BLACK HAWK — The first Second Saturday Artisan Market set up in front of the Gilpin County Community Center on Saturday, June 13, 2026. Vendors brought pottery, minerals, handmade soap, jewelry, tie-dyed clothing, and other local goods.

Hosted by Gilpin County Parks and Recreation, the four-hour market gave visitors a chance to shop, eat lunch, listen to live music, and meet some of the people behind small businesses in Gilpin County and the surrounding area.

Central City Opera touring artists Dante Mireles and Nicole London started the morning’s entertainment. Mireles, a baritone, and London, a mezzo-soprano, performed from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Concrete Feedback took over from noon to 2 p.m., playing as shoppers moved among booths and vendors kept an eye on their displays in the afternoon wind.

The market offered a little bit of everything, including practical services, community resources, artwork, clothing, and unusual finds.

At the Gilpin Pottery Studio booth, Gianna displayed colorful mugs, bowls, small bud vases, salt cellars, and other handmade pieces. She explained that she paints the designs with slip, which is essentially colored liquid clay.

Gianna of Gilpin Pottery Studio displays handmade ceramics painted with colorful mountain scenes, aspens, and animals during the Second Saturday Artisan Market.

Photo by Mindy Leary

“You have to paint like three coats,” Gianna said. “To get that opacity.”

Gianna shared the booth with Steve, who founded the pottery studio at the Gilpin County Community Center. Beginners can sign up for classes, while people with more experience can rent a shelf or cubby and work independently.

Nearby, Jennifer and David Josselyn of Colorful Perspectives had tables and racks full of brightly colored shirts, socks, children’s clothing, canvas bags, and flannels.

David explained that making tie-dye involves much more than adding a few colors to a shirt. The fabric is first soaked in a soda ash solution, wrung out, dyed, and left in a bag for 24 hours before it is rinsed and washed. The Josselyns plan to bring their work back for the Gilpin County Fair later this summer.

Heather Zeckser of Mountain Mama Mirth displayed resin jewelry, bowls, trays, domino sets, clocks, and pendants filled with flowers, shells, wood, and other small keepsakes.

Zeckser said the family hobby began after a trip to Ireland, when she wanted to find a creative way to preserve some shells she had collected.

“I learned about resin,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I’m going to give that a try.’” From there, the hobby grew into a small business.

Zeckser said resin can look like glass, but it is far less likely to shatter, which is helpful in a busy home with children. Her booth also included natural lip balms in flavors such as sugar cookie martini, espresso martini, and mimosa. I bought every flavor, because in Colorado you can never have enough lip balm.

A handmade resin clock by Mountain Mama Mirth. Heather Zeckser said she began crafting resin objects to preserve keepsakes.

Photo by Mindy Leary

Jackie Stone of Totems and Tarot brought a large collection of crystals, mineral specimens, carvings, tarot decks, cedar boxes, and tiny toys for children and kids at heart.

Stone started her home-based online business in 2020 and now takes part in markets around the area. She also offers tarot readings through her website.

Her table was packed with rose quartz, rhodochrosite, citrine, ammonite, tiger’s-eye, malachite, fluorite, labradorite, lapis, celestite, black kyanite, and many other minerals. Stone even had a few tiny toys and polished stones available for visitors to take home.

“Rabbitt” of Rabbitt White Apothecary introduced marketgoers to Mountain Blood Shilajit, a dark, mineral-rich material harvested from Colorado rock formations. Shilajit is a dark, mineral-rich resin that seeps from high-altitude rock formations and is traditionally used as a supplement for energy, stamina, and general wellness. It is usually taken in small amounts by dissolving the resin in warm water, tea, or another drink.

The interesting vendor said one of the raw pieces on display had been collected in the San Luis Valley just two weeks earlier. Reaching it required scrambling about 60 feet up a cliff and climbing another rocky section.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Rabbitt said, though the work can sometimes be dangerous. He sells Mountain Blood Shilajit in small tubs, including a 15-gram, one-month supply for $50 and a two-month supply for $80.

Rabbitt White Apothecary was established in 2024. He said samples of the locally harvested material have undergone compositional analysis and were found to have mineral and heavy-metal levels comparable to those of other products on the market, which are typically sourced from the Himalayas, Altai, or the Caucasus.

OneClick Cleaners used the market to let residents know about its free pickup and delivery service for wash-and-fold laundry and dry cleaning in Gilpin County and nearby mountain communities.

Wash-and-fold service costs $3.98 per pound and generally has a two-day turnaround. Dry cleaning takes about three days.

Company representatives said the service may be especially useful for Nederland residents following the loss of the town’s laundromat in the 2025 fire. Discounts are also available for military veterans and first responders.

The market also included counseling resources for young people. Keegan, a therapist with Resilience 1220, brought along a slackline and information about free counseling for young people ages 12 to 20 who live or attend school in mountain communities.

Keegan with Resilience 1220 walks the slackline while sharing information about free therapy and summer activities for mountain-area teens.

Photo by Mindy Leary

The organization is planning a free teen slackline group near the community center this summer.

“Any teen that lives or goes to school in any of the mountain communities gets ten free sessions, and then three free sessions with their parents,” Keegan said. He said that this program started with a number of school shootings in 2019 and then grew from there.

Sessions can take place virtually, at the organization’s Evergreen office, in community spaces, or even outdoors. For more information, visit resilience1220.org.

Other vendors included Black Hawk Ridge Metal Works, Missing Link Soapworks, Fairy Finds Jewelry, Kevin Grein Nature Photography, Earth Star Minerals and Botanicals, and The Mountain-Ear.

Chapo’s Tacos traveled from Longmont to keep shoppers fed with breakfast burritos, tacos, tortas, mulitas, chips, guacamole, sopapillas, and walking tacos at reasonable prices.

A "walking taco" is served inside a bag of chips, with the meat and toppings added right into the bag. A mulita is similar to a quesadilla, but made with corn tortillas and filled with meat, cheese, red sauce, onions, and cilantro. The food truck also plans to return for the Gilpin County Fair.

Even as the wind picked up, the booths stayed standing, the music kept playing, and shoppers continued making their rounds.

The first Second Saturday Artisan Market gave residents an easygoing way to discover local talent, learn about services available in the community, try something new for lunch, and spend a Saturday close to home.