Meet the Artist Behind the Inaugural Old Port Makers Market

The inaugural Old Port Makers Market is set to kick off on Saturday, August 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Old Port Square at 200 Middle Street. The event is being hosted by Fête Market, with artist and entrepreneur Gabrielle Stratmann at the helm.

Gabrielle, who creates and sells under the name Gabrielle Jolie, co-leads Fête Market, the organization hosting the Old Port Makers Market. Alongside her fiancée and business partner George Katilus, Fête Market hosts four markets a year and brings together more than 100 local artists and makers. But Gabrielle is also an acclaimed artist in her own right.

She is a ceramicist who is currently making waves with her “Fish Eyed” brand. In the past month, Gabrielle has gone viral on Instagram, drawing over 2.4 million views of a video of her crafting one of her ingenious “fish markets”. With a studio in Portland and a team of two assistants, she is both an artist on the rise and a savvy entrepreneur.

“One of the first things I made was a fish dish,” she says, smiling. “Because it rhymed and I thought it was funny! That led me down this path of combining art with functionality in a way that resonates with my audience."

Originally from Maryland, “the other crustacean state”, as she playfully refers to it, Gabrielle was creative from a young age and performed as an Irish dancer from the age of six. She ranked fourth in the world when she “retired” at the age of 20. During the pandemic, Gabrielle moved to Martha’s Vineyard and started attending outdoor art markets. She had been illustrating for years but here, with access to the studios of artist friends, she started to build her business.

Gabrielle began to craft small ceramic dishes with whimsical, hand-painted sardines, anchovies, mussels, and more. Then she developed the concept of the “fish market” to sell her wares at markets. She fills six bins with fake ice on an elevated table, then places her oceanic ceramics across the top like someone selling oysters.

“The first thing you do when you see the fish market is stick your hands right in the fake ice and pick up the pieces,” Gabrielle explains. “And that's sometimes the greatest hurdle when you're selling ceramics. People are like, oh, I don't want to touch it. It's fragile. This takes away that barrier for people.”

Her approach has been working—on a global scale. In July, Gabrielle uploaded a seven-second video of her setting up one of her iconic “fish markets”. Within two weeks, the video had garnered 2.4 million views, and her follower base grew from 7,000 to 24,000. Visit Gabrielle’s social channels and her website today, and you can see the brand that the 25-year-old is building—creating art prints, keychains and t-shirts based on her designs. She’s also selling her works to boutiques across the region.

Gabrielle has an intuitive ability to market and brand her work. That’s one lesson she offers other makers: "Think about your audience,” she says. “Think about who you're talking to with your art, how people are going to use it." She also emphasizes that markets are perfect places to hear directly from your audience. "If you just pay attention to what people tell you at markets and then make slight tweaks based on that, you can find more joy in sharing your art with more people."

This thoughtful, entrepreneurial sense shines throughout Fête. One way that the organization is helping makers launch their careers is their “community tent” at each market, where an artist who is earlier in their career can be matched with another artist and given a space to sell their work.

“As Fête, we really want our artists and makers to make a living off of their work,” concludes Gabrielle. “I think that's the biggest value of what we offer, we uplift people who are really trying to make a living from what they love doing.”

It will be an important moment for Fête on August 30, when their market opens in downtown Portland for the first time at Old Port Square. More than 30 makers have been selected via an open application process and careful vetting based on qualities such as craftsmanship, branding, and social media presence.

“Coming to Old Port Square is really fun because it's the first time we're really dipping our toes into the downtown space of Portland, which has been one of our dream spaces for a while now," says Gabrielle. "The Old Port area has a vibrant atmosphere that aligns perfectly with the community-focused vision of Fête Market. It represents a significant step for us in reaching a broader audience."

The Old Port Makers Market will be held this Saturday, August 30th at 200 Middle Street from 10:00am – 3:00PM, with a rain date of August 31st. A second market date has also been announced for Saturday, October 18th, with a rain date of October 25th. For additional details and to learn more about community events at Old Port Square, please visit www.oldportsquare.com.