A relatively new, grassroots farmers market is giving locals and area vendors a chance to shop for summer produce and hand-made crafts with an emphasis on community but without the stress of a weekend farmer’s markets.
The Elmore’s Farmer’s Market, hosted Thursdays, started as a single stall at Elmore’s Corner. Courtney Gott, owner of Rustic Rise Bakery, approached the store about opening up a stand selling her baked goods, and after she started, another vendor asked asked if she could set up, and then it snowballed from there and eventually down the street to the Florida Grange.
“It wasn’t necessarily supposed to happen,” Gott said. “It’s been a whirlwind for me, but it’s been really exciting. I had resigned myself to setting up by myself, but then the way it’s all come together, and the locals were embracing it and embracing what it could have.”
The key, though, was finding a framework that also works for vendors who want to do what they love without an extensive “production.”
“Durango Farmers Market is massive,” she said. “It’s huge and it’s an extreme time commitment. I personally don’t think I could do it in my situation with four kids; it just wouldn’t work for me.”
That mindset also seems to be more suitable for locals more than tourists. The Jewish community is Durango has sabbaths on Saturdays, so weekend markets aren’t an option for them, Gott said. Stay-at-home moms, the elderly, people with disabilities or people looking for a less hectic option to support small businesses also can roam the market without the onslaught of weekend warriors toting multi-child strollers.
“We want to maintain the small town, in-and-out vibe, so Thursdays just kind of work for us,” she said.
Vendor list
The Elmore’s Farmer’s Market features a 50-50 split of food and crafts.
- The Rustic Rise Bakery
- Oneness Ranch and Honey
- H&M's Herbal Magic
- Herbie Family Farms
- The Snyder Boys Fruit Stand
- Phishy Bear Burger Stand
- Timberline Bovine
- Peak & Petal
- Byers Ranch Apothecary
- The Crafty Tortuga
- The Purple Elephant
- Smash-A-Craft
- Ron's Dreamcatchers
- Sassycow Treats & Eats
- Sweetgrass Tea & Delicasies
- Rooted in Moss
- The Wandering Leaf
- San Juan Gempipes
- Donna Gentile Jewlery, Art & Creations
-TMG Farms Coffee
- GingerSnap Enterprises
- River Otter Farms
That flexible nature has attracted vendors from around the Four Corners who may not have the capacity for larger markets, or want a reliable stream of smaller options to push products.
“The goal for the vendors would be to create a market circuit where vendors can go from event to event and be able to make a living doing what they’re doing instead of working a full time job” and then also the market, Gott said.
“Allowing (the vendors) to do as many days as they possibly can without making them pick and choose – that’s the goal,” she said. “People just doing what they love and being able to do it full time.”
The organic way in which the market started also promoted community within the growing roster of vendors.
“I’m the type of person I need community, I need interaction,” Gott said. “Actually, the reason I started my business in the first place was I lost most of my community.”
That community member was Vernon Ferrell, who helped Gott and her husband establish their own corner of Durango after moving here. Four years ago, however, Ferrell took his life, leaving a void in Durango and for Gott.
“His passing was the main reason I started my business and the reason I believe we need to cultivate small-town community again,” Gott wrote in a text. “He loved gardening, community and would introduce people you wouldn’t think would click and then they would because of him.”
While Gott has seen the purpose and advantage of the red tape and bureaucracy now that she’s on the management side of the farmers market, the community-inspired approach to Elmore’s Market’s first season has been given vendors the benefit of a trial.
“We can give people the time to try it, see if it’s a fit, see how it feels, see how their product does and it can be more fluid than what other markets allow it to be,” she said. “What we’re seeing happening is events are expensive to be a part of. If you’re a vendor, the cost can be extreme and you may or may not make that money back, and it’s certainly not refundable.”
Next year, there will be more organization to ensure a consistent stable of vendors, but Gott said it will still maintain its nonprofit approach to give back to the community. Elmore’s Farmer’s Market is open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday at the 306 Florida Grange.
sbeckwith@durangoherald.com
