Letter to the editor
On June 22 my children sold their hand-crafted jewelry at the Invermere Farmers Market.
Since young children are not able to purchase a vendor stall at the market, I did that on their behalf. Over a period of four months, they had made many beautiful necklaces and bracelets from scratch using specialty tools, wire, clasps, and hundreds of beads made of glass, metal and plastic. They also made hundreds of custom keychains from scratch using two-component resin, varying not only in colour but also featuring artistic finishes such as handwritten messages and colourful artifacts within the resin.
Many people stopped by to admire the beautiful hand-crafted designs and the artistic variations of the jewelry, as well as all the hard labour that had gone into making them.
Five days later the organizers of the Invermere Farmers Market sent us an email, in which they alleged that “some of the jewelry offered for sale at the market had been store bought and had little artisanal merit,” and stated that we should “refrain from sales of these products.” They provided no evidence. They did not accept an invitation to meet and discuss this wrongful allegation. And they provided no apology. My children felt disrespected and very disappointed after hearing about this.
Who gets to determine what has “artisanal merit?” Which products at the market are truly not made from basic items that have been bought at some store? Are children not welcome to sell at the market? Maybe the organization of this market is in need of a review.
Timm Stein, Timber Ridge
