Design Hive

Weekly indie market gets bee-zy

By JAMIE GRANOFF

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Val Fox has the mind of a marketer... but the eye of an artist.

She hustles down Prospect Street in Central Square, wearing a corduroy coat with a leaf pattern exploding from every inch, clutching in her hand a small pile of fliers for her brainchild: "Design Hive," a weekly independent designers market in Cambridge.

Design Hive was an idea born out of Fox's six-month stay in New York City. "My favorite thing to do was to find fabulous young designers at these street markets," she says. She relished her interactions with the artists, finding out exactly what inspired them—something she says you lose out on at big-box stores. When she returned to Cambridge, Fox noticed, "There's nothing fashion-driven in Boston like these urban street markets. I don't want people to have to go to New York to find these."

With her idea in place, she set to work, finding the perfect arena for her market. One of her main goals was to make the prices reasonable (everything for sale will be under $150), and she didn't want to have to price people out based on location.

The Design Hive found a home at the Maria L. Baldwin School between Harvard and Porter squares. The cafeteria will hold up to 50 designers (so far 115 designers are signed up, with a rotating roster each week) and host live sets by DJ Hyssop.

Fox contacted all her favorite local designers to participate; additionally, designers can apply at any time through the website. "It's a precursor to getting picked up by retailers," Fox says, acknowledging that most designers can only create and sell part time.

Shoppers can expect to see one-of-a-kind pieces by artists like Amy McClure of Olaria Studio, who constructs ceramic jewelry with inventive treatments, and ShortcakeScraps (aka Candice Cruz Dintino, discovered by Fox through Etsy.com), who designs greeting cards with crafty little touches. The market mix includes modern and vintage clothing, accessories, housewares and artwork, all handmade.

Your loins properly stirred? Go snatch something special.

[Every Saturday, from 11.1.08 to 12.20.08. Maria L. Baldwin School, 28 Sacramento St., Cambridge. 10am-5pm/free. 617.272.1267. designhivemarket.com]