LOS ANGELES — Holiday shopping can be a challenge as you find fun gifts for friends and family without sacrificing commercial excess. To ease your search, we’ve put together a list of 11 artist-run sales, craft fairs, and markets in LA (and online!) that emphasize community over consumption. The offering includes everything from artist-designed t-shirts, affordable ceramics and art books to zines and even exotic plants.
Heavy Manners Library Holiday Zone Craft Fair
1200 North Alvarado Street, Unit D, Echo Park, Los Angeles, heavymannerslibrary.com
Echo Park bookstore, gallery and lending library Heavy Manners is hosting a two-day craft fair on November 30 and December 1 featuring ceramics, clothing, jewelry, zines, candles, soft sculptures and more. The event hopes to temper the rampant commercialism of the season with a focus on connection: “We can’t escape capitalism in our lives and especially during the holidays, but we can consume intentionally and build our relationship with the community of artists here in Los Angeles. Angeles,” an event description reads. Participating vendors and artists include Vieve ceramics, Heysoupface, the Downtown Women’s Center, Eunsoo Jeong, Sarah Plummer, Ako Castuera and more.
The middle becomes eclectic in the Middle Room Gallery
3229 Glendale Boulevard, Atwater Village, Los Angeles, themiddleroomgallery.com
‘Salon style’ usually implies a certain ostentatious maximalism, but The middle becomes eclectican exhibition through December 29 in the Middle Room Gallery, is characterized by intimacy and thoughtfulness. The show features small works priced under $500, created by 50 Los Angeles-based artists, including Abbey Golden, Alaia Parhizi, Cheyann Washington, Joy Ray, Ruby Vartain, Sacha Halona Baumann and many others.
The tee room in Night Gallery
2050 Imperial Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, nightgallery.com
The T-shirt is a fashion item: classic, simple and infinitely adaptable. With this in mind, through December 21, artist Josh Callaghan has hosted The Tee Room, a pop-up shop featuring unique artist-designed shirts with prices ranging from $50 to $300. Participating artists include Andrea Marie Breiling, Mira Dancy , Michael Dopp, Eve Fowler, Hell is Too Blurry (Buzz Szilagyi), Tidawhitney Lek, Mark Verabioff and others.
Ceramic Salon at Seaview
4166 Sea View Avenue, Mount Washington, Los Angeles, seaview.us
From December 14 to 21, the Ceramics Salon 陶芸サロン group exhibition by Sea View and ATLA explores the cross-currents between ceramicists in Japan and California. You’ll find works by Adam Alessi, Akihide Nakao, Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Roger Herman, Yu Kobayashi and others in prices ranging from $250 to $5,000.
Winter Market at Marvell Studios
3629 Medford Street, East Los Angeles, instagram.com/emily_marchand
Artist Emily Marchand started her winter market during the pandemic as a way to help support herself and other artists and connect with others safely. The market, now in its fifth year and running from December 7 to 8, will offer textiles, ceramics, candles, soaps, drawings, vinyl, tinctures, jewelry and blown glassware at prices ranging from $25 to $250. Participating artists include Cathy Akers, Ivan Bridges, Laub, Jackie Rines, Andrew Sexton, Despina Stonkou, Liz Walsh and many more.
Plant sales from Alika Cooper
Nomadic Division of Los Angeles, 3626 West Jefferson Boulevard, West Adams, Los Angeles, nomadicdivision.org
Artist and horticulturist Alika Cooper started organizing monthly plant sales in an empty parking lot in 2021. What started as a DIY event with seven vendors has grown into a biennial phenomenon with dozens of participants, offering all kinds of flora, from the humble succulent to the exotic Eriospermum. , bonsai trees and Honduran Moon Torch. This season’s event, hosted by Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND) in partnership with Maydan Market, will take place on Sunday, December 8 with plants from Myco Myco, Into the Field, Sandy Loam, Test Plot/Terremoto, Mark Hagen, Vita Grace , and others.
Junior High Holiday Cup Sale
603 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California, juniorhighlosangeles.com
Junior High’s Holiday Cup Sale on Saturday, November 30 will feature a diverse selection of vessels designed by more than 30 local QTBIPOC (queer, trans, black, indigenous, people of color) artists, priced at $35 each. Participating artists include Chelsie Rivera, Mira Lanz and Leon Cho, and studios Not Another Pottery Studio, Pot Studio LA and The Pottery Studio.
Ochi holiday market
Online, ochishop.com
When creating her gallery’s online holiday market, Ochi Gallery owner Pauli Ochi was inspired by her mother Roberta and her 1990s Sun Valley store Art. [x] Soul, where “every object she stocked bore the aura of its creator.” Ochi’s store offers functional and decorative artwork from gallery artists including Heather Hansen’s marble body partsLyndon Franks painted opera glovesand Bailey Hikawa is whimsical toilet seat made of resin and dried flowers.
Beyond the Streets Archive Release and Holiday Bazaar
434 North La Brea Avenue, Fairfax, Los Angeles, beyondthestreets.com
Beyond the Streets has established itself as one of the premier galleries documenting, presenting and preserving graffiti and street art culture. They will host a two-day Archive Release and Holiday Bazaar the weekend of December 14 featuring clothing, prints, books, sculptures and other art, objects and collectibles from influential and emerging artists including Shepard Fairey, Estevan Oriol, Chaz Bojorquez, Gustavo Zermeno Jr. and RAMMELLZEE.
Inchoate futures at the Melrose Botanical Garden
7406 Melrose Avenue, Fairfax, Los Angeles, melrosebotanicalgarden.xyz
From December 18 to 19, Inchoate Futures is a group show and fundraiser for the benefit of ClayDDa non-profit organization focused on supporting children and adults with special needs through programs that focus on the healing power of clay. The exhibition features ceramic work by ten contemporary artists alongside pieces created by young people in the programme, with all proceeds benefiting the organisation. Participating artists include Cressida Collins, Sophie Ramos, Josh Cloud, Flour Pots, Sarah Rosenblum and others.
LA Artcore’s 2nd Annual Winter Market
Judge John Aiso Street 120, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, laartcore.org
LA Artcore’s second annual Winter Market on Saturday, December 7 showcases the work of local artists and artisans, offering a wide selection of affordable, handmade items. The event is organized in collaboration with the nearby Takumi Alley Holiday Market, with participants such as Libros Con Alma, Nicholette Kominos, Dominique Go, Natalee Park and others.
