Recently released book ‘Aspen Saturday Market’ delves into vendors’ stories, products

Thousands of people cruise the tent-pitched streets of Aspen during any given summer Saturday. They come from all around — Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, or simply right down the road in Carbondale — to lose themselves in the vast booths of Colorado artisans and artists offering the fruits of their labor.

For Snowmass local Eme Cole, it’s sometimes tough for patrons to hit all 75 booths at the Aspen Saturday Market. Which is why, leading into the farmers market this Labor Day Weekend, folks can pick up a new book she published featuring all 75 proprietors.

Titled “The Aspen Saturday Market,” this 158-page-coffee-table read includes interviews she conducted and photos taken of each vendor. What they sell, where they source and produce their goods, their stories and background — and how their products can be viewed and purchased — come with every turn of a page.

Prior to the book’s publishing on July 2, she was able to successfully feature 100% of the 75 vendors.

“There were people that have said, ‘I’ve been through this market every Saturday for years, and I never even noticed that this booth was here, or that other booth was here’ because they’re just zipping through,” Cole said on Thursday. “Now they’re taking the time to visit vendors that they hadn’t visited previously because they saw the pictures and thought, ‘Oh, this would be such a nice gift. I want to stop by and talk to them more about it.'”

Cole, 48, is originally from the Chicagoland area, where she made it a mission to tour multiple farmers’ markets throughout the city. The markets, amid their regional foods and wares, also made the perfect opportunity for her to familiarize herself with and delve into the microcultures of the diverse neighborhoods interspersing the Second City.

By 1998, Cole, whose parents made regular ski trips to Aspen, journeyed to the Roaring Fork Valley to embark upon the pseudo-ancient tradition many locals know and cherish: She became a ski bum. Hitting the slopes by day and working one of five of her jobs at night, it grew to a point where the valley was most definitely becoming her true calling.

Though she’d later open and operate a pilates studio in Chicago for about 12 years, her heart remained in the mountains of the White River National Forest — and she kept coming back.

“I got to the point where I’d get back on the plane to fly home to Chicago, and I would just be crying on the plane each time because I felt like this was home, and I was leaving home to go back to a place that didn’t feel like home anymore,” she said.

Ten years ago, she sold her Chicago pilates studio and made the permanent move to the valley. It was then she met her current husband, Scott Stein. And one of the couple’s favorite pastimes was to hop in their camper and visit farmers’ markets throughout the American West. California, Wyoming, Oregon — every market they hit, she said it was “the most authentic way to experience local culture.”

In 2023, Stein became an Aspen Saturday Market vendor. He’s a homebuilder by trade but decided to switch gears to creating wood and epoxy charcuterie boards, pieces of furniture, and various kitchen crafts. This inspired Cole to send emails to neighboring vendors, take photos and piece together what eventually would become “The Aspen Saturday Market” book.

“I thought this would be such a nice opportunity to get to know a little bit more about each (booth). And then once I did, I was like, ‘I need to share this information because these people are incredible, and they work so hard, and some of them drive from long distances and get up super early to pick their harvest, so that we get their freshest fruit and the freshest vegetables,” she said. “I wouldn’t want any of that to be taken for granted.”

From local artisans and resident artists from Red Brick Center for the Arts in Aspen, to farmers from places like Hotchkiss and Paonia, she cataloged it all. 

“I wasn’t really willing to do it without that,” she said. “I really hustled to chase everybody down.”

Aspen resident and market-goer Barb Beckwitt, who met Cole at her Aspen pilates studio, has already read Cole’s book cover to cover. She said it allowed her to immerse herself in the backstory of each vendor.

“I found it fascinating,” she said. “It was a very enjoyable read.”

This fascination drove Beckwitt to seek specific Aspen booths she read about in Cole’s book.

“It just makes it more interesting to understand what these people have done and why they’re there,” she said, later adding, “the one thing that I love also about the book is it gives everyone the opportunity — like she has in each page — how to get in touch with these artisans.

“It’s a way patrons of the market can now reach out to these artisans — and not necessarily just on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” she said.

Amid her dedication to creating “The Aspen Saturday Market,” Cole has authored seven “Pilates Expanded” books. She also released earlier this year a novel with a plot based on the Roaring Fork Valley, called “The Roaring.”

But when it comes to promoting the Aspen market in her new book, she’s happy she was able to convey how every vendor continues to go out of their way to carry on the market’s auspicious tradition.

“I think it was sort of a miracle that it all came together,” she said. “It’s testament that these are all really special individuals that care about their community and want to contribute, whether it’s helping me put this book together or showing up at the market every Saturday, rain or shine.” 

The Aspen Saturday Market — on Hopkins and Hyman avenues, as well as Hunter Street — was introduced to the area in 1998. It runs 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays from June 8-Oct. 5.

Cole’s book, “The Aspen Saturday Market,” can be purchased online at Amazon.com, Carl’s Pharmacy or at Stein’s booth — Scott Stein Creative — on Hopkins Avenue. You can also visit her website at about.me/emecole or reach her at emecolecreative@gmail.com.

Ray K. Erku can be reached at (970) 429-9120 or rerku@aspentimes.com.