Artisans Create Harlem Pop-Up

When the local Sugar Hill artisans market closed two years ago, milliner Karema Deodato, fashion designer Heike Jarick, and artist and jewelry designer Maiko Suzuki knew they needed to find a new opportunity for Harlem creators. “We all lived in Harlem,”  Suzuki said, “and we needed some kind of community so designers and artists could come together and showcase our work.”

Together they imagined and brought to life Harlem Makers Collective (HMC), a pop-up market where local artists present and sell their creations to the community. The market is held at Gallery 8, on the corner of Frederick Douglass and 139th. “Many of the makers that join us now are from the older market,” Deodato said, “and we’ve brought on many new vendors.” The market meets every few months, with extra dates added near the end-of-the-year holidays. 

Laura Cepeda, the founder of Modestine Tea, joined them to sell teas inspired by her grandmother’s recipes. Cepeda loves the way the market brings people together. “You meet awesome people,” she said, “You get to explore different cultures. It’s really a beautiful thing. It’s a way to bridge gaps within the community.”

The founder of the website, The Curious Uptowner, often posts about – and uses their Instagram account – to promote HMG and its artists. The Curious Uptowner, who prefers to remain anonymous keep the focus on the blog and “maintain some privacy online” is “always on the hunt for new or interesting places to shop in Harlem and Washington Heights. 

“It’s something that’s getting harder to find as rents continue to climb and the whole retail world moves online,” they said, “So HMC checks all the boxes: it’s new but held in a beautiful old Harlem neighborhood, it’s something people can do on the weekends, and it’s a bunch of cool creatives selling unique, stylish merchandise made locally.” 

Susan Scott-Ker, another vendor, is the talent behind Gorgeous Gems Design. She knew Deodato and her hats from the Sugar Hill market. When Scott-Ker started making jewelry, Deodato invited her to join HMC. “Apart from the occasional group of tourists, everybody’s local,” Scott-Ker said, “Recently I had people from 135th Street, 138th, 145th, and two from Washington Heights. It’s all people from the community supporting local Harlem artisans and shopping local.” 

When they say local, they mean it. At least two customers from Saturday’s market will meet up with Scott-Ker and Deodato somewhere in Harlem this week to pick up their made-for-them earrings and hat.

Deodato says she’s buoyed by the community’s response.

“The outpouring of support and makers that were looking for a home to show their wares is tremendous,” she said, “We have a lot of ideas, so we are hopefully going to push it to the next level next year.” When asked for a hint of these new ideas, Deodato smiled and said, “We’ll keep it under wraps for now. Check back with us in a few months.”

Upcoming market dates: November 15–17 and December 13–15

Location: 2602 Frederick Douglass Blvd. 

Follow the market on Instagram @Harlemmakerscollective