GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -Many black-owned businesses were able to show off what they do during a pop-up market inside Anthropologie.

This pop-up market showcased black history and local black-owned businesses.

“I’ve always gravitated towards art as a kid. I would color my coloring books and steal my mom’s college ruled notebooks, and draw the coloring book and color it again so I’ve always been interested in art,” shared Yvonne Ferguson, a painter.

Ferguson paints portraits and says she learned how to paint when she attended Gainesville High School.

“I needed artwork for my apartment and I couldn’t find any black art, and my mom was like just make it,” Ferguson said. “So I started making it and then my friends would hit me up and be like ‘I need artwork for my place too,’ and then it kind of turned into a business for me.”

She says its important to have representation in artwork and she does what she can to make it accessible to everyone.

“It’s critical to have spaces that we can share. There’s not a lot of that in Gainesville, and so it gives us an opportunity to introduce people to our culture and bring them in, in a form of appreciation,” Ferguson shared.

“Just working with kids for the past few years, I love kids and so I wanted to write a story that I knew they would like, and that they could relate to and inspire them,” said Danisha Huntley, an author.

Huntley just published her first book, ‘Lost Land.’ She hopes to make this book a series, and says Lost Land is a magical place where toys go when they’re missing.

“Sometimes there are limited resources for many black-owned businesses, so to have a big corporation and a big business like Anthropologie taking time out to allow us to come in here, I mean it’s just amazing,” baker, Keena Woods shared.

Woods owns Sugar Baby’s Cookies based out of Newberry and she says she’s been baking since she was little.

Other booths included, the Cotton Club, Jayda’s Jams, and some beaded accessories. Those are just some of many local black-owned businesses in the area who couldn’t be happier to attend events like this one.

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