SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — There is a new way to shop and share art in Syracuse.
Users of the popular crafting and antiques site, Etsy, will feel right at home in Eileen Porto’s new Eastwood store.
Porto took her growing side-hustle of selling glassware online and amplified it by creating an art hub at the intersection of James Street and Collingwood Avenue. The space, which she hopes will give local artists a shared location to sell from, is called The Marketplace on James.
Artists pay once a month to have their work displayed and, if sold, Porto receives a portion of the sale.
“This space was big enough and large enough to be able to do this artisan and antique kind-of eclectic mix of goods that gives small businesses that normally wouldn’t have a main street presence, a main street presence,” Porto said.
The newly-renovated building, once home to the Tip A Few Tavern, divides floor space between artist displays and a bistro-esque dining area with high-top tables. The walls of the main room are lined with work from local artists and the shelves carry collectible crafts, clothing, candles, and comics.
“We have a little bit of everything,” Porto said. “We try to appeal to every aspect of the community’s interests.”
Starting on Tuesday, the Marketplace will be adding breakfast and take-out lunch to its list of local offerings.
