Midway Makers Market, open five months on Main, sells goods from about 50 Kentucky artists and crafters

Co-owner Amy Bowman with her embroidery machine

Story and photos by Kennedy Sabharwal
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

In July, the Midway Makers Market opened and began selling handmade products from local vendors at 130 East Main St., the former home of Midway Sweet Tooth.

“We have local makers with us from Kentucky as far away as Ashland and Maysville,” says co-owner Amy Bowman, who decided to open the store after months of selling her own handmade embroidery through Local Kentucky 68 in Maysville and the Carlisle Country Market.

Bowman said that before opening, “I posted in two Facebook groups filled with artists from across the state saying I’m thinking of doing this store in Midway; you know, just kind of interested in how many of you would be interested in participating with me.”

The shop opened in July at 130 E. Main St.

She wanted to have 30 or 40 makers respond but within days over 100 sent in applications, Bowman said. She knew that she couldn’t do the task on her own, so she asked Ann Parks to join her.

“I knew Ann,” she recalled. “We had met just by doing shows and then we would bump into each other in different places, and I knew that she had taken time off from her regular 9-to-5 job to work full-time on her craft.”

Parks, who does crochet and woodwork, grew up in Midway and still lives in Woodford County. “Ann immediately said yes when I asked her to please be my business partner,” Bowman said. “It’s just such a blessing and it has made it to much more fun for me to have her by my side.”

Pieces by Croc o' Mud pottery are popular.

Bowman is a Lexington native who moved to Midway about five years ago after, she said, “falling in love with the community.”

Bowman said she keeps about 50 different vendors in her store at a time and will rotate out products when necessary: “We ask people to give us at least three months when they sign on to sell their products through us. . . . We always have new stuff, though, even our regulars will come in and say, ‘Wow you guys moved everything around,’ because you just have to!”

She said some of the most popular things in their store right now are Croc o’ Mud Pottery pieces from Versailles and Classy Collections by MO, from Melissa Owens in Somerset. A few makers from Midway are Whither Wander Jewelry, Honey Bee Bangles and Candles, and Janet Cushing Howard original painted pillows and canvases.

The store has several Midway products.

Bowman said there are always new and fun things in the store, though, so it is hard for her to say which items are the best sellers.

Bowman and Parks said they open their store at 11 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday and strive to keep it open later in the evening, usually until 8 p.m., so people who may work during the day can make a trip over and see the merchandise.

The two owners said they love having the store, and Parks said, “We are really tickled with it!”