Auburn boutique supports local crafters and their creations

Until the spring of 2020, Bubbles and Beauty Boutique owner Shari Nirschl handmade and sold her three product lines at the same place — a small, gray shop off the alley at 18 B St. NE in downtown Auburn.

But after COVID hit, and state health edicts nixed walk-ins, Nirschl kept at it, still making her handcrafted soaps, self-care and boutique products behind the scenes, but focusing her sales on small retail outlets.

Now, having moved bubbles, beauty and everything else across East Main into the former Rottle’s Clothing and Shoe Store at 226 E. Main Street, Nirschl is ready to celebrate the fact with her grand reopening as Rose’s Makers’ Market Boutique from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 29.

Oh, and it will be her 50th birthday, too.

Rose’s Makers’ Market, Nirschl told the Auburn Reporter in August, is a six-days-a-week place to support multiple small businesses at once. It’s where you’ll find all kinds of fun, delightful little treasures offered up by a host of vendors and craft enthusiasts who are eager to sell their own handmade products.

“I enjoy what I am doing. That’s why I am doing the makers market. I enjoy helping other small businesses grow. It opens up a place for me not only to sell my stuff, but to help other small businesses, too,” she said. “Right now, I do events with my business throughout the Puget Sound region, and all of the vendors are super excited. It’s a lot of work setting up and spending the whole day at an event, and then unpacking while being a crafter for years.”

“It’s hard to be a brick-and-mortar business and to be a crafter because you can’t be in two places at one time. This gives different crafters the opportunity to have their products in one place. It will be staffed, so everybody will check out at the same register. They will not have to be here to sell their products. They can continue to work in other markets at the same time,” Nirschl said.

Check it out

Rose’s Makers’ Market, 226 E. Main Street, will be open from from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, and closed on Mondays.

Anyone who’s interested in becoming a vendor should visit www.rosesmakersmarket.com, look for the vendor application and fill it out.