MITCHELL — Makers and bakers got a chance to show off their handmade items during a hot cocoa themed fundraiser on Saturday in downtown Mitchell.
The Second Annual Cocoa Crawl event featured a maker’s market and silent auction at 401 Create to benefit the downtown art walk efforts by the Mitchell Area Council of the Arts and Mitchell Main Street and Beyond (MMSB). The silent auction featured 10 canvas art pieces by LifeQuest creatives.
The Cocoa Crawl had a fundraising goal of selling 144 mugs at $20 each, up from the sold-out 100 mugs of 2024’s cocoa crawl. The mugs guaranteed a cup of hot cocoa at 16 downtown shops as part of an open house across Main Street businesses.
The point of the Cocoa Crawl isn’t only to drink hot cocoa or to fundraise for the art walk, but to bring awareness to the shops and small businesses downtown, according to MMSB Executive Director Elizabeth Luczak.
Danna Kolbeck, president of the Mitchell Area Council of the Arts, told the Mitchell Republic that the makers market does not provide a variety of vendors like other markets. Resellers and mult-level marketing salespersons were nowhere to be found.
“We like to promote our local artists and our local crafters and give them kind of a venue that is specifically marketed as a handmade venue,” Kolbeck said.
Marshall Mitchell / Mitchell Repubilc
Maker and baker Catina Kost of Sew 605 has been sewing since she was eight years old. After graduating college in 2000, she began custom sewing gowns for weddings, proms and cotillions. Kost, 50, developed arthritis in her arm and no longer offers custom work with a deadline.
“Now I have adapted my business to include items for home or personal care,” Kost said.
Kost sews receiving blankets, therapeutic rice packs, and hanging grocery bags.
Kost has many interests that she’s incorporated into her business. In the summer, she offers fresh veggies, herbs, and house plant collector starter kits.
“(The kit) usually consists of four plants, and then you can take them home and raise them up on your own,” Kost said.
She offers a variety of sweet breads, cookies, and dipped chocolate items. She grew up banking with her grandmother and has adapted family recipes into her baked wares.
Baked goods don’t go bad under Kost’s watch. If something doesn’t sell at market or through social media, she donates the item to local first responders or to the food pantry.
Kost keeps herself busy. She’s a tax preparer, the vice president of the Mitchell Area Garden Club, and sells at the farmer’s market.
Many of the other makers showed off their sewing skills.
Over the previous three years, local maker Kellie Fox of Sew What Embroidery has embellished towels, shirts, bags and other items with machined needlework designs.
“I just like to keep busy and create,” Fox said.
Verena Rickett sews cotton microwavable bowls, which have a similar function to oven mittens. These bowls are good for keeping hands from getting too hot or too cold. She also sews towels and pillows, among other things.
Lisa Star off Star Traditions sews gauze fabric baby teethers and burp cloths. She also offers teether ring blankie combos and crafty pins.
Proceeds from the sales of the Empty Bowl’s ceramic wares and photo prints go to the Mitchell Food Pantry. The Empty Bowl had ceramic bowls, vases, and vessels leftover from the most recent annual Empty Bowl event, which sells soup and bowls as a fundraiser for the pantry.
In addition, photography prints from the old Mitchell High School library are getting a new life to help the food pantry. These are photos taken by students at the old high school, according to Mitchell High School art teacher Marica Shannon.
Marshall Mitchell / Mitchell Repubilc
Linda Henglefelt of Ladybugs’n’Lily Pads has been crocheting since high school. Henglefelt makes crocheted characters, beanie hats, dish scrubbies and hats. She’s crocheting more these days now that she is retired and has grandkids. It helps her sit and relax, rather than just watch TV.
“I have to be doing something. It’s a nice thing to do with your hands, and making something that hopefully someone else enjoys too,” Henglefelt said.
Marshall Mitchell is a reporter with the Mitchell Republic covering local news and politics. He has over 15 years of experience working with leaders, authors, non-profits, and small businesses in publishing, marketing, and content creation. He moved to Mitchell in December 2024, and can’t wait to hear from you. Reach out to him at mmitchell@mitchellrepublic.com.
