Blissful Boutique Celebrates One-Year Anniversary at Paseo Nuevo

We purchase so many things online that it’s easy to forget how nice it is to actually touch, smell, and taste things before you buy them — not to mention how cool it can be to talk to the person who actually made the item. Luckily, every first and third Saturday of the month, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., you can peruse the stands of the outdoor Makers Market at the entrance of Paseo Nuevo using all of your senses along the way.

Blissful Boutique, which started in founder Lisa Green’s front yard as a holiday boutique a few years ago, is now celebrating its one-year anniversary at Paseo Nuevo on July 2. The market, which resembles an outdoor European faire with its tan umbrellas and sleek black tablecloths, boasts a variety of vendors selling all kinds of things: handmade jewelry, candles, crochet goods, woven silk clutch purses, succulent art, leather goods, jams and jellies, handmade baby clothes, African mud-cloth ponchos, baked goods, and much more.

Green’s favorite part of the boutique is watching people interact with the artisans as they pound away at colorful leather or crochet creations. “And if you see something you like but don’t like a certain stone in a ring [for example], they will take special orders and ship it to you when it’s ready,” she explained.

“I’ve always wanted to do something downtown to bring the community together,” said Green. “Downtown is suffering; they’re hurting …. I think the brick and mortar is dying because of online shopping, and these pop-up shops are the way of the future.”