ROOT FORCE COLLECTIVE FARM

Permaculture farming is brought to the South of the James Market and the Market Emporium at Bryan Park every Saturday and Tuesday by the partners of the Root Force Collective Farm.

Emily Johnson, Niels Asmussen and Charlie Naujokas farm just over an acre of land in Hanover County using a farming philosophy which is grounded in the teachings of permaculture. With this method, relationships found in nature are respected, making it unnecessary for the use of man made chemicals to control growth and maintenance.

Emily received her early farming experience as an apprentice at Radical Roots, a farm near Harrisonburg, VA. Although Emily took some classes at local universities, she eventually decided a college education was not the way she wanted to go. She felt hands on experience was the best way to further her interests and education in farming.

Emily and her partners started planting seeds in a hot box prior to planting the seedlings into the ground in the spring. The group has two volunteers to help with the planting and harvesting the crops. One of the volunteers is Mary Beth Johnson, younger sister of Emily, shown here with Emily.
In keeping with their community involvement, the Root Force Collective Farm donate unsold vegetables from their markets every Tuesday and Saturday to Food Not Bombs, an organization that serves a Community Meal at Monroe Park on Sunday. The Collective Farm also donate vegetables to a local women's shelter.

Emily was saying that the Root Force Collective Farm would like to eventually start a CSA. They encourage customers to visit their farm and see nature at work. Schools are encouraged to take their students to visit the farm to learn first hand the wonders of nature. For information and to set up a farm visit, contact Emily by email at info@rootforcecollectivefarm.com or call 804-883-0033.

Emily and Mary Beth said they enjoy The Market Umbrella venues as it gives them an opportunity to meet the customers and share their farming experience. Emily enjoys sharing her knowledge of permaculture farming. Emily and Mary Beth can generally be found at the Bryan Park location and Niels at the South of the James.

The Root Force Collective Farm fits the philosophy of Karen Atkinson, the owner of the Market Umbrella, in her belief in what the markets are about---"the markets are a place for people getting their business started, for the people that need a place to sell their items that cannot afford to have a storefront."


Stop by the Root Force Collective Farm at the South of the James Market in Forest Hill Park on Saturday or the Market Emporium in Bryan Park on Tuesday to learn more about their farming techniques and to purchase their wonderful produce.

JKA DESIGNS

Janice Alexander started JKA Designs in 1999 after a long career as a graphic designer in Richmond. Although Janice was born in our nations capital, she was raised in Richmond. She earned an associates degree in Management from the University of Richmond. Janice is the mother of two and the grandmother of one.

Janice began "beading", in her spare time, to make gifts for family and friends. When she decided to work with metal, she enrolled in a metal smithing class at the Visual Art Center. With the help from books and the class she felt comfortable working with a torch, so bought her own tanks. She then branched out into working with glass, again with the help of books. She invested in a small kiln and started fusing glass.

When Janice was asked how she made her beautiful pieces, she explained it in several steps. The fused glass is fired in the kiln for 8 hours and left to cool overnight. The piece is then cut with a wet saw and the edges are smoothed on a grinder. The item is then placed back in the kiln to fire polish, which takes 6 hours. The item is then left in the kiln to cool over night. Pendants are hand wrapped in sterling silver. All silver pieces are cut from sterling silver sheets and hand forged.

Although Janice enjoys working in her garden, she has the most fun creating her wonderful pieces of jewelry. In addition to the Market Umbrella venues, JKA Design can be found at local corporate shows and the yearly Arts in the Park.

When asked why she chooses to sell at markets, Janice quickly said, "the people." When asked to elaborate she said she enjoyed meeting different people and felt market shoppers were looking for handmade items and appreciated her creations.

In addition to the above dechroic pendants, Janice also makes hand forged sterling silver jewelry and handpainted Chinese characters on fused glass pendants. During the holiday season plates, bowls and candle holders are among the range of gift items Janice makes.

BEHIND THE UMBRELLA

When you arrive at any Market Umbrella venue the first thing you will see is an umbrella of varied colors. Beyond the umbrella the area presents an array of tents with vendors offering a variety of products.

What you don't see is what is BEHIND THE UMBRELLA - the Market Umbrella Operations Committee. This group of individuals bring a vast amount of experience, education and committment to the Market Umbrella and concur with the principles and goals of the owner, Karen Atkinson.

Linda Williams brings experience from the 29 years she was employed with a local CCRC. Five years ago, Linda switched gears and began working part-time in an owner-operated beauty salon so she would have time to design and create her unique jewelry. Among other contributions, Linda is responsible for the business card listing the market venues. You can pick them up at the vendor tents. Linda is the mother of two grown sons.

John Erickson earned his degree in engineering from the University of Mississippi. He worked for 10 years at Circuit City in training and development and 5 years in the brokerage industry before "retiring" to make candles. John has a grown son and daughter. John's many contributions to the Market Umbrella include a stint as co-host of the radio show.

Bonny Rike serves as the Market Umbrella accountant. Her degree in accounting was earned at Virginia Tech. Bonny worked as an accountant for a Richmond ad agency and a music store in Fredericksburg where she resided for several years. Bonny, a stay at home Mom of three, maintains a home based income tax/bookkeeping service for individuals and small businesses.

Roberta Lowe, an Illinois native, earned a degree in mathematics from Harper College. In addition to her many contributions to the Market Umbrella, Roberta designed and maintains the website. Roberta works part-time as a pastor's assistant at the Atlee Community Church.

Jane Harrison hails from Aylesbury, Bucks England. Her studies at Amasham & Wyhcombe College of Art and Design contributed to her love of art. Coming to America gave Jane the opportunity to start her own business and allowed her to be a stay at home Mom. Jane coordinates and manages the Market Umbrella at Quirk Gallery First Fridays.

The Market Umbrella farm coordinator is Gina Collins. She has a BA and an MA in art history from Arizona State and has worked in the museum field for over 20 years. Gina, the mother of two is a freelance writer and independent curator.

Beverly Murphy is a VCU graduate in Therapeutic Recreation. She spent 15 years developing programs in rehabilitation medicine at MCV and Sheltering Arms before leaving to pursue her interest in glass mosaic design and other creations. Bev lends her artistic abilities in marketing the Market Umbrella venues. Bev is the mother of a college student.

Judi Williams has a BA in Psychology and an MSW from Rutgers University. She worked in the mental health field for a number of years before entering the corporate world in the area of Personnel and then Marketing and Advertising. Judi is the mother of four and grandmother of eighteen. In addition to designing and maintaining the Market Umbrella Blog, Judi coordinates market spacing at South of the James, is secretary of the Operations Committee and offers general assistance to Karen Atkinson.

Alan Silver is a British citizen living in the states since 1981, except for an 8 year stint as Managing Director of a US company in Jakarta, Indonesia. Alan brings over 40 years of executive experience in administration, sales and marketing to the Market Umbrella. Alan is the father of two daughters and the grandfather of two.

In addition to the many hours these individuals volunteer in helping the Market Umbrella, they all participate as vendors.

FIRST ANNUAL CUCUMBER FESTIVAL

FIRST ANNUAL CUCUMBER FESTIVAL SPONSORED BY THE MARKET UMBRELLA
JOIN IN THE FUN AT THE MARKET EMPORIUM AT BRYAN PARK ON JUNE 16TH AND SOUTH OF THE JAMES MARKET AT FOREST HILL PARK ON JUNE 20TH.

TWO COMPETITIONS AT BOTH VENUES: PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED
CUCUMBER EATING CONTEST: WHO CAN EAT A CUCUMBER THE FASTEST!
BEST DRESSED CUCUMBER: BRING A DRESSED OR CARVED CUCUMBER TO COMPETE WITH OTHER CUCS.

SCHEDULED EVENTS AT BRYAN PARK - JUNE 16TH
4:00 PM BEST DRESSED CONTEST
5:00 PM CUCUMBER EATING CONTEST

SCHEDULED EVENTS AT SOUTH OF THE JAMES - JUNE 20TH
10:00 AM BEST DRESSED CONTEST
11:00 AM CUCUMBER EATING CONTEST

TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND JOIN IN THE COMPETITION. FUN AND PRIZES!

MARKET CLOSURE

DUE TO THE WEATHER, THE MARKET UMBRELLA AT QUIRK GALLERY WILL NOT BE HELD TONIGHT, JUNE 5TH. YOU CAN SEE THE VENDORS AT SOUTH OF THE JAMES MARKET ON SATURDAY, JUNE 6TH, MARKET EMPORIUM AT BRYAN PARK ON TUESDAY, JUNE 9TH AND THE MARKET UMBRELLA AT CROSSROADS ON THURSDAY, JUNE 11TH.