Dec 3, 2008

Head: Sequim Bay Merchants, SNAP partner to offer holiday gift shopBy Ashley MillerSequimGazette.com

With Thanksgiving here and gone, more and more people are putting up festive lights, decorations and trees. The holiday shopping season is in full force as the countdown for Christmas begins.

This year, Sequim has a unique venue for buying gifts. Cathy Wilson and Lavon Gomes, owners of Sequim Bay Merchants, are partnering with Special Needs Advocacy Parents and offering an entrepreneurial training program for artists with developmental disabilities.

The Community Christmas Shoppe, originally scheduled to open on Black Friday, Nov. 28, but delayed until Friday, Dec. 5, will offer the works of 12 peninsula artists — including American Indian artist Linda Silvas, Charitable Arts founder Jeff Becker and photographer Jim Stuart — and a handful of artists from SNAP’s EnterpriZe program.

In addition to selling arts and crafts, SNAP members will receive on-the-job training, learning how to sell artwork and run a business. The experience is designed to “foster art expression and develop living, job and social skills that can be transferred to everyday living,” explained Bonne Smith, EnterpriZe instructor. “If you provide somebody with the skills and knowledge, the want to learn is intrinsic.”

SNAP leaders approached Wilson and Gomes about renting the empty space at 149 W. Washington St., through Jan. 3, 2009. Previously occupied by Sequim Bay Merchants, the building has been empty since January 2008 but the lease doesn’t expire until December 2009.

“It was just time to move on,” Gomes said about closing Sequim Bay Merchants. “But we thank the community and other business owners for their continued support over the last three-and-a-half years. It was fun while it lasted.”

SNAP members regularly sell artwork and handmade crafts at the Sequim Irrigation Festival, Lavender Festival and the Sequim Open Aire Market.

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