OGDEN, Utah — Holiday shopping is underway, but before you check off buying all the items on your list, local businesses want to remind you to check out what they have to offer.
When you walk into the Local Artisan Collective in Ogden, it’s truly a celebration of art. “It’s just my happy place, I love it,” said Jenny Venegas, co-owner of the Local Artisan Collective. Over 40 local artists sell their creations here.
“It’s been really game-changing for my art to be able to have people come buy my art whenever they can, instead of waiting for me to be at a different market, or waiting for me to load it onto a website,” said Summer Falkenrath, creator of Falken Craft. They make statement resin jewelry and also help run the space.
The store offers a variety of art - there’s jewelry, stickers, scrubs, keychains, shot glasses, prints, cards, magnets, ornaments, mugs, crocheted products, bags, and so much more.
“You can have local art, you can have unique pieces in your home, in your office, we try to make that a reality for people,” added Venegas. The collective tries to offer a range of price points, to make local art accessible to everyone – while making sure artists are adequately compensated.
The owners, Stephanie Howerton and Jenny Venegas are artists too, and their mission is to encourage people to support local art, especially this holiday shopping season. “This weekend is one of our biggest weekends of the year and it helps us to be able to survive the rest of the year, and so without that support from the community, we probably wouldn’t be around,” said Howerton.
“Those big box stores and places online, they never see the purchases we make. But this purchase, literally pays my mortgage and puts food on my table,” added Falkenrath.
In the spirit of helping others, the Local Artisan Collective is also collecting food donations for the Weber County Animal Shelter. They also have an angel tree where you can donate gifts to help families in need, here in your community.
This Small Business Saturday, they are also hosting artist demonstrations for people to learn more about the process. They have special deals and discounts, as well as treats and goodies to get people excited about local art.
“The community support is everything,” said Venegas. “And Ogden and Weber county has been phenomenal to support us. Several people that come in every winter and say, ‘I buy all my gifts from your place, I’ve been following you, I want to come in, I want to support local’.”
Throughout the year, they also host events and can cater to all your artistic needs and dreams. You can take classes or host parties in their space. “If you can support smaller businesses, it means the world to a larger scale than you might think,” said Howerton.
“We’ve built a place. It’s here, so come shop with us and have fun,” added Venegas.
You can learn more about the Local Artisan Collective here.
