On Wednesday, Dec. 7, The Oxbow Hotel hosted their first ever Holiday Pop-Up market. The event featured booths of local art and baked goods for sale. 

The Lakely, a bar connected to the hotel, served complimentary drinks and baked goods and hosted a raffle with prizes. 

Anna Reisner, the coordinator for the Holiday Pop-up and employee for the Oxbow, said how important it is to be part of these artistic communities. 

“We wanted to find a way to really showcase all the artists and everyone in Eau Claire,” Reisner said. 

The vendors, stationed inside an offshoot of the lobby, were surrounded with patrons, community members and supporters. 

Reisner said the general community feeling encouraged the coordinators

“It’s going really well so hopefully we will host many more in the future,” Reisner said. 

The local vendors, most of which had connections to the Oxbow, were excited to share their pieces and talk about their art. Mallory Studer, a photographer selling prints, shared her process. 

“I sell film photographs that I took traveling.” Studer said, “These were all taken in south east Asia — Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.”

All of Studer’s photographs are taken on her very own film camera, a Pentax K1000, and printed in a darkroom. Her prints can be found and ordered through her Instagram, @mallorykate.photo  

Tessa Duke, an employee for the Oxbow and a creative, makes her art with her husband, alongside selling vintage pieces of clothing, bags and accessories. 

“I have some bolo ties I made using old brooches, and my husband and I do woodworking and resin pours. He does the routing of the designs and then I fill them with colored resin.” Duke said. 

Also featured from Duke’s shop were nightlights, stained glass and wall art. To see more of Duke’s art, check out her Instagram @midwestromance. 

Due to the success of the event, the coordinators have already begun looking for vendors for the next pop-up. 

“I think we’ve already had a few people sign up for a spring one as well,” said Duke. 

Many of these vendors go through a dry spell, which according to Gusto starts once outdoor events like the farmers market and other art fairs and festivals stop for the winter. 

“These adverse side effects of wintertime push small business owners and employees to find new ways to pivot to avoid overwhelming financial challenges.” Gusto editors say. 

Following news sources and places like The Oxbow can help community members stay up to date on happenings they may be interested in attending. 

More holiday themed events happening at The Oxbow in the near future include an Ugly Sweater party and craft cocktails with Santa Claus on Dec. 21 and a New Year’s Eve celebration featuring Uncommon Denominator on Dec. 31.  

Alongside these activities is The Lakely signature event, Late Night Jazz. Select Fridays and each Saturday of the month, The Lakely hosts jazz performers to play for patrons. 

This event begins at 8:30 p.m. and runs until 11 p.m., and the list of upcoming performers can be found on The Oxbow Hotels website. 

Brandel can be reached at [email protected].