MARSHALL CHRISTMAS HAND MADE MARKET
Every year Marshall, a half hour down the French Broad River from Asheville has a handmade Christmas Market in the what used to be the old high school but is now a building full of artist’s studios. What used to be the old gym and assembly room is now decorated with hanging lights with stalls set up by artists on the main floor and in many of the studios. Owl Bakery sold fancy pastries and Cecilia’s Kitchen offered Mexican food and musicians provided music.
This was one of Kathe’s favorite activities so I went as much for her as for me. And it was fun. But as I paid for three Owl bakery croissants, as tasty as any in Paris, but at $5 apiece several times the price, or ate a delicious small bowl of Ukrainian borscht ($10) or looked at some very delicate and beautiful mugs at $80 apiece, it occurred to me that handmade in Morocco was never advertised, that was how all the beautiful things, including the rugs I bought, are made, and in India hand printed saries or dresses are the norm and not expensive. In the West we are so dependent on machine made everything, often without being touched by any hand, that having a very high price on hand made things seems normal. But in an Indian village almost everything is made by hand (yet often quite beautiful) because hand made is all that anyone can afford.
But maybe it was the delight in hand made things as people searched for special Christmas presents that brought people from all over and created a Christmas electricity in the room. I had a great time although all I came away with was three croissants and several hundred photographs of which these are a few.
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 