Here's how to get a made-in-Sacramento gift when shopping online this holiday season
If you’re looking for a made-in-Sacramento gift this holiday, you can find one at the online shop launched by the non-profit arts collective The Atrium. Their new site, Sacramento.shop, features eco-conscious products from local artists and craftspeople.
The City of Sacramento granted $219,000 in CARES Act federal stimulus funds to the Atrium to launch and market the Sacramento.shop as part of the City’s Creative Economy Recovery program, which was championed by Mayor Darrell Steinberg. The site features a wide range of merchandise, including jewelry, paintings, stained glass, masks, mugs and wall art.
“We’re creating one consolidated market and making it really easy and convenient for Sacramentans to support Sacramento creatives,” said Atrium founder Shira Lane. “You can do it from your couch. We have same day delivery within Sacramento. We have free pickup from our (Old Sacramento) store and we ship nationwide.”
The Atrium, a co-working and community center for artists, grew out of a series of pop-up sales organized by Lane that featured “upcycled” items from area artists, who eventually decided they wanted to create a co-working and gathering space. Items purchased online can be picked up at the Atrium’s new physical location in the north Public Market building at 1020 Front St. in Old Sacramento.
Lane said the idea for an online Sacramento art marketplace began when members of the Sacramento Costumers, one of the Atrium’s co-working tenants, began sewing masks and selling them online through the Atrium website in spring. The overwhelming response from shoppers looking for Sacramento masks demonstrated the potential of a broader shopping site, and it was launched on Nov. 2.
About 115 people have applied to sell their work on the Sacramento.shop so far. The site had brought about 10 sellers on board as of mid-November and plans to continue adding more each week. Local artists interested in participating can sign up here and get on the waiting list.
Lane said The Atrium is focusing first on including those creatives who don’t have an existing website or sell or other platforms, and particularly those from disadvantaged groups or communities. The website includes virtual storefronts for each artist.
“You may able to see them livestreaming their art in their studio,” Lane said. “We wanted to give people that feeling of meeting the artist.”
Go to SacramentoCovidRelief.org to see more ways the City is helping residents and businesses during the pandemic.
