I just recently came back from a trip home to Jacksonville, FL. Every time I leave for a few months and come back something new has happened – whether it is a store that has closed or a new shopping mall has opened. My most recent discovery was the Riverside Arts Market (RAM) which I LOVED! I would’ve went every Saturday if I could have!
This huge weekend market has over one football field’s covered area and features the work of 160 artists, accompanied by musical entertainment, street performers, food vendors, and a fresh produce market.
Here are just some of the great businesses I came across:
Cookies available are:
“Berry” Good Chocolate Chip (Little Monkey’s Fave)
Loaded with dried cranberries, Ghirardelli® white premium chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips and a hint of toffee for added deliciousness
Chippy Chocolate Toffee
American classic updated with premium semi-sweet chocolate chunks, semi-sweet chips and toffee bits with a touch of espresso will send your taste buds over the edge
Oatmeal Brickle Raisin (My fave)
Old-fashion classic with a tasty twist. Along with plump raisins, we added yummy brickle bits to add another tasteful element that is sure to please the most discriminating palate
Southern Pecan Caramel
Buttery caramel bits with toasted pecans give these cookies a wonderful chewy texture that will leave you wanting more
Every time I went to the Riverside Arts Market I left with more Vegan Olive Tapenade! The last Saturday that I went it was threatening to rain, but I made the decision that if I had to walk through the pouring rain to get two more jars of Vegan Tapenade I would. Ummm…I certainly ate those words. We forgot the umbrella in the car because it wasn’t raining at the time. I was traveling with my sister, Little Monkey, and a friend of mine who was 7 months pregnant. So when the pouring rain came, I had to walk in the rain to get my car to keep everyone else dry…I was SOAKED by the time I got to my car. But well worth it…that Tapenade is addictive!
The Gourmet Olive Tapenade is made with black and green olives, extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil, pimentos, capers, fresh garlic, fresh herbs, lemon juice, and pureed anchovy filets. (I didn’t eat that one, not a fan of anchovies.)
The Vegan Olive Tapenade is made with black and green olives, extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil, pimentos, capers, fresh garlic, fresh herbs, and lemon juice.
Their tapenade is perfect on crusty bread, fish, meat, vegetables, or on Wheat Thins as I like to enjoy them.
Dips2go offers upscale, handmade gourmet dips, soups, rubs, marinades, glazes and salad dressings made from fine dried herbs and spices.
I couldn’t resist their bread dipping spice (Ingredients: basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves, garlic and more). I also liked their Spicy Asian Fusion Glaze. I didn’t think I would, but my sister convinced me to try it and it was oh so delicious! The sample they had was poured over some cream cheese. I could’ve ate that for days.
Darlene had some really cool artwork up in her booth. When I saw the Owl I thought of The Who’s song “Who Are You”. She had this painting of a gorgeous black cat sitting down (that I wish I took a picture of), skull with crossbones, a beautiful colorful dragonfly, and two of my favorites were a caterpillar and bee that each had one of those wiggle eyes (that you use for crafts). You can view more of Darlene’s work on her website. Yes – there are nudes, just so you aren’t surprised, but the tab very clearly says it…so you have to go out of your way to see it.
Ipsa Art
Kim transforms your photos into works of art. I would love to get this done for my parents’ chihuahua/cairn terrier puppy…maybe for Christmas. I’ve got to find a good picture of that puppy since he is so hard to capture in a photo. He is usually just a blur in a photo because he moves so much.
Aren’t those adorable?!
Mom-B
Could these be any cuter?! Mom-B can put appliques on anything from onesies, aprons, bibs, terry cloth hand towels, etc. Check out their etsy shop!
My fave outfit has to be…
Too bad I don’t have a little girl!
(Update: From Mom-B – Anyone interested in a custom order from my etsy shop convo me, if you mention you heard about us from Joanne’s blog i will give you 10% off your order!)
There were many, many more great vendors and I really, really wish more of them had online sites, but these were just a few I really liked. Here is a list of some more vendors. And like I said if you ever make it to Jacksonville, FL between April-December on a Saturday be sure to check out the Riverside Arts Market!
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Thanks Joanne,
I agree the Arts Market is AWESOME! Anyone near or around Jax on a Sat must come check it out. Anyone interested in a custom order from my etsy shop convo me, if you mention you heard about us from Joanne's blog i will give you 10% off your order!
Hi Joanne,
Thanks for mentioning our business, Flippin' Good Cookies on your blog. We love the Riverside Arts Market. There are many talented folks there. We will also be selling our cookies at the new St. Johns Town Center Farmer's Market in Jacksonville. That market is open every Friday from 3:00 to 8:00 pm.
You should contact the bizymoms Riverside community to get your blog featured to their large mom community. I am sure they would love to read your posts.
There is a form on their expert page, http://www.bizymoms.com/experts/index.html