“That was preorder and pickup, which is totally not our MO; we like to have a market setup and people mixing, and it being a much nicer ambiance,” McDaniel says.
This Saturday will be the first time since before COVID hit for them to bring back that market feel.
“I had some friends who also started making during the pandemic reach out to me and ask if The Bake Sale would want to partner with them to sell some stuff around the holidays,” McDaniel says. “It’s a good feeling to know that The Bake Sale has that following, that other makers want to be included to bring people in.”
This month's Bake Sale, a return from before the pandemic, will include the ceramic work of Summer Aquino and Jeff Gibbons.
courtesy of Soup Ceramics
“We’re really just trying to get people in to see Jeff’s and Summer’s work in a tangible space,” McDaniel says. “They released everything online, but when it comes to functional ceramics, I think that’s something people want to touch and see before they buy it.”
While folks can peruse the ceramics, they can also get the work of McDaniel and Hanson, this time with Thanksgiving in mind.
Expect brisket kolaches, vegetarian kolaches (possibly mushroom) and a cranberry coffee cake. Their well-known, gluten-free chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons will make an appearance, as will a (fully gluten) cookie that’s fruit- and spice-foward. They’ll also be serving the Cedars’ Full City Rooster.
The Bake Sale will have another event in mid-December when McDaniel hopes to have five or 10 other creatives with them for a full holiday market.
McDaniel has a day job working with an HVAC efficiency company, while Hanson is an adjunct professor teaching sculpture at UTD. For the two of them, both uplifting other artists and serving their baked goods is more than a side gig.
“If the pandemic taught us nothing else, it’s that we need each other: for hope, for help, for motivation. As one myself, I know creatives regularly deal with internal struggles and questions of relevancy or ‘good enough-ness.’” McDaniel says. “It’s important that we lift each other up and validate how important it is to create and not just consume.
“What we do is as important if not more so than having a day job and making a living. We make because there is no other way for us to exist as ourselves.”
The Soup Ceramics and Bake Sale will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3001 Quebec St., Suite 106, in the Stemmons Corridor.
