Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

FORTY FORT — Patrons searching for a unique item to gift their significant other found a marketplace of possibilities at 900 Rutter on Sunday.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the retail space hosted more than 50 vendors selling pottery, art, mead, coffee and other items during the first Marketplace 900 event of 2019. Shylo Eganski, founder of the Marketplace 900 event series, said she organizes each date as its own high-quality craft fair.

“I just thought it was important to keep it focused on like-minded artists who are all on the same kind of skill level so you don’t have $200 dollar items next to a $10 item,” said Eganski, 40, of Plymouth. “You want to keep the same feel throughout the whole show.”

This time, Eganski cultivated that feel by inviting artists from New York, Harrisburg and Lancaster to join vendors from local areas like Scranton and Hanover Township. Hometown Go, a duo from Washington, D.C., made the trip after finding Marketplace 900 on an events website. Dave Mueller, 32, said the atmosphere of the 900 Rutter building attracted he and his business partner, John Greenwood.

“We were really pumped,” Mueller said. “We saw the pictures online and then you come in and it’s even cooler in person. That rarely happens. Normally the pictures are the coolest part.”

Along with prints by Greenwood, Hometown Go sells prints from a number of Washington, D.C. area artists specializing in comic book and science fiction characters. Greenwood, 32, said it’s a way for busy or introverted artists to get their work in front of potential customers.

“We just keep rotating various artists out of the D.C. metro area so everyone gets a chance to be seen,” Greenwood said. “It’s a free outlet for our artists as well, [and] everyone hand signs, so it’s the same as if you buy from them.”

Most artists, like Dunmore resident Shawn Jennings, had a shorter trip than the Hometown Go team. Jennings, 45, may have also made that trip in a vehicle he’ll one day turn into a piece of art—the car customizer and owner of Jennings Turnpike Garage attended Marketplace 900 to sell light fixtures made from repurposed wares under a brand he calls Mechanical Concepts.

Jennings said he started making the fixtures as gifts for friends, who then motivated him to sell his creations to the public. In addition to the automotive pieces, Jennings’ materials range from mattress springs to Christmas tree stands. This mechanical maestro also takes requests.

“I did a lantern once for a woman,” Jennings said. “Her and her father always used it when they went camping. Obviously they’re not going to use a lantern anymore in their house, but she still wanted that memory, so I converted it into a lamp for her.”

A lantern — a dull one, to be exact — inspired Hanover Township resident Michele Bellis’ table of art pieces housed inside different lanterns. Bellis, 54, said she’s been making them for three years and has a favorite style of lantern to work on.

“I like the memorials, these are a real big seller,” Bellis said. “The empty chair lanterns are very popular.”

Another gathering of artists and vendors will populate 900 Rutter on April 14, when Marketplace 900 next opens for business. Until then, Hometown Go can be found at HometownGo.com, Jennings’ pieces can be found on Instagram @MechanicalConcepts and Bellis will sell lanterns at SPCA of Luzerne County Pet Expo March 30 and 31.

Carol Rizzo, of Forty Fort, looks over the lighting fixtures.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_marketplace6_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgCarol Rizzo, of Forty Fort, looks over the lighting fixtures. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Marketplace 900 was held at 900 Rudder in Forty Fort on Sunday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_marketplace5_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgMarketplace 900 was held at 900 Rudder in Forty Fort on Sunday. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Joan Gallup Grimord, of Bloomsburg, sits with her dog, Amybehind, at her booth at Marketplace 900 on Sunday in Forty Fort.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_marketplace4_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgJoan Gallup Grimord, of Bloomsburg, sits with her dog, Amybehind, at her booth at Marketplace 900 on Sunday in Forty Fort. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Carol Marino, of Wilkes-Barre Township, looks over the art of John Greenwood, right, of Hometown Go on Sunday at Marketplace 900 in Forty Fort.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_marketplace3_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgCarol Marino, of Wilkes-Barre Township, looks over the art of John Greenwood, right, of Hometown Go on Sunday at Marketplace 900 in Forty Fort. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Sean Jennings waits for customers at Marketplace 900 on Sunday in Forty Fort.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_marketplace2_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgSean Jennings waits for customers at Marketplace 900 on Sunday in Forty Fort. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Sydney Smith, of Kingston, makes a purchase from Jeremy and Heather Conrad of at Forkston Woodworks during Marketplace 900 in Forty Fort on Sunday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_marketplace1_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgSydney Smith, of Kingston, makes a purchase from Jeremy and Heather Conrad of at Forkston Woodworks during Marketplace 900 in Forty Fort on Sunday. Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Event is first one of 2019 for complex

By Gene Axton

For Times Leader

Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.