Market?

What I like about Fenton Street Market its POSITION, Diversity and A Very Nice community of vendors and visitors. Last but not least, I with I could composed a song about FSM.

ALL THE BEST.