U. SAUCON TWP., Pa. – Following a successful year and holiday season, a popular business has expanded operations at Promenade Saucon Valley.
Smartivities Showcase, a woman-owned and family-operated artist market and creative space offering handmade gifts, art supplies, pottery classes and more, this weekend completed its move from its former Promenade location – totaling around 3,000 square feet – to a larger location that spans more than 4,000 square feet.
Smartivities’ new location is in Suite 103, next to L.L. Bean.
Smartivities Showcase
“We’re BACK!” reads an announcement on Smartivities’ Facebook page.
“Now Open Regular Hours! Pottery Painting, Wheel Classes, and our Artist Market are up and running. We are accepting new vendors and currently filling our Artist Market shelves.”
Suite 103 was previously occupied by Dolly’s Dressing Room, a business offering a stylish, trend-driven selection of prom dresses, wedding apparel and more, which also recently moved to a new location at Promenade Saucon Valley.
Dolly’s Dressing Room now operates in Suite 703, which previously housed tenants such as Handmade Mystic and T&T Boutique.
A new tenant has signed a lease for the space that Smartivities vacated, and that will be announced soon, according to Madeleine Convery, Promenade Saucon Valley’s marketing manager.
Smartivities Showcase
“We’re excited to be moving to a new, larger space at the Promenade,” Smartivities owner April Tennille Khalil told 69 News.
“It’s larger, and we’ll have more room for our activities, parties and artist market. We’ll also have a larger pottery studio as well and will be offering memberships for people to do wheel-thrown pottery and ceramic painting.”
Smartivities Showcase was founded in 2018 and previously operated in downtown Easton until operations shifted to Promenade Saucon Valley in 2024.
Since its founding, Smartivities Showcase has become known for unique artisan gifts, cork handbags, novelty candles, DIY activities and educational art classes.
The recent move allows for a reimagined artist market, a dedicated celebration space for parties and an expanded pottery studio featuring a brand-new community membership program.
Smartivities Showcase
“We are so grateful for the community’s response this past year,” Khalil said.
“This larger space allows us the opportunity to showcase more creativity and finally offer the studio time our artists and students have been asking for.”
Smartivities’ new location features an expanded pottery studio with more tools and storage for projects, as well as a new membership program allowing local pottery enthusiasts unique access to pottery wheel throwing and clay working materials.
In addition to the make-your-own pottery offerings, makers of all ages and abilities have the opportunity to create their own art in the larger Creation Station space including a wider selection of walk-in DIY projects such as canvas painting, mosaic making and paint-your-own pottery ceramic pieces.
A larger space is dedicated to art classes, groups and birthday celebrations which includes tables for project activity making as well as snacks, cake, and decorations for parties.
The ever-growing artist market continues to feature a wide assortment of unique items, including handmade jewelry, candles, pottery, glass items, paintings, tableware and home décor, from a rotating selection of 25-50 artisans.
Smartivities Showcase
Shoppers can browse unique pieces from local, national and international makers, including artisans from Egypt and Portugal, Khalil said.
“We’re definitely excited,” Khalil added.
“It’s always good when there’s expansion happening, and we had a good response here last year. We’ve done a lot of parties and welcomed a lot of people to our studio. So, I feel like we’ve just outgrown the space. Now, we’ll have a larger pottery studio and larger artist market with unique, handmade gifts.”
Smartivities is currently accepting applications for its artist market, and interested artists can apply online at https://portal.smartivitiesshowcase.com/signup.
For the latest Smartivities Showcase updates, follow the business’ pages on Facebook and Instagram. Info: 610-674-1011; smartivitiesshowcase.com.