Shop Local ideas: The Rust Belt Market
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Nov. 26, 2020)
Ferndale, MI- As the holidays approach this year, shopping local is more important than ever to businesses such as the dozens of artists and crafters in The Rust Belt Market in Downtown Ferndale. Here shoppers can find a plethora of items under one roof, and enjoy their time in the ambiance of art and creativity curated by the family that owns that market.
Those hoping to share their love of the Great Lakes State might enjoy the Michigan-made products available at Monger’s Provisions. In this well-stocked space one can find a showcase of high quality meats and cheeses, as well as some unique items like sardines, octopus, pickled mussels, anchovies and caviar. Packaged items like Gus and Grey jellies and jams, Michigan maple syrup, and condiments like Black Sheep Worcestershire sauce. There are locally packaged spices, crackers, cookies, and canned goods. Plus an incredible variety of sweets including chocolate in many forms like Friss Holm Milk Chocolate with Sansho Pepper, Marou Cacao Powder, and Zokoko Goddess Orange bars.
Also among the booths are vendors with clothing and accessories like Not Sorry Apparel, Attack Hunger, Outer Spaceways, and Detroit GT. For jewelry there’s Letters to Sarah Metalsmithing, Uniquely Different Jewelry Designs and more.
Tooth and Nail and Painted Lady Trashions are shops full of interesting found items and oddities. While shops like Bath Savvy, Ida Belle Soaps, and Burton and Levy help keep customers well-groomed and looking great with locally-made personal care products.
We’d be remiss not to include the incredible powers of houseplants, and the stores in Rust Belt Market that have a beautiful, healthy variety of them. The Plant House graces the large front windows of the market, and inside Lady Lazarus has more quirky, smaller plants often in artsier roles.
For those looking for the perfect card to go with their locally-sourced gifts, the folks at the Workplace Program of Michigan Neuropsychological Society have a fun variety made by people with brain disorders and in recovery from injuries.
While shopping be sure to take a peek at the glass tank near the back entrance. That’s where the brightly-colored poison dart frogs are. They’re not for sale, but they are definitely a #FerndaleNormal part of the Rust Belt shopping experience.
Check out all of the great artists and vendors at The Rust Belt Market website. . They are located at 22801 Woodward Ave, on the corner of 9 Mile Road in Downtown Ferndale.