If you haven’t been to CRAFTED — or haven’t been in a while — you’re missing out on something special.

“We have a great mix of vendors right now, and there’s something for everyone,” says Rachel Sindelar, director of the community-driven marketplace. She’s not exaggerating — from glassblowing classes to saddle makers, CRAFTED seems to have entered its renaissance. In addition to an array of activities, artists, and funky finds, the makers market has achieved a significant milestone: It’s now home to the highest number of San Pedro-based vendors in its history, with nearly 20 local artisans.

“I don’t know if the pandemic influenced it or not,” says Rachel, referring to the influx, “although I know there’s not anywhere nearby that is exactly like CRAFTED.”

The vendors are a bit more certain about their motivations for coming to the market. “I came because I wanted to be a part of my community, and I always loved this place,” says Melissa Hay, who sells homemade candles and fragrances from her booth, Homemade by the Hays. She’s one of the San Pedro vendors who not only started her business during the pandemic but discovered her love for the trade as well.

“My daughters bought me a bunch of candles as a joke for Christmas, and I burned through all of them pretty quickly,” she explains. She felt compelled to re-use the vessels to reduce waste, figuring there was no better way to do that than to restore them to their original form, and the rest is history. She joined CRAFTED in March of this year, where she now hosts her own candle- and fragrance-making classes.

For other local vendors, the pandemic didn’t necessarily ignite their passion, but rather gave them the opportunity to refine their craft. Jackie Popov of Twilight Delights Bakery is one such example. Specializing in custom cookies and cakes, her artful creations hardly betray the fact that she started making pastries a mere four years ago.

“I baked my first cookie ever in November 2019,” she explains. “My dad was sick, and I was his caregiver, so I was just doing it to help my mind during that time.”

She started posting her cookies to Facebook in 2020 and quickly built a customer base, capitalizing on the fact that she could operate out of her home while other bakeries were shuttered. It was in 2021 that she realized she belonged at CRAFTED. “What attracted me here is all of the artists. As an artist and cookie maker, the creative minds are simply inspiring.”

Santa trying his hand at candlemaking during his visit to CRAFTED. (photo: John Mattera Photography)

So, it turns out that Rachel’s hunch was correct — San Pedrans are indeed coming to CRAFTED for a myriad of reasons, not all related to the pandemic. When asked why she believes it’s important to support them, Rachel’s much more certain in her answer. “When you spend money at a local business, as much as 82 cents of every dollar goes back into the community,” she explains. “Whereas if you go to Target or something like that, and this is nothing against Target, only around 40 cents of it stays in the community.”

And for vendors like Kate McLaughlin, who runs San Pedro Sourdough, that dough goes to — well, more dough. She uses a cut of her profits to purchase and mill specialty grains, such as red wheat, rye, and buckwheat, and then uses the flour to bake organic loaves. At CRAFTED, she primarily sells pretzels and sourdough, but beyond the market, she supplies specialty French bread to local restaurant Compagnon Wine Bistro for their Sunday brunch. Connecting with this network of local “bread heads” is a huge reason why she loves CRAFTED.

“Being a part of this free and accepting marketplace is great, and there’s so much good here,” she says. “It’s a truly creative space for people to come in and have a little spot in the world where they can do what they love.”

This freedom to create is also a big part of the appeal for Kristin Navarro. Her bakery From: Scratch specializes in desserts that use the Filipino sweet potato ube, which she started baking with to help her son connect to his Filipino heritage. Inspired by San Pedro spots like Joseph’s Bakery, she puts a Filipino spin on local fare, creating desserts from ube cheesecake to ube tres leches. Beyond experimentation, Kristen loves CRAFTED for its ability to help people recapture what’s been lost in the era of online ordering and big box stores.

“You can actually meet the vendors and see the products,” she explains. “You can feel the quality and know it’s good. Plus, it’s like Etsy on steroids.”

Over at MVP Action Pix, photographer Vince Pirozzi mans a booth filled with photos printed on everything from mugs to metal canvases. Specializing in sports photography and local landscapes, Vince has been at CRAFTED for eight years and has had plenty of time to think about why he loves the venue.

“There’s so much unique stuff down here that you won’t find anywhere else, and it’s not outrageously priced,” he says. “You know you’re supporting a mom-and-pop shop when a lot of stores are going under.”

And CRAFTED makes supporting them easy — for example, if the booth owner is away when a customer wants to make a purchase, they can take their item to a counter in the center of the market where staff will ring it up. That being said, Vince prefers to be at his booth whenever possible. “I love to see the expression on people’s faces when they see something here that they love. That’s what makes me the happiest.”

Like Vince, photographer and artist Lena Milos is also in the business for much more than a sale. From photography and resin to home goods and jewelry, the sea is a common thread running through Lena Milos Artistry. She appreciates that CRAFTED gives her a permanent space to set up shop, in contrast to the constant setting-up and taking-down she had to do when she was a pop-up business. When asked what she hopes for CRAFTED in the future, she’s hard-pressed to think about how it could be improved.

“I think just more popularity,” she says. “I want people to think, ‘Oh, I’m having a party this weekend, so I’m going to CRAFTED to do my shopping.’ I think a lot of people are just discovering it, and I would love to see more awareness.”

Going into the holiday season, Rachel and the rest of the CRAFTED team would agree. In addition to hosting the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce mixer on December 15, which is open to the general public with a canned good or toy donation, they’ll be hosting a booth at this year’s Los Angeles Harbor Holiday Afloat Parade to get the word out. Beyond that, they plan to continue relying on word of mouth and the strength of the local community.

“A lot of people support vendors here because it makes you feel good to hire a local person,” says Rachel. “And I know there’s this whole ‘Pedro Pride’ thing — what better place to express it than with all your neighbors at CRAFTED.” spt

CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles is located at 112 E. 22nd St. For more info, visit craftedportla.com.