If you find yourself wandering through the busy streets of Downtown DeLand on a Friday night, you’re bound to notice that a good deal of people are headed in the same direction: the vibrant Artisan Alley Farmers Market. The Artisan Alley website boasts that the weekly Farmers Market occurs “Rain or Shine” every Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. I had the pleasure of heading down on January 26, 2024 with the Reporter News Editor and photographer, Reagan Shivers, to get a glimpse of the vendors and shoppers milling around on a chilly DeLand night.

Like any other Friday night, we find the Artisan Alley Farmers Market is overwhelmingly populated with small businesses. While many consumers might regularly make purchases from larger corporations like Walmart, Forbes reports that 99.9% of businesses across the U.S. are small businesses, and nearly half of U.S. employees work for a small business. This means that 99.9% of businesses in America more closely resemble the vendors you’ll find at the Artisan Alley Farmers Market compared to a larger company like Amazon.

Running into some fellow Hatters decked out in Stetson merch presented the perfect opportunity to chat about what had brought them to the Farmers Market. Jaimy DeJesus ’26 happily motioned back to a free poetry writing vendor and emphasized the benefits of having somewhere to unwind, saying, “I kinda wanted a little time off, you know, from all the studying and stuff.” Jaimy explained that rather than coming to the event with a specific shopping list, they preferred to browse. 

Lucky for her, the Alley has plenty to offer. I spoke to Mel Holtzman, owner of Hot Pots Painting & Pottery, an artist who described her business by explaining, “I sell my own hand painted pottery. And I also do pottery parties around the city where people can paint their own pottery as well.” When asked if she noticed the presence of Stetson students at the market, she smiled and reached for her pottery, commenting, “I sell a lot of wine glasses to Stetson kids.” Robert Silfies described he and his wife’s business, Doggie Insurrection, by explaining, “You think of your mother making your Christmas cookies. This is kind of it but it’s for dogs.” He followed up his sentiment by proudly displaying the homemade dog treats in a variety of fun shapes such as miniature pizza slices while their dog, Tiffany, happily wandered around the booth. Robert and Irene Silfies both emphasized clean ingredients and their own dogs’ health as the major factors that had inspired them to start their small business—farm to table doesn’t just need to apply to food. Jennifer Gamenthaler from Udder Chaos Goat Milk Soap described her day as starting on a small farm with her 25 goats.

Shopping for these handmade products at Artisan Alley is a tradition for many. When asked about how long they’d been coming to the Artisan Alley Farmers Market, Gamenthaler stated, “I’m on in my third year.” Holtzman had similarly been coming to the market for a while, recalling that they’d been attending for “two and a half years.” Even student shoppers echoed this feeling. Jackie (Jacqueline) Toribio ’26 stepped away from their group of friends to tell me, “I usually do it every Friday. It’s like tradition for me.” Stetson shoppers also stressed the value of the market in allowing them to support small businesses. “I try to come to the alley first before I go out and buy it on Amazon or some big chain, and most times they have it  and I feel more positive that it’s real, that I’m not being tricked, and it’s always great quality,” said DeJesus, going on to jokingly point out that a lack of cash won’t stop them from spending on a sweet treat because “even if I leave my wallet, Apple Pay is there.”

Both Stetson students excitedly pointed me in the direction of one last booth to speak to, which led me to a current Stetson student’s booth. Rosaileen Vega ’26 runs Lipalicious Boutique while also pursuing a degree in Entrepreneurship and Professional Sales. Vega’s booth near the entrance was covered in products that she was eager to show off, going down the list of her multiple products of handmade “lip glosses, exfoliators, shea butter creams and rose oils. Also a new addition: cuticle oils.” Vega was sure to explain that her products have no flavor and no scent in order to prevent her customers from suffering allergic reactions. Lipalicious Boutique is a newer addition to the market, and Vega told me that this was her second time as a vendor at the Alley, but that she felt very welcomed by customers and neighbors alike, gesturing to the booth next to her and saying, “They are so friendly and I have had so many good opportunities talking to the clients and also my neighbors.” Stetson students should be sure to stop by and encourage a fellow Hatter putting her Entrepreneurship and Professional Sales lessons to the test. 

If you want to make a purchase or stay up to date with any of the small businesses listed in this article, check out their websites or social media listed below.

Hot Pots Painting & Pottery

Instagram: @melhotpotssanford

Website: https://www.hotpotssanford.com/

Doggie Insurrection

Instagram: @doggieinsurrection

Website: https://doggieinsurrectionco.com/

Udder Chaos Goat Milk Soap

Facebook: Udder Chaos by Lightning Bug Farm

Website: https://lightningbugfarm.com/

Lipalicious Boutique

Instagram: @lipaliciousboutique

Website: https://www.lipaliciousboutique.com/