Maker's Mark(et): Art and Artisans Pop Up at Becket Hitch

In nautical verbiage, a becket hitch is a type of knot that connects a rope to another rope or object.

Soon to be part of Baltimore's vocabulary is Becket Hitch, a pop-up shop collaboration between Maryland Institute College of Art graduates Kohli Flick and Katie McDonough Kutil. And the pair's "makers market," which will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, November 13 at Woodberry Kitchen, is doing its namesake justice � bringing together an artistic community and tying it to a new set of patrons.

For $10 (all proceeds go directly to making the show possible this first year), craft lovers can hunt for that rare gem to fall in love with while sipping champagne and snacking on small bites in Woodberry's warm and welcoming space.

Flick, a design consultant at Red Tree in Hampden and the jewelry and accessory maker behind K. Flick Studio, and Kutil, the versatile craftsperson behind print studio Chelle Paperie, fiber arts and knitting company Churchtown Chapeau Co., and combination effort Petal and Print, saw a need for a new kind of art market, with indie craft shows becoming more popular and mainstream.

"There's obviously the country crafts, which we're clearly not a part of and we weren't doing those shows," Flick said. "And there's the indie craft movement which is great, we totally support it, and have been super excited about the rise and everything that entails. But then there are people who are indie but not."

"I would call it small-production," Kutil said. "It's along the lines of larger companies that are making quality work, but it's handmade, hand-crafted with fine detail, and it's made in a way that you're considering the production of it. It's not just a one-off hobby type of thing."

So when the idea of an intimate pop-up boutique to showcase the work of such artists came to them in August, Flick and Kutil dove head first into planning the show, carefully selecting the makers it would feature, and the venue as well.

But just because Flick and Kutil organized the show inside of a few months, doesn't mean it's a messy plate of silver dollar pancakes thrown together at the local diner. Instead, if the event was brunch, it would more closely resemble the delicately assembled ricotta pancake with pear compote that brunchers can now get on Saturday mornings at Woodberry.

The duo chose specific artists whose work they admire, looking for a similar aesthetic throughout the different lines that range from ceramics to floral arrangements to candles. They say the show will have a cohesive feel, something lacking in larger craft shows where vendors' booths, price points, and styles all vary from one another.

Flick and Kutil had common threads in mind for the makers. They opted for craftspeople making handmade, hand-cut work of the utmost quality.

"I think in a lot of ways [Baltimore is] sort of ahead of our time in a way," said Shawn Nocher, whose floral arrangements from the Falls Road Floral Studio will be available at the pop-up boutique. "We're really progressive and really in touch with what consumers want. They want things that are more comforting, more natural and more organic, and they're more kind of done with all the fancy hooplah. People want to be comfortable again."

Handmade work has that personal touch, and Flick and Kutil say they hope the cozy show will give non-maker consumers the opportunity to interact with the artists and fall in love with unique and original pieces.

Additionally, the rustic Woodberry Kitchen was an unusual, but deliberate choice for such a show. The ideals of the farm-to-table restaurant that features seasonal menus match the ideals of Becket Hitch. While Woodberry supports local agriculture, Becket Hitch supports the local craft community, and the makers market promises to be a farmers market of art.

"Everybody's appreciating the handmade, and wants to see the handmade, and wants that personal connection," said maker Annie Howe, of Bmore Papercuts. "I think they're turning toward that and there's a good connection between that and the local agriculture in a way because it's local people making your stuff and that's really exciting."

While the makers are similar in terms of quality, process and aesthetics, they range in experience and background. For instance, Howe recently transitioned for making her paper designs for friends and their businesses to turning it into a business herself. And jewelry maker Ashley Buchanan, based out of Tennessee, has only been selling her work for a year.

"I feel like the indie craft thing is getting really popular, and this is that, but it's not," Buchanan said. "It's a little bit more of an upscale, sophisticated kind of a show."

And bringing new artists into that niche fold is something with great appeal to Flick and Kutil.

"Some of the people haven't done shows before, and I think it's a really great thing for them to see the response to their products," Kutil said. "Because Kohli and I handpicked everyone; we were like your work is awesome, you need to do this. And it's really only because of that that they're doing it.

"For people to come and buy your work for the first time is a really, really exciting thing. If you spend hours in the evening in your studio making things and no one ever sees them, or if you give them as gifts to friends and friends really appreciate it, to have someone come in and buy something from you for the first time is an awesome feeling."

The pair hopes to make the market a semi-annual event in Baltimore, and Flick said she has even larger goals for bringing the Becket Hitch brand of style, comfort, and craftsmanship to other cities.

But for now, they're excited to kick off the holiday season with a bang, redefining a nautical knot, where to shop for holiday gifts, and the concept of artistic community.

"What's going to be really nice is that this is going to be in stark, stark contrast to walking into the mall at the holiday," Nocher said. "I think it's going to be a pleasurable experience; it won't feel like a chore, and it's going to be a great place to shop for things that you know are one-of-a-kind. It's going to be a great opportunity for people to meet some artists that are doing some different things, and to just kind of make new contacts with the artistic industry in Baltimore."


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Photos by Arianne Teeple

- Katie McDonough Kutil & Kohli Flick, creators of Becket Hitch
- A necklace by Kohli Flick
- Kohli Flick
- A custom fabric flower by Katie McDonough Kutil
- Katie McDonough Kutil
- A scarf by Katie McDonough Kutil
- A purse by Kohli Flick