On Friday, the Briton Bazaar took place in the Kellogg Center, where crafters set up booths to display and sell their products. The Briton Bazaar is held twice a year during fall and spring, giving people an opportunity to sell what they create by hand. Although many sellers are adults, students are also encouraged to display and sell their handmade creations at the Bazaar. This year, there were booths that sold everything from jewelry, winter wear and decorations, to chocolates and baked goods.
The KC was packed with students, families and alums browsing what the Bazaar had to offer and conversing with the crafters.
Renée Kreger, an Albion College faculty member, was selling her wide variety of handmade jewelry. She has displayed her new creations every year for the past five years.
“It just started because I found out that all of us have like little side hustles,” said Kreger.
Steve Sobaski, a retired biologist, was selling chocolates from a chocolate shop he works at in town called Yellow Bird Chocolate Shop. The Yellow Bird Chocolate Shop, founded by Jenny Risner-Wade, has been in business since the COVID pandemic in 2020, after previously selling her chocolate through a pop-up store.
“Jenny has had an interest in creating chocolate for a number of years now and decided that rather than just doing it as a hobby, she would really just go for it and open up the store,” said Sobaski.
“Something that’s unique about our store is that we’re a small batch craft chocolate shop that’s bean-to-bar, so we start by importing cacao beans from maybe five or six different countries,” Sobaski said. “We go ahead and roast them and crack them in the store and then develop the chocolates, which is a three-to-five-day process”.
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