New vendors on opening day of Modesto Certified Farmers Market

Beautiful spring weather greeted customers for Saturday’s opening of the Modesto Certified Farmers Market, its 38th season.

Customers visited all their favorite local farmers, bakers and crafters – and were treated to some new ones.

Susan Shewmake, owner of Designs from the Past, inherited dozens of vintage apron patterns from her aunts, grandmother and great-grandmother when her mother passed away a few years ago.

“They are all vintage patterns. I said, ‘What am I going to do with this?’ and, of course, (the answer was to) make a few,” Shewmake said. “And once I started making a few, people said, ‘Well, I want one,’ so it just kind of blossomed within the last six months.”

She hand sews apron patterns from the 1940s and ’50s, including designs for men; turn of the century prairie bonnets; chef hats; as well as potholders and kitchen towels.

“People really appreciate things that have come from the past,” said Shewmake.

Her first apron sold at the market was for a little girl, done in Minnie Mouse fabric. But the most popular prints were those with sports teams.

Jamie Raduechel’s husband, Robert, bought her a San Francisco Giants apron complete with black lace trim.

Raduechel said she doesn’t do a whole lot of baking but “I just had to have it because it is Giants.”

Farther south on 16th Street – the market is between H and I streets – is another new vendor called Rancho Piccolo. The farmers from Atwater sell organic vegetables.

A few booths down is another first-timer, Central Valley Sustainability. Cody Simar makes handcrafted planter boxes and chicken coops from mostly reclaimed wood. He fills the planter boxes with edible landscape and pollinator flowers.

“We do flowers that are either native or really beneficial to pollinators; we want to bring in as many pollinators to the garden to maximize yield,” Simar said.

He sells the boxes, with drip irrigation, at the market but mostly custom designs and installs them at people’s homes. The boxes range from $30 to several hundred dollars depending on the size and complexity.

Simar started his business two years ago. “Initially I was concerned with the quality of the food (in grocery stores) and I wanted to take it into my own hands,” he said. “I figured there’s not a better way to make a difference than to help others do it.”

Another vendor across from Central Valley Sustainability is not new, but is returning after a several year hiatus, Fudge-It Confections.

Rhonda and John Vargas, whose kitchen is in Ceres, make more than 60 flavors of fudge. The best-seller on Saturday was caramel sea salt, but customers had the option of getting more adventurous with bubble gum or mint chip.

“She likes to play around, she is pretty creative,” John Vargas said of his wife.

Customer Hiram Kemp didn’t know Fudge-It had taken a leave of absence from the market because it was his first time there. He brought his 1-year-old granddaughter Violet to the market for the Easter egg hunt that also was going on during opening day.

He also bought her strawberries a well as chocolate walnut and caramel chocolate fudge.

“There are a couple other grandpas, so I have to buy my way in,” he said.

There will be even more new vendors coming soon after they get the necessary permits, market Manager Marie Uber said.

There will be a dairy from Winton providing fresh milk, a bakery that specializes in allergen-free treats, and the Howard Training Center will make gourmet sandwiches.

The Modesto Certified Farmers Market is on Thursdays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. That twice-a-week schedule will run to mid-November, followed by three Saturdays in December. Its board also plans a May or June launch for a Thursday evening venue on two blocks of Tenth Street, in cooperation with the Modesto Improvement Partnership.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 4:58 PM with the headline "New vendors on opening day of Modesto Certified Farmers Market."