The day was abnormally rainy and cold for June in Montana, with clouds hanging low over Mount Sentinel, but that didn’t stop artists from setting up shop in long lines of white tents throughout Caras Park.
The fair was hosted by HandMADE Montana, an organization of artists and craftsmen initially founded in 2007. The first MADE fair brought in 18 artists. But now, almost 20 years later, the events draw in hundreds of vendors.
Olivia Niego was selling hand-made garments out of discarded quilts. Her business is called Nomudd. According to Niego, selling at a fair can be a heavy lift.
“ You wanna have as many styles and sizes and pieces in different lengths and different crops and different patterns as you possibly can… So I usually say it takes about like a month of just nonstop working,” Niego says.
The fair got so crowded in the main tent patrons were bumping shoulder to shoulder to see all the different booths and what they had for sale.
Noah Dressander said a few pieces of art caught his eye.
“ It's super fun seeing all sorts of artists from all over Montana and the general area and just seeing everybody coming out to check out. Because I mean, even though it's raining, there's still tons of people looking at super cool artwork and fun pieces,” Dressander says.
HandMADE Montana also organizes events in Bozeman, Helena and Polson throughout the year.
