Craft Around the Country

The Scene: Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Teeming with creativity, this small city in Western Wisconsin is a perfect spot to immerse yourself in the tactile.

By David Schimke
July 17, 2026

Digital Only

Ceramics

Events

Exhibitions

Fiber & Textiles

Jewelry

Metal

Mixed Media

Free To Read

Photo courtesy of Visit Eau Claire

Phoenix Park, located on what was once an industrial brown site near downtown Eau Claire, hosts the Downtown Farmers Market.

To fully appreciate the depth and charm that is Eau Claire, Wisconsin, located just 90 miles east of Minneapolis, it helps to have a sense of history.

In the ’70s and ’80s, the erstwhile timber town of 45,000 had a town-and-gown temperament, with two of its largest employers being the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UWEC) and the Uniroyal plant, which manufactured tires for 75 years.

Folks across Western Wisconsin would visit the then-thriving, walkable downtown—located at the picturesque confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers—to shop at Sears or JCPenney or one of the dozens of other archetypal Midwestern main street businesses of the era, including a bakery, two single-screen movie houses, and a couple of two-chair barbershops.

When Uniroyal shuttered in 1992, the area’s economy took a generational hit. Thirteen-hundred union members lost their jobs, the standard of living dropped, and capital investment blew away.

Photo courtesy of Visit Eau Claire

The industrial complex that once housed Uniroyal is now known as Banbury Place. The 1.9-million-square-foot multipurpose center hosts a diverse mix of business offices, nonprofit organizations, apartments, and studio spaces for over 90 artists.

In the early 2000s, city leaders—determined to stave off Rust Belt decline—engaged in a period of reinvention. Federal and state funds were leveraged to reeducate workers at the local technical college in a variety of fields (health care, public safety, and hospitality services among them), and fledgling tech businesses were wooed. Local spirit rallied as the economy began to rebound.

The final act in the revitalization, which started in the 2010s, involved a commitment to turn the post-industrial manufacturing hub into a regional arts center. Resources were committed to building public spaces. A stronger relationship was forged between business owners and UWEC, in the hopes that musicians and artists from the school would consider remaining and creating after graduation. And, by chance, Justin Vernon, who chose to continue calling Eau Claire home even as his band Bon Iver was winning Grammys, invested his capital and clout to the cause.

Today, Eau Claire, with a population of nearly 73,000, anchors one of the five fastest-growing counties in Wisconsin. And the once once-moribund downtown is younger, more diverse, and manifestly entrepreneurial—a magnet for artists, musicians, and makers in every medium. They all work and play in the area, and are not shy about what they’re building. To spend time there is to get caught up in and inspired by the creative energy and appealingly unpretentious boho vibe.

For those who may one day travel to Eau Claire, the American Craft Council has put together a quick visitor guide. Neither exhaustive nor meant as a list of favorites, our hope is that it will encourage further exploration.

Photo courtesy of Visit Eau Claire

The city's revitalization owes a debt to creatives such as Justin Vernon, who has remained a resident as his band Bon Iver has risen to fame. Vernon founded the music festival Eaux Claires, one of a number of major events that the city hosts.

“To spend time there is to get caught up in and inspired by the creative energy and appealingly unpretentious boho vibe. ”

Get Acclimated

Eau Claire is home to an esteemed publication that harkens back to the free, alternative newspapers that began disappearing a quarter century ago. Featuring whip-smart reportage and exhaustive arts coverage, the 24-year-old VolumeOne produces and prints (yes, prints!) 12,000 copies every two weeks.

Managing editor McKenna Scherer notes that staff works diligently on compiling the 70-some page publication’s events listings, including craft happenings (from Fiber Fridays to Maker Supply Swaps) and maker-centric popups. Make sure to grab a copy and get some ink on your hands.

Visit Eau Claire, the city’s official website, also emphasizes craft listings and events, as well as places to eat, lodge, kayak, hike, and bike (the 30-mile-long Chippewa River State Trail is as smooth as it is vast).

Photo by Andrea Paulseth

Eau Claire's biweekly print publication VolumeOne shares space with the Local Store, a gift shop stuffed with local goods and art.

Photo by David Schimke

An artist works on jewelry at the Eau Claire Artist’s Market Presented by Tangled Up In Hue, which also calls Phoenix Park home.

Get Going

Once an industrial brown site, Scherer calls Phoenix Park a “doorway to downtown.” Opened in 2005 and covering nine acres of land, the greenspace is a photogenic gathering space and home to the Downtown Farmers Market, which is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from June to October and one Saturday a month in the winter.

For the past 16 years, the Eau Claire Artist’s Market Presented by Tangled Up In Hue, has set up vendor tents and tables adjacent to the Farmers Market. As VolumeOne reports, visitors can shop for “one-of-a-kind jewelry, ceramic goods, prints and posters, clothing,” and other locally made goods. A few spots are set aside for kid crafters who want to learn how to peddle their creations. And there’s almost always local performers entertaining on makeshift stages.

Across from Phoenix Park sits the Pablo Center at the Confluence. Accessible by a charming walking bridge, the multi-use facility was opened by a nonprofit in 2018 and is supported by UWEC and local arts groups. It has state-of-the-art performance spaces and three rotating galleries that feature painting, stained glass, and works in other media.

Photo courtesy of Visit Eau Claire

A visitor looks at art in one of three galleries at the Pablo Center at the Confluence, a multi-purpose art facility near Phoenix Park.

Stepping outside of the Pablo, visitors will find themselves in the heart of downtown, where there are a host of craft-centric storefronts. Hello Adorn, which makes custom jewelry, opened a small concern in 2016 and has since moved to a 6,700-square-foot studio that employs dozens, designs and ships thousands of pieces a month, and fits walk-in customers. Token Jewelry, smaller but no less charming, also sells handmade pieces designed in-house and made by a small team of artisans. Tangled Up In Hue, organizers of the aforementioned artist’s market, has a sizable store where you can find jewelry, ceramics, textiles, and other handmade goods from some 70 local makers. There’s also a reservable makerspace in the rear. And at the Paper Palette Company, a community gathering spot created by former art teacher Beth Moga, kids and adults can learn about paper arts by taking classes and workshops.

Downtown is also ground zero for the Eau Claire Sculpture Tour, which launched in 2011 with 12 pieces and now features 120 distinct works by makers from the US and around the world, with annual turnover. Julie Pangallo, the public arts manager for Visit Eau Claire and tour curator, is particularly proud that the program is funded by local businesses and pays participating artists a stipend (those interested in submitting work can apply online). “The sculpture tour serves different purposes,” she says. “Most visibly, of course, is tourism and economic development. But it’s also a source of art curriculum for school kids around the region, who take field trips to learn about the work. The local hospital provides patients who need exercise with maps featuring different distances and parts of the tour. And, when choosing what to display, we’re always conscious of being as culturally inclusive as possible.”

Photo by David Schimke

Hello Adorn, which opened in 2016, makes custom jewelry and employs dozens of workers.

Photos courtesy of Visit Eau Claire

The Eau Claire Sculpture Tour features 120 works by makers from around the world, with turnover each May.

Across the river from Phoenix Park sits UWEC’s Haas Fine Arts Center, home to the Ruth Foster Art Gallery, which hosts exhibitions and talks by internationally renowned sculptors, mixed-media artists, ceramists, and digital designers. Students and faculty in the art and design department also participate in juried shows.

The Haas Fine Arts Center is on Water Street, which is also home to a host of college bars, eateries, coffee shops, and locally-owned stores, including Decadent Gifts & Gallery, which features goods made by local painters and craft artists, offers a variety of classes in various mediums, sponsors after-hours receptions, and hosts a mentorship program that often pairs local artists with UWEC graduates.

About a mile south in Shawtown, one of Eau Claire’s oldest neighborhoods, is Caradori Pottery, the working studio of renowned ceramist David Caradori. For over 30 years, Caradori—who studied in Japan with potters Jirō Kinjō and Masakazu Kusakabe—has stacked his jaw-dropping space with hand-thrown Shigaraki stoneware and wood-fired ceramics made with Japanese clay.

Back across the river, on the other side of town, the soaring industrial complex and city landmark that once housed Uniroyal is now Banbury Place, a 1.9-million-square-foot multipurpose commercial center that houses a diverse mix of business offices, nonprofit organizations, apartments, and studio spaces for over 90 artists. Throughout the year, local creatives gather at the site to host special events, including the annual Banbury Art Crawl, held in early February. There are also large markets in April, June, October, and December.

Photo by David Schimke

Potter David Caradori sells his Japanese-inspired ceramic work out of his studio in Eau Claire.

Just three blocks down the hill from Banbury Place is The Local Store at VolumeOne, a small but satisfyingly stuffed gift shop that sells art, apparel, books, gifts, foodstuffs, and other exclusive knick knacks produced “by, for, and/or about people living in the community.” The newspaper’s editorial offices are upstairs.

And just across the street is The Oxbow Hotel which, since opening in 2016, has served as both an affordable place to stay and a kind of hipster landmark. Sitting on a plot of land that has hosted some sort of lodging (rooming houses, hotel rooms, a motor court) since 1947, its refurbished, minimalist rooms and onsite cocktail lounge, restaurant, and performance space, The Lakely, were financed by an ownership group including Vernon and VolumeOne owner Nick Meyer. Visitors should be sure to browse the lobby’s eclectic LP library—every room in the hotel has a record player.

Finally, music lovers with a taste for craft will enjoy the ways in which local makers are featured at a number of annual local celebrations, including the Eaux Claires music and arts festival, founded by Vernon; the Blue Ox Music Festival, featuring nationally renowned Americana artists and folkies; and the Clearwater Jazz and Art Festival, where craft beer and food trucks keep things swinging.

“Located on I-94, which runs between Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Chicago, we’ve always been a natural stop for touring musicians,” says Tangled Up In Hue’s owner, Erin Klaus, who is also the executive director of Downtown Eau Claire, Inc. “And as we’ve revitalized the city, festivals like Justin’s have increased our visibility and really helped create what now feels like a renaissance.”

Photo courtesy of Visit Eau Claire

Diners enjoy the patio at the Lakely, the performance venue at the Oxbow Hotel.

David Schimke is a writer, editor, and media strategist based in Minneapolis.

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