Craft fair will have ‘boutique vibe,’ organizer says

MARENGO — A new mom’s creativity will bring a unique shopping opportunity to Iowa County residents in April.

Channing Doehrman Fraker, of Malcom, has lined up 50 hand-craft, boutique and food vendors and live music for a two-day vendor fair — Roots and River Market — at the Iowa County Fairgrounds April 19 and 20.

Another market is set for Sept. 27 and 28.

“This is a new adventure for me,” said Fraker. She’s been a vendor at other events but has never hosted one herself.

“We have great options already,” said Fraker, but she wanted to create a craft show that has more of a “boutique vibe” and put crafters and small businesses on display, she said.

Fraker owns Channing’s Customs, which started as a booth at vendor shows but is now a shop in her home at 1237 Highway 6 in Malcom. Fraker creates home décor using vinyl and hand-painting on wood.

Fraker worked as an occupational therapist at a nursing home in Toledo, but a high-risk pregnancy in 2020 convinced her she needed to be home.

“I started [making décor] in the spring of 2022,” Fraker said, but took a break after having a baby that June. She geared up again in the fall. Now that her boys are in school and day care, she has time to create items for her business.

“I’ve always tinkered around with painting and crafting,” Fraker said. “When I was younger, art was easily my favorite subject.”

Her mother sold crafts at shows when Fraker was young. She remembers sitting under the table, drawing, while her mother took care of buyers.

Fraker is originally from Williamsburg and showed horses at the Iowa County Fairgrounds.

That’s where the name Roots and River comes from, she said. She’s returning to her roots by the river.

Fraker retains her ties to Iowa County. “We open enroll [our children] … to be able to be involved in the Iowa County Fair,” she said.

A majority of the vendors scheduled to show at Roots and River come from Iowa, though some are Quad Cities businesses with Illinois addresses.

“All of my vendors … make it themselves or they specially source boutique goods,” Fraker said.

Vendors are selected to ensure that no specific niche is over-represented, giving shoppers a wide variety of products and a unique shopping experience. “We definitely still have the applications open,” said Fraker.

Local residents usually have to go to Coralville or the Quad Cities to find the boutique atmosphere that Fraker has planned for the Iowa County Fairgrounds. “It’s nice to get that with a little less driving,” she said.

Announcements about the market and vendors that have signed up can be seen at the Roots and River Market Facebook page and Instagram account.