When Colleyville decided its annual Harvest Festival needed a vendor market this year, why did the City partner with a gallery that had opened just five and a half months earlier?
The City announced on Sept. 1 that it would launch the first Harvest Market with Art Algebra, a gallery and latte bar at 1001 Glade Road. The plan was to bring local makers, small businesses, food vendors and farmers to the festival, according to The NE Tarrant Record. Art Algebra soft-opened on March 19, and the Colleyville Chamber of Commerce held its official ribbon cutting on July 14. In that short time, a small storefront became the place the City went to fill its newest festival feature.
The choice makes more sense next to the other maker businesses in town. Colleyville's handmade economy is being built by small independent shops that started as pop-ups or online stores, and they now set much of the town's creative calendar. The City is starting to plug into what they built.
A Gallery Built From Pop-Ups
Co-owners Aatif Merchant and Aashna Bharwani showed art at pop-up exhibits around Dallas-Fort Worth before they signed a lease in Colleyville, Community Impact reported in March. They told the outlet what they set out to fix:
"At present, there are very few galleries or studios in DFW that source handmade art and objects from around the world and very few spaces that regularly introduce handmade, artist-driven work in an approachable, everyday setting."
The coffee bar is how they make the gallery feel like an everyday stop. The soft-opening menu rotated monthly and included a Honey Bee Latte, a Coco Cloud Matcha and a Maplenut Latte. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the couple, who have backgrounds in education and economics, run the space right next door to girligirl boutique. The paper also reported that the gallery hosts monthly vendor pop-ups, kids' art classes and Mahjong nights. Merchant explained the name to the Star-Telegram this way: "The algebra is finding the missing piece that curates your home."
So by the time the City came calling, Art Algebra had already been running the kind of event the Harvest Market needed, in its own space and once a month.
The Baseline the Senior Center Set in May
The City had some evidence that a market would draw a crowd. A parks and recreation report, cited by The NE Tarrant Record, said the Senior Center's first Craft Show and Market on May 29 brought in 30 vendors and close to 200 shoppers. That was a small, single-venue test. The Harvest Festival is a much bigger stage. It's free and family-focused, and it already includes Trunk-or-Treat, games with prizes, a petting zoo, face painting and fall crafts.
Here's what is confirmed for Saturday, Oct. 17, from the City's Harvest Festival page:
- Time and place: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Main Street
- Costume contests: age 3 and under at 10:30 a.m., ages 4 to 7 at 11 a.m., ages 8 and up at 11:30 a.m., and pets at noon
- Trunk-or-Treat: local Colleyville businesses and nonprofits handing out candy from decorated trunks in the parking lot behind City Hall, with a winning trunk announced at the event
- Food trucks: cash or credit card accepted
- Parking: free in the South parking lot of City Hall and at City Park
Some things are still open. No vendor list, booth fee or application deadline has been published. The NE Tarrant Record also found a separate Art Algebra post advertising a "Harvest Art Fest and Food Truck Alley" on Monday, Oct. 19, and Tuesday, Oct. 20. The paper said it was unclear whether the market would run past the main festival day. The City's Oct. 17 listing is the confirmed date. Before planning around the weekday dates, check Art Algebra's Instagram.
The Boulevard Shop That Grew the Same Way
On Colleyville Boulevard, a second business has been built on the same model. Atlas & Orion Creative Exchange moved into a larger space at 4121 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. 2, in September, adding room for both retail and workshops, Community Impact reported on Oct. 5.
Owner Amanda Novak sells handmade home decor, jewelry, pottery, leatherwork and textiles sourced from around the world. She told the outlet that "every piece is selected with intention, celebrating craftsmanship, culture and the stories behind the makers." Novak started the business online in 2019 and added in-person workshops in early 2025. So the September expansion came about 18 months after the first class.
The two shops share a pattern. Each stocks handmade goods sourced from around the world. Art Algebra keeps visitors in the room with a latte bar, and Atlas & Orion does it with classes. Neither started in a permanent Colleyville storefront. For now, the town's maker scene is being shaped by what these two owners choose to stock and teach.
The Fall Calendar, Weekend by Weekend
Atlas & Orion's fall workshops are for adults. The shop's site lists three projects. Other hands-on options are spread across town, including Board & Brush Colleyville at 4906 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. 206, which runs instructor-led wood-sign workshops.
| Date | What | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue., Oct. 13 | Beginner sewing machine basics | Colleyville Public Library | 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., ages 13 and up, registration and library card required |
| Fri., Oct. 16 | Pick Your Project sign workshop | Board & Brush | 6 to 9 p.m., $73 |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Harvest Festival and Harvest Market | City Hall | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., free |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Kinusaiga no-sew fabric mosaic | Atlas & Orion | 6 to 9 p.m., $55, 12 spaces |
| Sun., Oct. 18 | Indigo and shibori dyeing | Atlas & Orion | 1 to 4 p.m., $50 |
| Wed., Oct. 21 | Pumpkin Decorating Party | Recreation Center | 9:30 to 11 a.m., $5, ages 5 and under with a parent |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | Cyanotype sun printing | Atlas & Orion | 1 to 3 p.m., $40 |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Haunted Trails | Colleyville Nature Center | Site opens 6:30 p.m., walk 7 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Wed., Nov. 18 | Turkey Time Creations | Recreation Center | 9:30 to 11 a.m., $5 |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Indigo and shibori, then kinusaiga | Atlas & Orion | 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Christmas Tree Lighting | Heroes Park at City Hall | 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Wed., Dec. 16 | Holiday Ornament Workshop | Recreation Center | 9:30 to 11 a.m., $5 |
The Atlas & Orion and Parks and Recreation pages list the month and day without a year, so confirm the date when you book. Board & Brush also has Pick Your Project sessions on Oct. 17, 24 and 30, a DIY Time Crunch Mini Workshop on Oct. 21, a Condensed Collection Workshop on Oct. 22, and a listing on Nov. 7.
Where the Dates Collide
The table shows a few problems. When we checked Atlas & Orion's workshop pages, all three were marked sold out, including the November sessions, and no December dates were posted. Anyone hoping for a seat should watch the shop's site for new dates. At Board & Brush, the Oct. 16 evening session still had eight seats when we checked.
On Oct. 17, the festival and a workshop share the same day without overlapping. The Harvest Festival ends at 2 p.m., which leaves the afternoon free before kinusaiga starts at 6 p.m. That makes Saturday a full day with the festival market in the morning and a fabric workshop at night. The indigo session the next afternoon has Novak teaching participants to fold, bind and dye fabric in natural indigo, and everyone leaves with two kitchen towels.
Nov. 21 is the busiest date on the calendar, and it has a real conflict. The evening kinusaiga workshop runs from 6 to 9 p.m., and the City's Christmas Tree Lighting at Heroes Park runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. You can make the afternoon indigo session and still get to the tree lighting. You can't do the evening workshop and the tree lighting together.
Families with younger children have a separate track. The Parks and Recreation craft mornings cost $5 and are parent-assisted for ages 5 and under, with pumpkins in October, turkeys in November and ornaments in December. Haunted Trails on Oct. 29 brings food trucks, a DJ and treats to the Nature Center, and the City recommends it for preteens and older.
No holiday makers market has been confirmed in Colleyville for November or December. For now, the Oct. 17 Harvest Market is the only City-hosted maker market on this fall's calendar.
At Pantuso Properties, we follow the small businesses that shape everyday life in Colleyville as closely as we follow the market. If you'd like to talk about how places like Art Algebra and Atlas & Orion fit into your plans for your home here, Request a Private Consultation.
