Note: The Uptown Farmers Market regularly operates on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. However, throughout December, the schedule varies. Check online for the most up-to-date hours.
Inspired art from Practical Art
For art lovers, coffee lovers, hard-to-please teens, and trendsetters. No one has their fingers on the pulse like artists, and there's no better place to find local art than Practical Art, a retail and gallery space in Phoenix owned by Lisa Olsen. Granted, the farmers’ market booth won’t have the work of the 175-plus artists featured in the store, but there will be plenty of unique, how-cool-is-that items that add style to everything from your home to your water bottle. You’ll find engraved foil stickers by Would Could ($5), bold prints by Hamster Labs and Jake Early ($75-$95), and handmade holiday ornaments ($12-$35). For a double whammy, combine a campy coffee mug by ceramic artist Colleen Colin ($40) with a bag of beans from Mesa roaster Alchemy Roast ($18).
Vegan malasadas from Aloha Keke’s
For holiday hosts, vegan friends, co-workers, and sweet tooths. ‘Tis the season for family gatherings and holiday soirées. Make a fashionable, food-filled entrance with a mixed pack of vegan malasadas from Aloha Keke’s. Traditionally enriched with eggs and butter, chef and owner Katie Barisic, who first fell in love with the sugar-dusted donuts in Hawaii, started experimenting with a vegan version. “After multiple tries I found the perfect recipe and they were too good not to share,” says Barisic, who makes the donuts fresh every morning. Get the deep-fried delights filled with chocolate, guava, or seasonal flavors like raspberry, pumpkin, and mango (four for $10; six for $12). Sharing is caring.
Flower creations from Bene Vivendo
For parents, sisters, aunts, best friends, homebodies, and gardeners. Bene Vivendo offers a lot of something special for the someone special on your list. Owner and master gardener Emily Heller grows, harvests, and creates gorgeous fresh bouquets of snapdragons, sweet William, and sunflowers ($25 each or two for $40), dried aromatic arrangements of celosia and poppy seed pods ($35), and hibiscus holiday gift boxes beautifully packed with hibiscus tea, hibiscus seeds, and hibiscus sugar ($50). But most special of them all – and only available on December 10 – Heller will sell her locally-harvested holiday wreaths, total head turners made with a mix of eucalyptus, myrtle, and berries that’ll deck out any door (starting at $75).
Carbon steel cookware from Copper State Forge
For hard-to-please peeps, home cooks, and the splurge on your list. Father and son blacksmiths Bill and Tristan Godwin of Copper State Forge don’t just make cookware, they make the coolest cookware around. At the top of the list is their line of hand-forged carbon-steel skillets including an octagon-shaped version with perfectly placed pour spouts on the side. These are beautifully-crafted kitchen workhorses that are lighter and smoother than cast iron and cook everything from delicate eggs to chicken legs (starting at $197). The blacksmiths also offer unique hand-forged coffee scoops ($57), bottle openers ($35), Christmas tree ornaments ($25), and a $100-off deal on any three-skillet set purchased at the market.
Fancy cactus from Roślinki
For neighbors, co-workers, flawless friends, and the person who has everything. You’re not just purchasing a plant at Roślinki, you’re buying a curated cactus experience. Starting with the plant, owner Marz Debowski selects specimens for their ease of care and unique aesthetics. Think rare succulents like Rainbow Hedgehogs and Crested Myrtillocactus. After pairing plants with distinctive ceramic pottery, Debowski handcrafts the ideal soil mix and finishes off with a one-of-a-kind topper, like Japanese akadama soil or pebbles sourced from New Zealand. The result: A potted plant as close to perfect as it gets (plants start at $10; curated potted plants start at $20).
Desert tea from Prickly Pear Tea Co.
For tea lovers, discerning tastes, gardeners, foragers, and desert dwellers. Sipping tea is an act of self-care. Prickly Pear Tea Co. adds another reason to hail the brew with prickly pear, a true jewel of the desert purported to have health benefits. Owner Victor Johnson harvests prickly pear fruit in Sedona and creates a mixture with high-grade, loose-leaf jasmine, oolong, and black tea. The three-day process includes drying the fruits that infuse the tea with a delicate sweetness and slightly amber hue. Available in three flavors – Green Tea ($15), Black Tea ($15), and Chai Latte ($20) – the tea sings of the southwest, from the desert ingredient to the artsy labels created by Johnson himself.
Homecooked meal from Sonoran Pasta Co.
For pasta lovers, busy families, and holiday hosts. The holidays can feel more like go-go-go than ho-ho-ho. That’s where the present of pasta comes in. Sonoran Pasta Co. sells everything for a homecooked meal, from fresh pasta made from heritage grains fashioned in novel noodle shapes like bucatini, mafaldine, and gemelli ($10 for 12 oz.), to powerhouse sauces like pomodoro with organic Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes ($9), bolognese with Arizona pasture-raised beef and pork ($11), and pesto spiked with locally-grown kale and butternut squash ($12). They also have gluten-free options and a rotating sauce of the month. Think of it like a restaurant gift card, but better.
Handcarved cooking utensils from Fallen Wood Turnings
For dads, boyfriends, moms, home chefs, and friends with beautiful kitchens. Handmade gifts have more meaning, but they don’t have to be made by your hands. Robert Lievens, a teacher-turned-wood carver and owner of Fallen Wood Turnings, hews desert hardwood that’s mostly been discarded or donated into stunning spatulas, spoons, serving utensils, scoops, bowls, and more. These are durable and beautiful wares that deserve to be on display (starting at $10).
Husband and wife duo Paul and Tasia For make, bottle, and package all of their hot sauces.
Allison Young
Hot sauce from Big Red’s Hot Sauce
For all the dudes in your life, hot sauce snobs, and that friend who always orders extra hot. With 21 flavors on its roster, Big Red’s has a hot sauce for every personality. For traditional types, get ’em Big Red’s Original ($8). For your BBQ-loving father-in-law, the Smokey Habanero delivers a deep rich smoke flavor ($8). For big brothers with big personalities, Big Yella packs a mango, mustard, and habanero punch ($8). For hot boyfriends and hot sauce-loving masochists, spice up their stockings with the hottest of them all: 3 King’s Sauce, a ghost, scorpion, and reaper pepper mouth burner that comes with bragging rights ($10). Then there’s the Desert Heat Pack, a five-flavor travel set with something for every spice fan ($25 for five 2 oz bottles).
Upcycled goods from Re-Purpose Sewing
For sustainability-minded friends, trendsetters, Etsy lovers, and thrifters. Find Re-Purpose Sewing at the community exchange table and score originality points with the Gen-Zer on your list. Choose from colorful key chains ($5), coin purses (starting at $4), and totes (starting at $15). These are all totally unique stocking stuffers that stand out in a crowd – much like the teen in your life. Bonus points: Most of the fabric comes from remnants bought at Goodwill. Re-Purpose also sells tablecloths, napkins, and handmade 100% beeswax candles.Uptown Farmers Market
5757 North Central AveUptownmarketaz.com
Holiday Schedule:
Saturday, December 10 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.Wednesday, December 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Closed December 17
Wednesday, Dec 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, December 24 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
