MUSKEGON, Mich. — This weekend promises to be action-packed along the lakeshore.
There's the St. Patrick's Parade, back after a pandemic pause, Shamrockin' in Your Shanty on Western Avenue and a newcomer to the line-up: The Michigan Maker's Market.
The show will feature dozens of local artists and crafters, showcasing their handcrafted creations at the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center Saturday.
West Michigan Artist Renee Essenberg-Huff will be one of them.
She invited us inside her Norton Shores garage-turned-workshop for insights into the creative process.
“I swore I would never have the garage that gets full of stuff and you can't park in,” Huff laughed. “But here we are.”
But there’s a reason for the organized chaos of off cuts, painted wood burnings and fanciful glass displays.
It’s where, four years ago, Huff called it quits on a career in retail, released her inner creativity and launched her second act, chasing a childhood passion that became a grown-up livelihood: Floatbridge Art & Design.
“I love doing wood burning…and I started doing dreamscapes…working with miniatures,” Huff said. “My passion is making for other people, that look on their face when they see what I've created for them.”
She’ll bring that goal with her to the convention floor this weekend.
“Being there and sharing what I've done with other people is just…it's the biggest, best, craziest, awesome thing there is,” Huff explained.
“I'm hoping we have a really good crowd,” said Event Organizer Carla Flanders. “I'm anticipating as such because there's a lot of things happening downtown. We have maxed out the space.”
That translates to a full 84 10-by-10 spaces with talent to spare at the first annual Michigan Maker’s Market.
“We wanted to really support these local artists and crafters and do something in these winter months,” Flanders said. “This was a perfect opportunity.”
Win or lose, Huff’s just happy to be out there doing what she loves.
“If it makes them happy, I'm like, I succeeded,” she explained.
And sharing that love with others.
“I don't care what the money was,” Huff said. “I succeeded.”
The Michigan Maker’s Market opens at the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center Saturday, March 12 at 9 a.m.
The event wraps up at 5 p.m.
As a reminder, Western Avenue will be closed as festivities continue, so drivers are asked to find an alternate route.
For more details, click here.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.