Stylish Shopping at Carpinteria’s Cravens Market 

Lucian and Tristan Cravens are sixth-generation residents of Carpinteria, but their latest effort is all about promoting the future of arts and crafts in their seaside town. They launched the Cravens Market on February 19 and have been hosting this small faire every Saturday since. Lucian tells us more about themselves and the market below. 

How long has your family been in Carp?  Our ancestor, Thomas Cravens, first came to California during the Gold Rush. Later, in 1868, Thomas settled in Carpinteria, where he bought 130 acres of land. Details of the Cravens Ranch can be found inside the Carpinteria Valley Museum.s

Why did you start the market?  My brother and I are both devoted to the arts. I currently attend the Rhode Island School of Design as a sophomore and have been painting and drawing my whole life. My brother, Tristan, also has been drawing his whole life and now takes AP art classes at Carpinteria High School. Recently, the both of us also became interested in business. We founded the Cravens Market in order to tie both of these passions together. We also wanted to create a community with and for other fellow artists and craft artists. 

What’s for sale?  The Cravens Market sells a variety of goods created, usually handmade, by various craft artists. These goods come in a range as unique and wonderful as the people selling them. One recurring seller with us, Mona Khashoggi, sells hand-painted clothing. Her designs are playful and fun, and all of her pieces have a great aesthetic appeal. We’ve had River Taff, who sells various unique potted plants. We’ve had artists selling handcrafted jewelry, crochet crafts, and one person, Tamara Thompson, sells hand-pressed seaweed designs! We try to incorporate a wide range of creative goods that represent the local community. 

What is your hope for the market?  We hope that the Cravens Market becomes a consistent hub for artists to get together, form tight-knit connections, and offer a central downtown location on the main street Linden Avenue to be successful in selling their crafts. In addition, we hope that residents become more aware of this craft community so that they can help support, grow, and fund this community by purchasing their goods. We want to create a market that sells local goods for locals and tourists alike. 

Any plans for the future?  Over the summer, my brother and I hope to continue to expand our connections with artists and find ways to create a larger community within the Cravens Market. We hope to soon expand the market so that it can reach a larger audience and to further build on our current website, thecravensmarket.com, to promote the various artists’ wares.

See thecravensmarket.com for more info. 

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