First "Summer Nights Swap" a Success!

Homegrown, hand designed flower arrangement by Marcy.

Over 20 enthusiastic swappers joined swap co-coordinator Liz Sniegocki at her home on June 1st, for the first indoor, evening-time homemade food & craft swap. Despite unrelenting rain, swappers showed up with an impressive amount of summery foodie and crafty goodness - a fantastic way to kick off the season!


Christy spiced it up with pickles and fresh mango salsa.

Fresh seasonal tastes were in the spotlight with spicy dill pickles, mango salsa, BBQ spice rubs and bell pepper relish. Tomatoes were represented in fresh canned salsa, tomato basil soup, and homemade marinara sauce. Strawberries showed up in strawberry popyseed vinaigrette, strawberry lemonade concentrate, and multiple strawberry jams. And blueberries were on the scene in rustic blueberry tarts and fun blueberry pie pops.


Courtney's BBQ rubs - tasty and oh-so-cute!

Other edible goodies up for swapping included: chive herb butter, cultured veggies, sweet tea vodka, oragnic rose syrup, french onion soup, backyard eggs, European style breadsticks, kombucha, a very popular monkey butter, toffee bites, fresh baked bread, apple cider vinegar, honey habenero hot suace, unique homegrown spices and homemade spice blends, sugar glazed pecans, and more!


Unpaper towel sets, napkins, and market & produce bags by Debbie. And organic dog treats too!

And then there were the crafts and non-edibles, displayed so beautifully that Liz's family room was transformed into an upscale boutique! Gorgeous handcrafted jewelry was brought by multiple participants. Tanya's patchwork aprons, skirts, and bags blew us all away! Handsewn napkins, market bags, fabric bowl covers, and kitchen towels were abundant, and in high demand. Homemade body prodcuts included dark chocolate lip gloss, sugar scrubs, and both coffee and chocolate insused lotion bars. Artists swapped original art cards and prints. And more and more crafty swappables were tucked onto every available surface, ranging from lavender room spray, to homemade laundry soap, to cork photo-holders, to handpainted "magic" garden stones.


Tanya's sought-after patchwork aprons and skirts!

Everyone enjoyed sipping fresh "summer sangria" and elderberry wine (from a previous swap), while nibbling on the generous potluck spread. Thank you to all the new and verteran swappers who came out to kick off the summer season with our first-ever evening event. Hope to see you all again in August!

Summer Nights Swap featured on This Week In Sarasota!

Swapper April Doner wrote a really nice piece about her experience at our June swap on This Week In Sarasota, titled: "Summer Nights" Swapping: A Shift Toward Abundance? Stop by and read it... and be sure to "like" it too!

Event recap coming soon....

June "Summer Nights" Swap is On... Register Now!

Ready to get your swap on? For the summer, we're bringing the swap indoors and taking it into the evening! The June swap will be on Friday, June 1, from 6-8pm at the home of swap co-coordinator Liz Sniegocki. Please come join in a "summer night" of swapping and sampling homemade edibles and handcrafted goods.

Get all the event details and register to attend (limited to the first 25 swappers!) via the link below!

We hope to see you there!

SRQ Magazine Features Sarasota Swappers!

The April issue of SRQ is spreading the news about our food & craft swap. A write up in the magazine's "at the table" section spotlights our own Kate Adams and her home garden, calling it a "small tropical paradise", and features some gorgeous photos! Pick it up around town, as the digital issue has not yet launched. (Check back for a link when it does!).

Spring Swapping!

Spring was definitely in the air Saturday at our April swap. The sun was bright, the breeze was strong, and both new and veteran swappers showed up with beautiful edibles and handmade items to celebrate the season!

The food swapping selection included seasonal delights such as marinated carrots, raw cultured tarragon shallot butter, orange-calendula biscuits, rosemary-mint jelly, and all types of strawberry jam. Also up for trade: flourless peanut butter cookies, radish kraut, gluten-free museli, sweet & spicy ketchup, marinated olives, candied jalapenos, sundried tomato tarts, home-brewed jun, backyard eggs, homegrown collards and rainbow chard, lots of herbs, white grapefruit, and so much more! A selection of seasonings were available too, including vanilla-thyme salt, thyme sugar, and pesto popcorn seasoning.

Fitting for spring, plants and flowers were prevalent. Among the selection were watermelon and cantaloupe starts, sugar cane stalks, fig tree cuttings, wildflower and herb bouquets, fresh lavender, and many potted plants including aloe, rosemary, mint, and Okinawa spinach.  

Non-edible swappables ranged from worm casting tea and all natural insect repellent, to wool dryer balls and homemade laundry detergent starter kits. Beautiful, bright handmade crafts went quick: original photography note cards, feed bag totes, beaded jewelry, hand painted wooden egg sets, darling headbands, paper and fabric flowers, water color pages... Body products were popular too with lip butters, salves, both sugar and salt based body scrubs, lotions, and bath fizz cakes exchanged.

It was a perfect handmade, homegrown start to spring! Thank you swappers... see you in June (date and location to be announced).

Spring Swap is Set for April 7th

Spring in Sarasota is a perfect time for swapping...the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing and the gardens and markets are overflowing with fresh produce! Join the Sarasota Swappers for our spring Food & Craft Swap on April 7th, from 10:30 a.m. to 1p.m. at Pinecraft Park. Get more details and RSVP here - and remember we are limited to 30 swappers, so sign up soon!

February Swap was Sweet!

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the February Food & Craft Swap was extra sweet! On the food swap tables, sweet treats included dark chocolate hot fudge sauce and peppermint hot fudge sauce, fleur de sel toffee, candied lemon peels, raspberry & caramel syrups, homemade kit kats, nutella, vanilla extract and lavender-infused lemonade.

Fluer de Sel Toffee all wrapped up for your sweetheart!

But it wasn't all goodies... we had a delicious selection of wholesome edibles too! Whole grain mustard, strawberry coconut kefir, raw goat cheese, fresh nettles quiche, sesame crackers, backyard eggs, oatmeal mix, salsa, a variety of preserves, organic muffins, healing tinctures, herbal tea blends, and more! Homegrown produce offerings included collards, kale, bok choy, chili peppers, edible flowers, herbs, navel oranges and starfruit.

Hot ticket edibles: Elderberry Wine, Moroccan Preserved Lemons, Countertop Yogurt, Meyer Lemon Curd, and Fresh Lavender.

Sweet crafty swappables were offered too, including felted heart wands and fairy gnomes, hand-decorated vases, beeswax luminaries, hand sewn dishtowels and drawstring gift bags, sugar scrub for the body, and hand knit hats.

Another great event, swappers! Thank you for all your handcrafted and homegrown sweetness. And a special thank you to Kollene Carlson of Blonde Cow Photography for coming out and capturing the swap, including all these beautiful shots.