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QuickTake:
Dara and Doug Robertson have been married for 14 years. A shared love of art has brought them in business together.
Welcome to Market Watch, a new series where Lookout Eugene-Springfield chats with different vendors at Eugene’s Saturday Market about how they got started and what they’re up to now.
For this edition, Lookout talks with Dara and Doug Robertson of Fringe Art Collective, a husband and wife duo selling original paintings, hand-sewn clothing, paper-scapes and more.
Responses have been edited for clarity.
How did you guys get in business together?
Dara: We’ve been together for 18 years, married for 14 and moved here from Bend, about three and a half years ago and joined the Saturday Market. When we first started, we just did one single booth and had both of our stuff in it. Over the last couple of years, we both expanded our selections and decided this year we would get two eight-by-eights next to each other and get a big booth so it wouldn’t rain between us. We just really love color and having fun. I sit in my sewing room and stack fabric together and decide what things I want to put together, and Doug is in the other room doing his art.
How did you guys get started with your art?
Dara: I started sewing when I was 7, and I think Doug started drawing when he was 12 years old. He went to the University of Oregon and got a degree in ceramics, then transitioned to painting about 15 years ago, and I come back and forth with sewing. I wasn’t offering clothing when I first started the market, but this year, I decided to start offering some bloomers and dresses, and just keep expanding. We kind of feel like you have to innovate or you fade away here.
How did you guys get started tabling at the market?
Dara: We knew the Saturday Market was one of the biggest and most established outdoor markets in the nation, and it was sort of a no-brainer that we wanted to get started with it, so we joined. The first year, we were not reserve members because we didn’t have enough points, so we would wait every morning, get our booth assignments, and then we’d have to scramble to get everything set up by 10 a.m. By the end of that first year, we had enough points to get a reserve booth for our second year, and then I became involved in volunteering. I’m the chair of the Holiday Market Committee and Doug is the chair of the Board of Directors.
What are your best-selling items?
Dara: Mine are actually “boobies” flags. I have these little flags on a shoestring and the one that says “boobies” is my best seller for the last three years. And then I would say the fancy pants and Doug makes a lot of cat prints.
What do you think people don’t understand about your work?
Dara: I think people are really surprised when they find out we make everything in the booth. And then there’s occasionally a funny misconception that Doug’s art is actually an expression of Aboriginal art because people see the dot art of the Aboriginals. Then they just assume that any dot art must be related. It’s just an expanded version of pointillism that he’s doing.
How has business been so far this season at Saturday Market?
Dara: Pleasantly surprised. I did not know how the fancy pants were going to go and I struggle to keep up with the demand now, so that’s a good thing.
Doug: With the economic and political situation, we weren’t sure how this year was going to be. It’s been really good.
What other markets do you table at?
Dara: We actually don’t do any other markets besides the Saturday Market and the Holiday Market. So we will be at the Lane Events Center this November and December for the six-week run of that.
Follow Dara and Doug’s work at their Instagram or their website at fringeartcollective.com.
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