BETHLEHEM — Behind a law firm and next to Perfect Blend in the heart of Delmar’s Four Corners is Merriman and Pfister’s Marketplace, a craft store with almost all handmade products. The quaint shop opened its doors at 388 Kenwood Ave. in early May. This craft shop shares the parking in the back of I Love Books bookstore and the Perfect Blend. Merriman and Pfister’s Marketplace is competition for larger stores like Ten Th ousand Villages in Stuyvesant Plaza. But what makes this shop diff erent is that most of these products are from local artists, which need the support. Th e shop has not had much business yet, but owner Kathy Agenta thinks that will change soon. “I just have a feeling, or intuition, I guess, that people will you know like it,” Agenta said. Agneta loves handmade crafts and wanted to make this passion for homemade gifts into a business. “I like going to craft fairs and I like the sand artist things and I just like going to the galleries and looking around.” Although she doesn’t go to craft fairs anymore, Agenta still goes to the Acre Trade Show in Philadelphia each year. She said that’s where she gets a bulk of the products for her store. Other than stuff from the Acre Trade Show, products seen around the shop are from local artists around the Capital Region. A couple of the artists who have their work on display are doctors at Albany Medical Center, as Ellis Tobin made a living fox and his friend Philipp Palmieri makes oil paintings. Christine Shea, whose work is often featured at the Delmar Farmers Market, makes mosaic art and is now a vendor at the shop. Terry Weaver, an Averill Park native, makes glass objects like vases and has a company called Woven Glass. Stephanie Pirrone, from East Greenbush, is a featured graphic artist. Store manager Taylor Kennedy said she sees how people will like the variety the shop has to offer. “Th ere’s something for everyone here…from. paintings to jewelry to glassware to ties,” she said. These are only a few of the local artists on display at Merriman and Pfister’s Marketplace. For a thorough list of the artists, visit www.merrimanpfi ster.com/ourartists/.
