The third-ever Brandeis Craft Market took place this week! On April 26 and 27, student artists got the opportunity to showcase their work to the community. Tables covering Fellows Garden were full of handmade goods, everything from earrings to paintings to homemade macarons, available for purchase. 

“I was so excited to participate in the craft market. In-person markets like these are so much more fun than selling things online because you get to talk to people and meet other crafters,” said Hunter Kessous ’22 in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot. As a crocheter, she had a booth available for people to purchase a wide variety of goods: scrunchies, headscarves, bucket hats, tops and bralettes. She explained that she learned to crochet as a kid, while she and her mother watched her siblings play soccer. She’s very excited to have the chance to share her passion and craft with the rest of the community. 

Also selling was Bintou Baysmore ’25. “I realized art is what I love doing, and I want to do it for the rest of my life,” she told The Hoot. “I want it to be my lifestyle, not just a hobby.” At the market earlier this week, she sold prints and stickers. The stickers had cheeky messages on them, like “stressed but blessed” and “can’t spell college without a few Ls.” She said she was “excited to participate in the craft fair because I always love sharing my work with people, and the craft fair was a perfect time for me to get used to selling my artwork.”

Aisha Waggeh ’22 was a particularly unique vendor. She sold cake slices and macarons, the French kind, of various flavors. “I started baking about four years ago but took it seriously starting in 2019 when we all got sent home due to COVID-19. I started making macarons first and to say the first baked was a failure is an understatement,” she wrote to The Hoot. “However, I kept coming back because baking was an outlet for self expression, and I started exploring different recipes and changing them to what works for me.” She explained that she particularly enjoyed selling the macarons, as people tend to confuse them with Jewish macaroons, a coconut cookie typically enjoyed during Passover. “I was excited to participate in the craft market because it allowed me to share my baked goods with more people and the Brandeis Community at large. Spreading joy through baked goods is immensely powerful!” 

The craft market started during last year’s Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. Since then, an independent craft market took place in the winter, as well as this one for the 2022 Festival of the Arts. Kessous said, “Outside of Brandeis, there really won’t be an opportunity to participate in a market like this at no cost. Based on the size of the event, it can cost anywhere from $30 to $250 to participate in a craft market off campus. Do the Brandeis one while you can!”