Marketplace

One thing I love about the Internet is the way it can allow artists and artisans to get wider distribution for their creations. Here’s a small selection of shops approved by the Hidden City Chamber of Commerce.

Alina Smith: Handmade Books, Photographs, and Other Treasures. Alina’s a Chicago-based designer and photographer I had the amazing good fortune of meeting through Twitter. I own one of her wonderful hand-made books and some of her greeting cards, and if I can ever scrape up the cash I’m going to own one of her palladium prints, too.

Dave Sheely Designs: I met Dave through his wife, the astonishingly talented writer Mary Sheely. Dave creates fun and funky jewelry cast in industrial grade urethane, the kind that never yellows or cracks or becomes brittle. His style blends a retro playfulness with a completely modern sense of style to make wearable art.

Razorberries: Tanya Pshenychny is an artist creating watercolor and ink illustrations perfectly blending innocence and the macabre. I only have one of her pieces right now, but I hope get more before they’re all hanging in galleries.

Neverwear: Special limited and signed prints, odd t-shirts, and much more from or related in some way to Neil Gaiman. I know Neil’s kind of a big deal and would normally be excluded from this Marketplace on those grounds, but his shop has a very personal feel. It’s run by by a wonderful woman named Cat who goes out of her way to make you feel like every order they receive — no matter how small — is important.

If you’d like to be considered for listing here just let me know.