Ty Forquer, the owner of 517 Shirts, talks with a customer at River City MRKT June 6, 2015, in REO Town, Lansing. 517 shirts represent Lansing and Michigan in their designs. Yuanzhe Zhuang/The State News
A new market, called River City MRKT, brought local artists and designers together in Lansing to share their craft.
The co-founders of River City MRKT, Amalia Boukos and Debbie Carlos, said they created the event with the idea of providing a platform and meeting space for those making art in the Lansing area.
"I guess we just want to see more of that (passion for art and design)," Boukos said. "We also want to promote people who are already doing it in the area."
Even though they created the idea for the market together, Boukos and Carlos met each other not long ago.
"I have been looking at Debbie's photographs (online) for a couple years," Boukos said. "And I saw she was moving to Lansing so I sent an email to her and asked her if I could see her in person. We became friends and we got along very well."
Boukos and Carlos are from western Canada and the Philippines, respectively, but individually moved to Lansing about three years ago. They said they saw the markets here and felt like something was missing.
"There was room for us to create space, like a fun event that is more related to our own authenticities," Carlos said.
Ty Forquer is the owner of 517 shirts, a Lansing- and Michigan-focused t-shirt company, and his work is currently featured at River City MRKT.
"They are not tourist t-shirts," Forquer explained. "People can be proud of where they live."
Forquer said the market was a place for artists to get together, especially those who don't have an actual store.
"This is something new for the area," he said. "It gives a chance for them to come to Lansing and have people come to see their stuff."
Organizing the event also brings online designers together, many of which from Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade goods.
"That's a big source for us to know what people are doing here (in Lansing)," Boukos said of Etsy.
Lansing resident Alisun Parrish thought it was a cool way to get a variety of artists and crafters around Lansing together.
"There are jewelry people, people who make craft stuffs," she said. "I think that's great for the individual. That's also good for consumers to buy that kind of stuff."
Another Lansing resident, Garrett Danger Lilley said the market "definitely supports local. There are lots of companies' stuff that I (hadn't) even (known) about."
For the future, both Boukos and Carlos want to continue the River City MRKT as an annual event.
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