Farmers Market fills downtown with artisanal goods and produce

A single vendor tent within the downtown Sarasota Farmers Market helps provide jobs for roughly 20 Colombian families.

Pepós Shoes offers casual canvas and leather shoes handmade in Colombia, said Gloria Rincon, who founded the company with her husband Juan Carlos “Pepós” Botero who is from Colombia.

They began selling the unisex shoes first to friends and family but soon realized they had a hit with the lightweight shoes.

Since 2021 they have sold shoes at the Sarasota Farmers Market. They range in price from $59 to $79. During the Feb. 24 market, the Pepós Shoes tent was teeming with activity, thanks to the sunny, room-temperature day.

Rincon said the bestselling shoe is a tobacco-brown model that’s especially popular with men ages 40-65 who are looking for a casual evening shoe for walking around downtown or a night on the town.

Elsewhere within the market that takes over Lemon Avenue and a portion of State Street on Saturday mornings, Kinsey’s Produce was doing a brisk business in fruit.

“It’s been very busy. The strawberries are a hit because they’re in season,” explained Dawn Underhill of Kinsey’s Produce.

Molly Rainey of Soap Sarasota said the crowd was about par for the course for the season. She said one of her more popular items was her gardenia soap, which boasts a spring feeling and scent.

Down the street, Lynn Lambris of Greenway Formula 7 demonstrated her all-natural bug sprays and repellents for passersby, with one customer stocking up for a 35-day trip hiking across France.

The Sarasota Farmers Market is held every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. rain or shine. You can find a map of vendors at Instagram.com/SarasotaFarmersMarket.