I'll drive to Sandwich for a sandwich

February 19, 2016 2:59 PM

I'm in Central Massachusetts and like stuff like Sowa in Boston. Art, antiques, craft, and food all together! Are there any other places like this within a couple hours of Central Massachusetts?
posted by ReluctantViking to Shopping (9 answers total)

Depending on how central you are, there is always MassMoca in North Adams. Also I hear Worcester may have an art scene but couldn't tell you for sure because I don't venture out that way from the north shore.
posted by eatcake at 4:39 PM on February 19, 2016

check out the Crompton Collective in Worcester on Saturday mornings - antiques and farmers' market and crafty-type things.
posted by Old Kentucky Shark at 5:50 PM on February 19, 2016

If you're up for driving to Somerville, there's a cute little vintage market in Davis Square during the spring and summer called the Somerville Flea . They have an indoor winter market, but I've never been and can't vouch for it.

It's tiny, but I always like looking at the furniture and old pictures. There are also really good donuts in the summer.
posted by topoisomerase at 6:02 PM on February 19, 2016

You might check out Putnam, CT...in addition to its First Fridays program, it is a quirky little town with art and good food...
posted by Tandem Affinity at 7:01 PM on February 19, 2016

There's A Little Bazaar in Lowell on the first Saturday of the month.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:15 AM on February 20, 2016

Robocop is bleeding beat me to it, halfway - I was going to say that you need to check out Mill No. 5 in Lowell and specifically recommend going during one of A Little Bazaar's first-Saturday events, or the Otherwhere Market which is on a less fixed schedule, but happens 2-3 times a year. Mill No. 5 is sort of like a indie/hipster/artisinal (and I consider all of those words to be positives here) Diagon Alley on the fourth floor of an old mill building; the store fronts are all constructed from architectural salvage and the effect is that of a funky indoor street. During market events vendors set up along the sides of the corridor and you get a nice street fair effect.

Disclosure: I have been a vendor at a few of those markets - but it's a place I'd love just as much as a visitor; it's got a really good vibe and I very much get a sense that both regular customers and shop owners are proud of what they've got there. As a vendor I also get the sense that all of the shop owners are really supportive of one another and the various events at the venue... it's just plain nice, and if I didn't live an hour away I'd be there a lot more often.

You might also like Thorne's Marketplace in Northampton, which is a former three-story department store that's been carved up into numerous independent shops. And downtown Northampton in general is a lot of fun to poke around.
posted by usonian at 7:52 AM on February 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

The Book Mill in Montague might fit.
posted by john_snow at 6:30 PM on February 20, 2016

Eastworks in Easthampton, MA, sounds like it might be the type of thing you're looking for. Easthampton also has Cottage Street Studios, among other interesting places to check out.
posted by camyram at 3:26 AM on February 21, 2016

Well, if you can wait until the spring, there is the Brimfield antiques fair. More antiques than you could possibly see in a day, and lots of food trucks and stalls. It's on three times a year, spring, summer, and fall.
posted by Philbo at 10:48 AM on March 12, 2016