Grahl Pruitt
Associate Editor
While temperatures outside remain in the triple digits, Evergreen Espresso on Oak Street was able to create some semblance of an autumn atmosphere during its Fall Fest on Sept. 20.
With Chris Isaak and Phoebe Bridgers playing over the speakers and pumpkin-scented candles filling the air, vendors sold products ranging from bookmarks to paintings.
Madison Evans is the owner/artist for Pages & Ink, which produces a variety of handmade products from bookmarks to candles to oils.
“It’s very girly. Pop, bookish lifestyle is the term I’ve coined it,” Evans said. “Everything is handmade.”
Evans said she sews the pouches and hand-pours the candles she sells. She also mixes all of the natural scents and designs her bookmarks.
“For the fall aesthetic of it, you have some of the things you’re really thinking of going into fall like fall-scented candles,” Evans said. “My thought was – ‘What does my audience like?’”
Evans used social media to get a gauge on what her followers like and wanted with scented candles.
“What sparked was nostalgia, but also bookish vibes,” Evans said. “Like Cursed Orchard is a fall scent, but it also gives off ‘Twilight’ vibes – which is very girly and fits my audience.”
Evans said she also looked to create a fall aesthetic with her prints, using patterns like orange plaid to create a cozy, autumn feeling.
While Evans promoted fall through bookmarks and candles, artist Marissa Thornberry created it through acrylic and oil paintings.
“The vibe is warm, earthy and very fitting with fall,” Thornberry said.
Thornberry’s main motif throughout her paintings is the appearance of hands – often paired with flowers.
“It seems kind of random, but that’s what I gravitate towards and people seem to like them,” Thornberry said. “The reason I tend to paint them is because, unconsciously, there’s this symbolism of fingerprints. Everyone is unique and nice flowers are like the beauty of every individual person.”
Tiffany Oglesby is a stay-at-home mom who works with a variety of mediums – with her picture-frame style fridge magnets sitting front and center at her display.
“A lot of my time is spent making art and handling chaos,” Oglesby said. “My inspiration is creating art for your home that brings a sense of calm and peace to everyday life.”
Oglesby’s fridge magnets feature a wooden-picture frame style design, with paintings of objects like acorns, books and pumpkins filling the canvas.
“I love making art affordable because I think art is for everyone,” Oglesby said. “I love for my home to be warm and cozy – so that’s why a lot of it is inspired by moody, dark fall colors and neutral colors.”
Becky Merrill, a candlemaker based out of Cabot, creates candles made out of soy wax – which creates “cleaner, longer-burning candles.”
Merrill’s catalog includes both sweet and savory pumpkin scents – along with a new design which features candles poured into vintage glassware.
“They are great for recycling and they are great for repurposing,” Merrill said. “They have been really well-received and have been a good pivot for me. When some businesses have seen things slow down, I’ve seen a big uptick in my sales, so adding that line was really beneficial for me.”
As humidity and sweat-soaked days continue to have a stranglehold on Conway’s weatherthe Fall Fest market showed how fall is not only a season, but an aesthetic of comfort, coziness and pumpkin spice.
