Downtown offers shopping choices this holiday season

If you want to check out cool art or find products from dozens of local retailers in one location, Downtown is where you need to be this holiday season.

The Deluxe Winter Market, which will feature 60 of the region’s talented artists, will be Saturday at Leadership Square.

The Holiday Pop-Up Shops in Midtown, at NW 10 and Hudson, starts its fiveweekend run on Friday.

And the Myriad Gardens is introducing new holiday shopping at a space adjacent to the Devon Ice Rink. Retailers will be offering their products to guests during weekends throughout December.

A ‘Deluxe’ chance

Sara Cowan, the market’s director, said this is the fourth year Deluxe Winter Market is being held in Leadership Square, 211 N Robinson.

Like in previous years, the market will feature an Elf Market where children can shop independently — or with the help of a volunteer for — artist-made gifts.

All of the gifts in the Elf Market are moderately priced, and 100 percent of its sales proceeds will go to the Homeless Alliance’s Curbside Chronicle program.

Plus, Bernina of Oklahoma City again will staff the market’s Elf Workshop, where volunteers can join them to create sellable items for the market.

Bernina of Oklahoma City also is donating a sewing machine as a prize in a raffle drawing to raise money for the Curbside Chronicle, Cowan said.

The market features dozens of artists, including BromeLeighad Fiber Art,

Chateau Blanche Design, Darci Dolls, Flood & Stroke, Green Dog Designs, Home Cooked Karma, Kaleidoscope Arts Kathy’s Bead Treasures, and NorthRoad Creations.

Other artists include Rebecca Ramos Jewelry, Simpleton Goods/Baxter Wood Design, Tallgrass Studio, The Little Bubble, Tinroof Studios and Yonderings.

“We have found a really good sweet spot where we feature about 60 artists,” she said. “That gives us a good variety, without being redundant.”

Cowan said she also will hide “Golden Tickets” in various artists’ booths at 1 p.m. during the event.

Shoppers who find them can redeem a ticket for a $25 Visa gift card, donated to the event by the Oklahoma Employees Credit Unit.

“I hope the winners choose to spend the cards at with our vendor booths, but of course they can do anything they like with the prize,” Cowan said.

More information about the Deluxe Winter Market can be found online at deluxeok.net.

Pop-Up Shopping

The Holiday Pop-Up Shops are returning to Midtown in downtown Oklahoma City its fifth year on Friday.

During its five weekendlong-run, 35 shops will rotate through its six geodesic domes. Except for its first weekend, the shops will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

The land where the market is staged is owned by Midtown Renaissance, a development

company active in the area.

Allison Barta Bailey, who organizes the market each year, said it’s a perfect spot from retailers’ perspectives, because they wanted to be close to retail food outlets, plus other shops.

“I think it has become a tradition for a lot of the shops to participate with us,” Bailey said. “They get a chance to interact with different customers that they don’t see in their brick-and-mortar locations, and maybe convert some of them to visit their permanent homes.

“The goal is, we want consumers to support these businesses the rest of the year, because Christmas isn’t the only time that they need to sell products.”

Retailers setting up for this weekend’s opening market said they also enjoy their chance to meet customers they hope will visit their stores in the future.

“I think it is great to bring so many local shops into one spot, and these are shops from all over, just not from Midtown,” said Lindsay Harkness, the owner of DNA Galleries, 1709 NW 16.

This weekend, Harkness is sharing space with Mustang Creek Alpaca Co., a shop that does brisk business in Stockyards City at 1401 S Agnew.

“There are a lot of people who don’t know we are in Stockyards City, or in the Plaza District, or in other parts of the city,” Harkness said.

Stephanie Lewis, who owns Savvy, a women’s clothing and gifts store in Norman at Campus Corner, agreed.

Lewis said this is the fourth year she has participated in the Pop-Ups event.

“I start planning for it in January with hopes I’ll be invited back,” she said.

Go to OKCpopups.com for more information.

Myriad Gardens’ Shops

There’s no shortage of fun things to do this holiday season at the Myriad Gardens, such as skating at the Devon Ice Rink, enjoying Saturdays with Santa and free admission to the Crystal Bridge on Sundays.

It also is setting up fun pieces of art, activities for kids and will present its inaugural Shops at Myriad Gardens event during weekends beginning Dec. 2 and ending Dec. 17.

Shops will rotate through the space each weekend.

Vendors that will be selling in a tent next to the Devon Ice Rink include Outsyde Adventure, an apparel company that makes its products locally using sustainable materials; A Date with Iris, a funky flower shop located on Western Avenue; and Fisher Wands, which makes handcrafted wooden magic wands for Harry Potter fans.

Polished Prairie, an Oklahoma-based online boutique, will be selling its products there, too. If any other vendors are interested, they can email Nicole at nkusnierz@ myriadgardens.org.

Leslie Spears, director of marketing and public relations for the Myriad Gardens Foundation, said the organization is testing out the concept this year.

“Our retailers are going to have an automatic audience because of the ice rink being next door,” Spears said. “We are trying something new. We also could turn it into a summer event type of thing.”

Spears said the gardens also has done its traditional lighting display for people to enjoy.

Go to calendar.oklahoma citybotanicalgardens.com for more information.