‘Batik’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

After the enthusiastic response to our Gift Guide to DC Artists last week, I wanted to do a follow-up to further assist you awesome bunch of DC Enthusiasts in your gift-giving efforts.

I didn’t get a chance to talk about holiday markets, which are a great way to check out local and regional artists and let the perfect gift suggest itself to you.

The biggest and probably most convenient is the Downtown Holiday Market, which will be happening until December 23rd. It’s at 8th and F Streets from noon to 8 on daily, so it’s perfect for slipping out at lunchtime or on your way home from work to take a look.  Take a look at their exhibitor list, because not every artist is there for the whole market.

‘Cutting Boards from the Shenandoah’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

Additionally, there’s the Capitol Riverfront holiday market near the Navy Yard Metro. This one will be a little harder to get to, because it’s only running to noon to six starting Tuesday December 15th and ending Friday, December 18th, but it should be worth checking out. And if it’s successful enough, maybe they’ll have more convenient hours next year.

You can also catch the fourth annual Craft Mutiny Holiday Booty Market at Design Within Reach in Adams Morgan on Saturday the 19th. It’s only  from 10 to 5, so act quickly on this one.

And of course, don’t forget the granddaddy of DC open-air gift shopping- Eastern Market. The Eastern Market Sunday flea market is a year-round thing, but since it’s one day a week, it’s a good place to find artists who have day jobs and may not be able to take a week off to participate in one of the other holiday markets. It’s also a good place to find antiques that may not be at artist-focused events.

‘DC Downtown Holiday Market’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

If you’ve got a little time and some transportation, Glen Echo Park is doing a weekend holiday market featuring their resident artists. The market will run through January 10th (handy for observers of the Orthodox calendar).

Similarly, you can check out the Sugarloaf Craft Festival December 11th-13th at the Dulles Expo Center. Sugarloaf Festivals are fairly large, so it attracts artists from a much larger area. If you’re particular about looking for locally-produced items, be sure to ask.

Finally, a quick shout-out to a couple of other DC-oriented gift guides- Going Green DC has a nice roundup of environmentally-focused gifts, most of which can be found in DC and will therefore benefit DC businesses. And Metrocurean has some suggestions for gifts of local food.

Tiffany Bridge

Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.

Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.