Local small businesses, UNC students will feature goods in community market Saturday

During The PITCH Community Market event on Saturday, there will be tables filled with everything from paintings to earrings and desserts. 

The market will be held on April 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 462 West Franklin Street at The PITCH event space. It will be hosted in collaboration with Blue House Cafe and Delta Sigma Phi.

Rebecca Felicelli, a junior at UNC who organized the event, said her experience running Blue House Cafe in The PITCH inspired her to feature other small businesses.

“Since there is this great giant space, it would be awesome to give the opportunity to other UNC students or other locals in Chapel Hill to sell their own products and be their own entrepreneur,” she said.

Recent UNC graduate Marina Fela-Castillo will sell handmade items from her art business, Pintamar. She runs the business part-time from her home in Winston-Salem.

At the event, she will sell hand-painted mugs and pots, polymer clay earrings and vinyl stickers at her table. She also created special items just for the community market with UNC students in mind.

One item she is particularly excited about making is UNC-themed greeting cards that read ‘Congrats grad,' in addition to earrings that catch UNC cap and gowns. 

Overall, she is looking forward to being a vendor at the market. She noted that, while she was in college, there weren't many events where students or creatives around the Chapel Hill area could sell and connect with people. 

“I love doing markets,” she said. “I think it's amazing to get to connect with people and share my art, explain my art, answer any questions in real life.”

UNC senior Anna Manocha, the founder of Arte con Impacto, buys art directly from artists in Guatemala. She donates the proceeds from her sales to From Houses to Homes,  a nonprofit that provides free healthcare, education and housing to low-income Guatemalans.

Manocha started her business after winning the Eve Carson scholarship during her junior year. She made her first trip to Guatemala in May of 2021.

“I actually found a couple of artists that ended up being in front of large, touristy areas and on the street,” she said. “It works really well for them because it does rain very often, but all of the oil on canvas pieces are very resilient.”

Several paintings from Arte con Impacto are already displayed on the walls at Blue House Cafe. Pieces can be bought directly from the cafe at any time, and Manocha plans on having more paintings for sale at the community market.

The community market, however, will be Arte con Impacto’s first popup event. Manocha said she is excited to meet new people through the market.

“I really like to get involved with the local community, with small business owners, especially the ones that are women of color,” she said. “And UNC students and alumni are always so sweet.”

UNC senior Lily Young-Fritchie will sell art from her business, Lily’s Doodle Garden, an Etsy shop that sells clothing and art. She is also a part of Student-Made UNC, an online store featuring handmade art by students.

At the event, she will sell digital prints, posters, embroidered clothing and stickers. Her most recent project is a series of posters depicting North Carolina landmarks in a postcard-esque style.

“I'm looking forward to having flowers and decorations that feel true to me so I can lean into my brand,” she said.

Felicelli said she wants to host similar events at The PITCH going forward.

“Hopefully in the future, we can expand a little bit more to different types of vendors, like more food, maybe more nonprofit style as well,” she said.

@sarahchxi

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