New at the market this year is The Sisters Shop run by Makayla Harvey, 15, and Kendra Harvey, 18.

The sisters share a booth that is full of sewn items and painted rocks. “It was Mom’s idea to call it The Sisters Shop,” says Makayla.

Kendra, who paints the rocks, started with a book called a “Guide to Painting Animals on Rocks” and now has moved on to where she makes up her own designs. “We started to have rocks all over the house and my mom said I needed to start selling them, so I did at the Greenhouse Nursery and then here.”

Kendra finds rocks at the beach, at lakes, her grandpa’s house; she collects and scrubs them.

“Sometimes they pop out at me as an animal. Sometimes I have a picture or several of the subject, then I paint what I see. They are all sealed so they can live outdoors.”

She says they don’t fade and has had some for up to four years without fading. In the future she is hoping to sell them at more garden stores. Apparently she has done a series inspired by “Lord of the Rings.”

Makayla does all the sewn items and says that, “Grandma taught me how to sew and since we didn’t think the rocks alone would work, I started sewing.” She makes potholders, cloth towels and decorative sailboats.

“I like the people at the market, it is our farmers market family, we enjoy the returning customers, like this guy named Ed who always gives us ideas,” says Makayla. People come up and say, “oh, you are the sisters” all the time.

“What keeps us coming is that it’s lucrative and it gives us something to do that is fun and we meet new people and talk to new people, we really like how many contacts we make here,” says Kendra.

The potholders are basically seven layers of fabric and Insulbrite. Makayla says her favorite part of making them is choosing and matching fabrics, they are all machine washed and have chenille on the back.

“As for Mom,” the girls tell me, “she keeps us on task, she is   proactive and wants us to do other venues, she really keeps an eye out for opportunities for us. She was very encouraging and we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her help.”

Kendra starts at Peninsula College next year so they are not sure about the future of The Sisters Shop.

The greatest things they’ve learned are to always keep your cool with customers, especially when they aren’t polite, if you get agitated they just elevate and it just gets worse. They also have learned to keep on task during the week with production to avoid cramming on Friday nights.

On Aug. 24 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sequimarimba will be performing.

See you at the market!