Locals make T-shirts

Fountain Square Mall has been in the holiday spirit the last couple weeks with events available to the public.

Gathering, a handmade pop-up shop at the mall, had its annual holiday event called Meet the Makers at College Night, where artists whose work is displayed at the shop came to mingle with community members.

This event was used to promote the store’s inventory, which stocks work from more than 50 artists, such as pots, clothing, stuffed animals, jewelry, assorted soaps and ornaments.

There was also a T-shirt demonstration in front of the shop where guests could buy or bring shirts to be printed on for $5. All the shirts were labeled with the pop-up shop logo.

Artist Jarod Isenbarger from In Case of Emergency Press Bloomington Print Shop was in charge of doing the T-shirt demo for the shop.

The shop was supposed to have a Gallery Walk exhibit the previous weekend, but it was postponed because of inclement weather. It was rescheduled for this weekend in conjunction with Meet the Makers.

“It was a special event tonight since it is combination of two events, since last week’s Gallery Walk was postponed,” Gathering Owner Talia Halliday said.

According to the store’s website, it is only open seasonally and stays up for a month, closing Dec. 24.

Every weekend in December, the shop has different events.

“We will do events throughout the year as well as one-day events, and we will likely do the T-shirt demo again,” Halliday said. “For our family-themed weekend there will be loads of kids’ craft tables set up for all children to make a craft to take home with them.”

David Berkley, who attended the event, said he bought these shirts for the sake of deficiency.

“The shop rarely has these T-shirt making deals, so I thought in time of the season I would be able to get some well-crafted shirts for many members of my family for the season for a reasonable price,” Berkley said.